The clouds drop most of their rain before ever reaching the cities of the western plains, while ensuring the area remains fertile and well-watered, courtesy of a plethora of streams tumbling down from the highlands. If only Taipei had been built a little further southwest, it too would have benefited more from their protection and would no doubt have been a sunnier place!

All this rainfall has to find its way back to the sea somehow, and on Taiwan it's often a long and obstacle-ridden journey, which, of course, is why there are so many waterfalls on this island. It's doubtful anyone has any idea just how many waterfalls of significance there are on Taiwan, as it seems every year new ones are 'discovered,' but there are certainly several hundred that can be easily reached by a reasonably fit walker, although many remain to this day the preserve of the well-equipped river tracer.

One sizable waterfall that until just a few years ago was inaccessible enough to be out-of-bounds to all but the most determined explorer is the impressive 110 meter, two drop plunge of Shengmaoshu Waterfall (生毛樹瀑布), tucked away in a deep, densely wooded gorge in a northern corner of Chiayi County. The impressive great ravine in which Shengmaoshu Waterfall lies is by no means unknown to hikers and visitors to the area, which is known collectively as Ruifeng Scenic Area (瑞峰風景區).

The Dragon Palace Waterfall (龍宮瀑布) and Water Curtain Cave (水濂洞), both in the lower reaches of the gorge have long been popular local tourist attractions, although until new paths were built a few years ago, even they weren't very easy places to reach, involving a long and very steep climb down the face of the gorge.

Several extremely destructive typhoons which wiped out parts of the original trail into the gorge meant that a new, and far easier trail has been built up to the magnificent Dragon Palace Waterfall, and a new path continuing a kilometer or so further up the gorge finally gives easy access to the well-hidden Shengmaoshu Waterfall, which was previously very difficult to reach.It's a scenic drive of about ninety minutes to the trailhead from the town of Meishan (梅山) along county route 162, an exciting switchback road which winds high into the mountains, drops down the far side and then winds back uphill towards the small settlement of Ruifeng. Turn right onto a narrow lane (signposted, in Chinese only, to Dragon Palace Waterfall) near the 30 kilometer marker, and the narrow, rutted farm track contours the steep side of the great gorge of the Jhukeng River for about a kilometer before ending at a small parking area, the trailhead for Shengmaoshu Waterfall.

A wide, wooden boardwalk makes for an easy, relaxing stroll up the impressive gorge. Look into the depths on the right about ten minutes into the walk, and you'll glimpse the impressive fifty meter drop of Zhongshan Waterfall (中山瀑布) several hundred meters below. It's an impressive drop, but to get a closer look entails some serious river tracing.

In about thirty minutes, the path descends a long flight of stairs, passes a viewing platform opposite the tall, thin plume of Dragon Palace Waterfall, and after losing some more height and descending finally to the level of the stream, it reaches a junction. Turn left here, upstream and the whole character of the gorge changes, the grand, huge open spaces of the lower canyon shrinking to a smaller, densely wooded, craggy-walled glen.

The wooden path, elevated high above the thick undergrowth covering the sides of the glen, climbs ever upwards as the stream beside it drops in a series of cascades and minor falls. Then finally, when it seems like the steps will never end, a tributary stream plunges over a tall, sheer cliff of bare rock to the left of the path, falling in a narrow plume into a large, shallow pool.

On our visit, the mountains above hadn't been doing their job as rainmakers for some days, and the water in the fall was reduced to a trickle, but Shengmaoshu Waterfall must be quite a spectacle when in flood.

Whatever the condition of the falls however, the introduction of a good path up to the waterfall hasn't destroyed the wonderful peace and seclusion of the place, and as we took advantage of being the only people around to lay back and take a much-needed rest, the gentle sound of the falling water was balm to our aching legs.