Dongyan Falls is a place near Taipei that I found on Instagram. If you know me, then you know I love chasing waterfalls. (I think I get this from my parents.) I didn’t want to travel too far from Taipei, but was craving some quality time with nature. Dongyan Falls is proof that you don’t need to travel far to see beautiful places.
Dongyan Falls (東眼瀑布) Location
The waterfall is located in New Taipei City, about 20 minutes from Sanxia.
Address: Taiwan, New Taipei City, Sanxia District, 北114鄉道218號
How To Get There
- By Car: This is probably the best way to get there. There’s a parking lot with restrooms near the falls as well. (You can access the parking lot on the left after you cross the bridge.)
- By Public Transportation: If you’re on a budget and schedule your time correctly, you can reach the falls by bus. My friends and I missed the bus (it doesn’t come often), so we took a taxi instead.
- By Taxi: The taxi ride was about 20-30 minutes from the Sanxia area. The fare split among 3 people was around 150 NT per person. I highly recommend finding a group of friends to go with to offset the cost. To go back to Sanxia, we had a nearby restaurant call us a taxi.
From the Parking Lot to Dongyan Falls
From the parking lot, you’ll see the river. To get to Dongyan Falls, you’ll need to do some light river tracing to reach it. We crossed the river (under the bridge) on the rocks, turned right, and then followed/waded the river for about 10-15 minutes.
Travel Tips
Bring sunscreen. The sun in Taiwan is no joke. We went on a beautiful day and it was amazing to lie in the sun.
Bring a waterproof case. It comes in handy for taking pictures. I don’t have any pictures under the waterfall because of this reason.
Wear travel sandals or water shoes. As you’ll probably do some walking/ water tracing, water shoes are highly recommend. The rocks are a bit slippery and the shoes help a little with that. If it doesn’t bother you, you can absolutely go wearing sneakers. My friend did that and she just had her shoes dry in the sun.
Best time to go is early afternoon. We spent a couple hours there and left around 4pm. Dongyan Falls is small and not super famous, so we were lucky to have the place to ourselves. The whole time we were there, there was only one other party of two.
You can get closer to the waterfall. Just be very, very careful. The rocks are extremely slippery and there’s a bit of a current. Beware the water is very cold.
Go with someone. I don’t recommend going here alone. It’s not super remote, but it’s secluded enough that if you were hurt it would be difficult to go back to the parking lot where there are more people and you could get help.
Looking for other nature adventures near Taipei? Check out my guide to hiking Teapot Mountain.
Things To Do Near Dongyan Falls
RESTAURANTS – There aren’t a lot of choices of food nearby, but we found a Taiwanese restaurant near the river if you go back to the main road. Food was decent and traditional Taiwanese food. Prices are normal as well. I think we spent 200-300 NT per person.
You can also bring your own food to the waterfall and eat near it, just remember to take your trash with you.
SANXIA OLD STREET (三峽老街) – I highly recommend Sanxia Old Street. It’s similar to other old streets in the country and thus has everything encompassing Taiwan in it. After our visit to Dongyuan Waterfall, I stopped by Sanxia Old Street and ate a bowl of Taiwanese shaved ice with taro balls and boba. I really wanted to get pig’s blood cake but I literally saw the vendor sell the last one of the day and it was only 7pm.
There are several restaurants offering typical Taiwanese snacks and dishes. Lots of stores also sell Taiwan souvenirs you can bring home to family and friends.
If you visit, don’t forget to stop by Sanxia Temple.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJk6QCuBUY1/
For those looking to explore Taipei deeper, I hope this post was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Dongyan Falls not very well known, so not a lot of people go there. Please be careful during your visit. I highly recommend travel and exploring, but safety comes first. That being said, have fun! Thanks again for reading! Be safe, be healthy, be happy! Love you guys!
xx Tina
