知高圳步道 — Attraction in Taichung

This trail is named after this waterway called "Zhi Gao Zun", which is an artery mainly for farming irrigation in Nantun, Wuri, and Dadu districts. The length of the trail section which is along the waterway is around 1.1km and most of it is paved well. It is slightly descending. You may park your scooters at the trailhead and for car drivers you need to park around at the nearby temple parking lots which is about 500 meter before you reach the trailhead. Between the trailhead and the temple parking lots there is a bee yard in the woods.

Along the waterway there are mostly bamboo trees, banyan trees, and Taiwan acacia. You will specifically encounter a banyan tree with giant breathing roots reaching down the waterway, a waterway bridge, and a sky-walking trail next the bridge, respectively. The gun shooting sounds might be heard quite often from far away because the military base for training fresh solders is nearby.

In the trail end of the waterway section, you may continue and turn right to enter a slope literally meaning "good man slope". This slope is not very well maintained but paved with some simple tires to at least protect the soil from being brushed away. It leads to a hilltop which seems to be a former riverbed so you may find many cobblestones. The hilltop is surrounded by cliffs. It is extremely windy and to the south you may view Changhua area and the Wu river running into the Taiwan Strait. If you turn right and continue walk along the clifftop, you may see downtown Taichung to the left. Unfortunately demolition debris is scattered around on the hilltop and some burning traces are left.

When you enter the paved road, you are about to leave the hilltop. The cars on the paved road pass by very quickly so just be careful. Walking down the paved road for about 1 km will lead you witness pineapple fields on both sides. You may turn right and leave the paved road for the trail leading to the temple parking lot. Remember to choose the downhill trailhead which is at the metal gate on the fence surrounding the woods. The downhill trail is paved with concrete bricks and extends for about 500 meter until it reaches a family-owned graveyard on the left. The graveyard entrance is next to the temple...

Pleasant, partially paved trail which is ideal for an afternoon walk and provides great view on Changhua and the industrial complexes in Wuri. The environment is mostly undisturbed by human presence, although a new hi-rise is being built nearby the entrance and illegal uncles are selling second hand food from Costco.

Google Maps doesn't show, but the peak can be accessed through the nearby temple as well, so one can make a...

Some short sections of the hike are nicely done with a canal flowing next to you. But majority of the hike is very boring. You see the city after you get to the top, but really nothing too interesting. If you live in the area, sure, it can be a good exercise, but if you are coming from far away just to check out this hike, might not be...