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Updated Thursday, June 22, 2006 0:00 am TWN, By Richard Saunders, Special to The China Post

Southern comfort: Laiyi’s cool waterfalls

We finished our afternoon by visiting one of the area’s best-known attractions, the so-called ‘Grand Canyon’ (大峽谷). The evocative name conjured up images of a spectacular deep gorge like Taroko or Taiji Gorge (太極峽谷) elsewhere in Taiwan, but Arizona this is not, and after parking the car and trudging along a wide, dusty track peering in the distance trying to make out the beginning of a great defile through the mountains ahead, we found the ‘canyon’ secreted behind a long row of unsightly stalls, selling simple snacks and inflatable rubber rings, on the left. At this point, about two kilometers above Laiyi village, the river meets a bed of resistant rock through which it’s cut a deep channel, flowing between sloping banks of bare rock. My disappointment wore off as soon as I realized here was another excellent place for a swim, so, changing back into swimming trunks, we joined the handful of locals still cooling off at this late hour, while the sun slowly sank behind the horizon. Finally the afternoon heat had subsided and as we emerged from the water into the dusk it was almost chilly.

The heat came back in full force the second day, as it does throughout the summer in southern Taiwan’s torrid climes, but we had another cool escape planned for the day: the rather remote but spectacular Yuan Yang Waterfall (鴛鴦瀑布) high in the hills above Laiyi.

Had we stayed a whole week, we’d have found ample ways to keep cool. Kending is far from being the only place in the area to get away from the beating sun, and I’ll be back this summer to discover a few more.

NOTE: Not all waterfalls have pools suitable for swimming in. Before entering the water make quite sure the pool is not too deep and there are no dangerous currents.

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Southern comfort: Laiyi’s cool waterfalls

One of Laiyi’s greatest attractions: Its many waterfalls.

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