Carved into the precipitous walls of a deep canyon for much of its western half, the highway (quite narrow for much of its length, with just enough room for two cars to pass comfortably) is undeniably impressive and until recently got my vote as the most breathtaking car ride north of Tai­chung County. Then one weekend recently, a mini expedition into the area took two of us along the highway and onto the far less traveled local route 60, which branches off the highway at Sia Baling (下巴陵).

This narrow, rough and exciting switchback road seems to have been forgotten while many other mountain roads across the island have been upgraded or widened in the last few years. Route 60 doesn't make for fast, or especially easy, driving, but it's perhaps the most breathtaking stretch of motorable road within a hundred kilometers of Taipei.

Leaving the North Cross-island Highway, route 60 drops to cross a bridge over the Dahan River, and in less than a kilometer reaches a "T" junction, where most drivers turn left towards the natural and very popular hot springs of Hsin Hsing nestling deep in a scenic gorge. Turn right here, away from Hsin Hsing, and follow the mountain road to the village of Yieheng (爺亨), locally famous for its expansive terraced fields, which march down the steep hillside around this small aboriginal village.

The scenery starts getting even more impressive after Yieheng, as the road climbs higher above the rock-strewn riverbed, now hundreds of meters below, and veers away from it up the valley of a tributary stream to the tiny aboriginal settlement of Tieliku (鐵立庫) and the valley of the Taiyao Stream (抬耀溪) and its waterfalls. This place is one of Taoyuan County's best-kept secrets, only recently opened to the public and shown only on the most recent maps, and richly deserves a look. Choose a sunny day when coming here, as to really see the scenic highlights along the Taiyao Stream you'll need to get your feet wet.

Pass through the tiny settlement of Tieliku, and at a sharp left-hand bend, turn right down a lane past a sign and map board, parking in the grassy parking area a few meters down the lane on the right. The lane winds its way downhill, and in about 10 minutes finishes at the edge of a landslip, where the ground on the left falls sheer into the deep gorge of the Taiyao Stream. Now a wide, surprisingly easy path zigzags down the steep, wooded slopes of the gorge, passing the overgrown remains of stone terrace walls built many decades ago, when even these precipitous hillsides were put to use to grow crops.In about 15 minutes, there's a signposted junction. Follow the level path straight ahead, and shortly the white plume of Youling ("ghost") Waterfall (幽靈瀑布) can be seen through the trees. A side trail drops down to the stream above the head of the waterfall, where the stream thunders through a curious rocky channel about a hundred meters long before plummeting over the brink. This natural waterslide would be a great spot for messing about in the water on a hot day and indeed is quite popular with locals on summer weekends.

The main path, hewn into the side of the gorge, keeps well above the stream, descending to rejoin it after a couple of hundred meters at the second waterfall, known as the Water Curtain Cave (水濂洞). Apparently there really is a small cave behind this impressively wide sheet of falling water, although you'll need to wade upstream to get there, as there's no path to the foot of the falls.

Back at the junction below the Ghost Falls, a dirt trail drops down to the rock-strewn bed of the Dahan River, where fragments of trail follow the Taiyao Stream up towards the base of the waterfall. The trails peters out well below the falls, which remain unseen round a corner of the gorge, but when the stream is low it's possible to paddle up the smooth, rocky channel as it winds through a strange "S"-shaped cleft to the foot of the impressive, 30-meter-high waterfall.