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| Cui Feng Waterfall |
This hike exceeded my expectations. The route we took sometimes felt very isolated even though we were close to the city. It was not too hard but included enough difficult sections to make it really fun and interesting. We hiked to the top of Sha Mao Mountain, took an alternative dirt trail down the other side through lush forest and visited the striking Cui Feng Waterfall before walking back to the starting point along the road. Sha Mao Shan (643 m) is in the foothills of Yangmingshan Park just north of Chinese Culture University.
Distance/Time: 8.8 km/ 4 hours and 30 minutes
Trail Conditions: On the way up, the trail was stone steps. Even though they were wet from overnight rain they did not feel slippery. On the way down the other side, we took a sometimes very steep dirt trail with lots of ropes in place to help with going down.
The trail to the waterfall was mostly on wide paved paths except for a very steep and muddy but short descent just before reaching the waterfall. We walked along the road to get back to the starting point.
We did not see many other hikers but it could have been because rain was forecasted.
What to take: There is a 7-11 near the start of the trail where you can stock up on water and snacks if you need to. I took a hiking pole and found it very useful on the downhill sections. The trail is wide almost the whole way so shorts and a t-shirt are fine if the weather is good.
Transportation: I took the bus to Jiantan MRT station. A friend picked me up here and we drove to the trail but from Jiantan its possible to take bus R5 or 260 to the Teacher's Center stop or one more stop to the Yangmingshan Terminus.
The Teacher's Center stop is right next to the trail head and Qian Shan Park. Yangmingshan Terminus is a little further up the road and near a convenience store.
The hike:
It rained a lot overnight and when I woke up I wasn't sure if I would go hiking. Even though the forecast was for about a 60% chance of morning rain and it was cloudy, I decided to chance it. It turned out to be a beautiful day with just some light rain and there was even a rainbow just as we finished the walk. This day turned out to be the first cool day of the year since the summer heat and it was nice to walk again without sweating so much.
My hiking companion parked his car on the far side of Qian Shan Park and after a stop at 7-11 we were on our way.
The Sha Mao Shan trail starts on the right side of the lower part of Qian Shan Park. It's about a 1 km hike to the peak up stone steps.
The trail sometimes levels out but mostly climbs. We took it slow and it did not feel very difficult.
At the top there is a viewing platform. Because of the weather we did not get a very good view but the misty weather and strong wind made the peak exciting. On the platform the wind was fierce with stinging rain or water from the grassy hillside blowing up into our faces. I could feel the wind pushing me and my clothes whipped around.
We continued past the peak on a straight, level stone path. A signpost pointing that way read, Dapu Hiking Trail Entrance. As soon as we walked away from the peak we were out of the wind.
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After a short walk (85 meters) we came to a squarish clearing on the right paved with stone and with a big stone circle in the middle. It's possible to continue straight and go down stone steps all the way to Shamao Road but we turned right here and took a more interesting, dirt trail.
In the right corner of the stone clearing was a dirt trail marked with ribbons.
The trail entrance was a little hard to see and we had to duck under some branches but once we got onto the trail it was clear and open.
This trail was very steep with lots of ropes to help the descent. Some parts leveled out but mostly it cut straight down the hill. My friend joked that whoever had cut this trail had never heard of switchbacks.
There were some slippery places but nothing too hard. I did fall at one point when I stepped off the trail to get a photo.
We followed this trail until it came to a T-junction that was just beyond four large, straight trees growing close together.
This was the point where the dirt trail and the stone step path were closest to each other and looking to the left I could see a glimpse of the steps through the trees. We turned right and continued on the dirt path which was more level for a while and then went down again.
We passed what looked like a derelict irrigation reservoir (two empty stone pits). A very short distance past them the trail passed the dead stump of a large tree and passed under its fallen top to come to another T-junction.
To the right was a more modern irrigation reservoir with lots of plastic piping coming out of it. The trail went to the left, down hill.
The trail joined a road. We came to a locked gate and went around it on the right. Just after the gate there were good views.
There were houses above on either side of the road. A short way past the gate we heard and then encountered two extremely huge dogs that gave us pause.
The first dog looked ferocious but it was on a chain. However, I heard a second dog barking which soon came out and was not chained. The dogs were at the top of a driveway that went up a short hill. There was a low wall along the drive and the gate was open. The second dog came down and stopped behind the wall near the gate. But it seemed like it wasn't really barking very energetically and also looked very old. So we went on and it did not bother us.
We followed this road untill it joined Shamao Road and then turned left and walked along the road.
We walked for about 500 meters or maybe ten minutes till we came to a bus stop and trail entrance on the right. There was a sign with the English name of the bus stop: The First Scenic Lookout.
To the right of the bus stop was the entrance to the Tianmu Old Trail with a map board beside it.
This area was criss-crossed with trails but by checking the map on my phone we were able to find the way to Cui Feng Waterfall. I think it took us about 30 minutes to hike from the road to the waterfall.
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| Here is a map of the route we took from the road to the waterfall |
Right after entering the trail we came to steps going down on the right but there was a locked gate blocking the way. We followed the trail around to the left.
We crossed a stream over an arched bridge. The water was stained orange from the hot springs.
Just after the bridge we went right on a trail that was blacktop on the left and steps on the right.
Soon this opened up onto a road. Looking up we could see that cone of Sha Mao Shan where we had been a short while earlier. We went straight on the road.
In about 200 meters we came to steps leading down to the right.
We went down the steps, ignoring a smaller trail on the right. The trail became a gravel path. We followed it until we passed a wooden shelter house. This place was marked as a picnic area on the map.
Just past the shelter house we took a right turn down more steps.
In just over 100 meters the steps came to an open dirt area and just before it we turned sharply right to begin the very steep and muddy, but short descent to Cui Feng (Emerald Peak) Waterfall.
I did not know much about this waterfall and didn't know what to expect. I thought it might be in a park like setting or that there might even be a barrier keeping people from getting too close to it. But when I saw it, I was amazed.
Since it had rained the night before it was a perfect time to see the waterfall. White water was rushing over it and seething at the base of the falls. The rocks all around were stained ocher from the minerals from the hot spring feeding it from above.
We were able to go right up to the edge of the stream and there were lots large rocks that were perfect for resting on and viewing the falls.
Even though were were close to the city it felt like we were in an isolated glen high in the mountains. It made me wonder how many people who live near the waterfall had ever visited it.
I was reluctant to leave but after a while we retraced our steps to the road. On the way back up its easy to get turned around. There are steps going up but we had followed a dirt trail down and in fact I started walking up the stairs until my friend recalled that it was not that easy on the way down.
We got back to the road and followed it for a little over 1 km back to the car at Qian Shan Park. Just as we got back to the park we saw a rainbow. A rainbow (and tacos and an IPA at Maji Maji Sqaure) was a perfect way to end a good day of hiking.
Map and GPS coordinates:
Shamao Shan trailhead: 25.149894, 121.547943
Cui Feng Waterfall: 25.140404, 121.539191
https://my.viewranger.com/track/details/MjExMDQ0MTI=
