A World Wonder in Tainan: An Earth-Core Adventure Only Visible in Dry Season

Photos and text / Excerpted from *Let’s Go Up!: Explore Taiwan with MeatLu – 232 Must-Visit Pocket Spots for Fun and Food*

A winding, towering canyon tunnel, as if a silk ribbon had been cast carelessly, with massive cliffs rising abruptly from the ground. The streamlined, knife-like striations of the rock faces are naturally formed, and the magical sight of nature’s creation spanning over a hundred feet is truly astounding—comparable to a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.

 
The Fanzi Pit Valley, a tributary of the Houjue River upstream of the Nanhua Reservoir, is where the Earth Valley is located. During the wet season, it is submerged under water, forming a deep pool; during the dry season, the valley dries up, allowing visitors to walk in and witness its true form. The best time to visit is from late January to early April each year. From the 12.6 km mark on County Highway 179 leading to Guanshan Village, a short five-minute walk downhill will take you to the dried-up catchment area. The cracked earth is soft underfoot, sinking slowly by an inch or two with each step, and some fissures are so deep they seem like an adventure into the earth’s core.



But why do I sink deeper with every step? My friend joked, “That’s the crack weight scale—you’re just too heavy...” Barefoot, hopping across soft yet firm patches of mud that resemble densely cracked tree branches, tiptoeing across a makeshift log bridge, and wandering through the vast reservoir catchment area dotted with occasional puddles. After about 10 minutes of walking, you’ll spot a dark, deep cave shaped like Taiwan—that’s the Earth Valley.

As you step in with a mix of excitement and trepidation, the breathtaking sights before you unfold: towering canyon cliffs, carved over millennia by erosion, display parallel water marks. Strange rocks, like battleship-like formations, and the mid-section of the valley, which widens into a concave cave, give the Earth Valley a delicate resemblance to a layered dessert. Looking back at the earlier section, you’ll see rock formations like a running boar and rivers like galloping horses. Standing beneath the arc-shaped canyon, you feel as small as a grain of sand in the ocean. At the end, a gentle waterfall flows into a verdant deep pool. This marvel of nature, the Earth Valley, was shaped over thousands of years by this very source, forming its majestic, thousand-foot-high cliffs. Looking back from the left side of the deep pool, you might even spot a strikingly lifelike human face. A dry-season exclusive spectacle—come witness this world wonder in Tainan.