Yangmingshan Flower Festival and Datun Falls

I spent most of Chinese New Year in Nantou eating and playing Mahjong. On Saturday, Cathy and I came back to Taipei to be greeted by the same weather that has plagued Taipei for 5 weeks: rainy and cold.

In case you didn’t know, squirrels are kind of a big deal in Taiwan. If you see one chances are there are half a dozen people surrounding it and taking its picture.

Only in Taiwan do squirrels get their pictures taken

A Little Egret [Egretta garzetta] waits by the edge of a pond for prey.

If you stumbled on this post hoping to see spectacular Cherry Blossoms I am sorry to disappoint. Perhaps some Plum Blossoms from earlier this year may interest you?

By far the highlight of the afternoon was Datun Waterfall [大屯瀑布區 (romanized as Ta Tuen Waterfall in the park)], which is a short walk from the Flower Festival.

I can’t believe I missed this gem the previous two times I visited the area! We worked our way down the falls from the spot where the above picture was taken. Luckily, it had stopped raining long enough to enjoy the sights.

It is times like this I really miss my Joby Gorrilapod tripod. Somehow, despite the cold I was able to hold my hands steady for a third of a second.

The stairs weren’t too slick, but I rarely didn’t have a firm grip on the railing.

Below is the section of the falls which is most recognized by anyone traveling up Hushan Road [湖山路]:

I should have pictures from our rainy trip to Zhuzi Lake [竹子湖] in the next day or so.

13 thoughts on “Yangmingshan Flower Festival and Datun Falls”

That’s funny, squirrels are a big thing here in Tokyo too. I went to a zoo with a huge walk-in squirrel cage.

Great waterfall photos.

Yeah, great waterfall photos!

It’s snowing here in Quebec. I’ll be back in a few months.

I love love love the Yangmingshan Flower Festival. Too bad the weather sucks this year. Last year we were wandering around in jeans and light sweaters. During our bike trip, I noticed the cold weather hadn’t affected the cherry blossoms, azaleas and poinsetta too badly.

This is the event I’ve been waiting for all year and I’m determined to go. I think I’m going to wait a little longer though until it warms up. Great photos again Todd.

I really don’t like squirrels. Personally, I think that squirrel has an evil look in its eyes. I think the egret is gorgeous though and your waterfall photos are terrific.

Just add to Carrie’s post and put down, “me too” or something like that, less girlie of course. -:) great photos once again.

Brian – I guess what’s ordinary for to some is extraordinary to others. Maybe it’s the lack of other small mammals around here which makes squirrels seem so special.

Range – Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy the rest of your time in Canada!

Carrie – I know, my first year here I went and it was a bright sunny day.. I definitely can’t wait for this weather to be over. Looking forward to more of your pics… we should go out shooting sometime.

Aiench7 – Thanks for stopping in! You should head up there the next nice day [whenever that is].

yup, you know how to shoot waterfalls. nice work Todd! i’ll catch up with you next time 😉

Thanks MJ! A few minutes of trial and error and a patient girlfriend led to some great results!

Great photos as always. “Mossy” is just amazing – a really strong shot. Good work.

Wow, stunning photos. I want the second one for a desktop wallpaper.
Great work.

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Nice pics man. I love visiting your blog and seeing all the different places you’re able to visit. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d try and get out there and do the same.
Keep up the great work and keep the pretty pics coming. 🙂