Full Moon Circle Forest Recreation Area

　　The Full Moon Circle Forest Recreation Area is situated in the southeastern suburbs of Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, and is named after the Full Moon Circle Mountain, which features a rounded shape and a summit that resembles a full moon. The area is primarily a deep valley surrounded by peaks such as Full Moon Circle Mountain, Xiongkong South Mountain, North Cha Tian Mountain, Laka Mountain, and Dongyan Mountain. When including the Cha Tian Mountain Nature Reserve, the total area spans 1,573 hectares, with elevations ranging from 300 to 1,728 meters. The forest is beautifully lush and the scenery is pleasant, making it an ideal spot for family leisure and vacation.

　　As most of the Full Moon Circle Forest Recreation Area lies in mid to low altitude mountainous regions, the forest is mainly composed of natural broadleaf forests, with a small portion being plantation forests. The natural forests mainly consist of plants from the Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, and Aceraceae families, with common tree species including Taiwan incense cedar, camphor tree, large-leaved nanmu, aromatic nanmu, pig’s-foot nanmu, machilus, wild daphne, bird’s nest ficus, Taiwan yellow goddess, sweet gum, and green maple. The forest floor commonly features plants such as taro, giant taro, snake root herb, and various ferns. The plantation areas are mostly economic tree species such as Japanese cedar, China fir, Ryukyu pine, and acacia. Due to the dense forest cover and complex ecosystem, the area is rich in flora and fauna.

　　In addition, the Full Moon Circle Forest Recreation Area boasts many stunning waterfalls. Among them, the Full Moon Circle Waterfall, located on the main stream of the Nuezi Creek, is the most spectacular. It stands about 20 meters high, with a vertical rock wall over ten meters tall partially obscuring the upper part of the waterfall. At the base lies a clear pool where the water cascades down with great force. Not far behind the Full Moon Circle Waterfall is the Silver Curtain Waterfall, which is more delicate and petite, standing only about 2 meters high and 5 meters wide. At noon, sunlight filters through the valley and reflects off the waterfall, making the splashing water shimmer like a silvery curtain.

　　Manyueyuan Forest Recreation Area Reason to visit: The most famous forest amusement park in New Taipei City