A couple of Ilan’s waterfalls have become popular weekend outings, but, not surprisingly, considering lots and lots of rain and many, many high, steep ridges can both be found in this corner of the island, there are plenty of less oft-visited waterfalls for explorers wanting a little peace and quiet.

It’s surprising that the area around one of the county’s most impressive cascades, --infeng Waterfall (新峰瀑布) seems to be visited by few people these days, because it’s certainly easy enough to reach, lying just two kilometers (as the crow flies) from the eastern mouth of the thirteen kilometer-long Hsuehshan Tunnel. Leaving the tunnel, take the first exit off the freeway, join provincial route three (until 2006, when the tunnel was opened, this was the main road between Taipei and Ilan) and turn off it onto local route three, which follows the base of a steep escarpment, actually the northernmost part of the Snow Mountain Range.

In 2.5 kilometers turn left onto a narrow side road, following the stream up for about a kilometer to a car park. Nowadays, this place (with its shallow, cooling stream) seems to be frequented mainly by owners exercising their pets; we ran into several locals, each out walking the dog, during our visit.

--infeng Waterfall was once part of a failed leisure development project, and the dilapidated refreshment kiosks, landscaped gardens, and even a flower clock à la Yangmingshan can still be seen near the large parking area.

From here an overgrown footpath runs upstream for some distance towards the foot of the waterfall, hidden round a bend in the stream. Unfortunately a landslip has swept everything away about ten minutes’ walk along the footpath and the last couple of hundred meters to the foot of the falls are a rough and slow scramble up the broad, boulder-strewn streambed.

It’s worth the hassle, however, as --infeng Waterfall is an impressive sight, dropping thirty meters over a cliff face of crumbling rock marked with coarse, corrugated strata lines, which give the waterfall a beautiful and distinctive appearance.

Nearby, just a couple of kilometers south of the mouth of Hsuehshan Tunnel, the Monkey Cave Waterfall (猴洞瀑布) is another one of Ilan’s many lovely but neglected scenic spots. Much smaller and less impressive than --infeng Falls (but also much easier to reach), the Monkey Cave cascades are another fine place for playing in the water or for a picnic, and a lack of signposts pointing the way to the waterfall ensures that, despite being very close to the main Taipei to Ilan route, the place remains quiet even on sunny weekends.

The waterfalls lie just a couple of kilometers north of the popular hot spring resort of Jiaoshi (礁溪). Follow provincial route nine and turn off it about three kilometers north of Jiaoshi town into the little settlement of Baishihjiao (白石腳). Now look for Nanxing Temple (南興宮), but take care as the lanes are extremely narrow. Park the car beside the temple and take the trail next to it. In a minute or two a large concrete levee lies in front. Climb onto it, turn left and follow the stone path on top for another minute or two to the base of the waterfall.

It’s unclear where Monkey Cave Waterfall got its name (there’s no cave here, and I haven’t seen any monkeys in the area after three visits), but it’s a picturesque spot, with a stream tumbling down a long, sloping rock face about a hundred meters long in a series of small waterfalls and slides before one final, larger drop into a small rock pool at the bottom.

A very steep set of steps cut into the rock climb to the top of the bluff, giving close-up views of the falling water, and are a favorite with active kids. The reward for the short, sharp climb is a peaceful little glen at the top where the stream flows placidly through several shallow pools, and a fine place for a hot summer’s day picnic.