Maolin Butterfly Valley Ecological Park Introduction
Maolin Purple Butterfly Ecological Park is located in Maolin District, within Maolin Alley, and serves as a site for butterfly watching during the butterfly season. Walking along the trails within the park leads to the Butterfly Watching Trail. "Purple Butterfly Valley" is not an actual geographic location; rather, it is an ecological phenomenon where multiple species of butterflies congregate during the winter. The "Purple Butterfly Valley" is primarily distributed in the low to mid-elevation mountainous areas of Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Taitung, inhabited by the Paiwan and Rukai indigenous peoples. From October to February each year, over a million purple butterflies gather in the warm and sheltered valley at the foot of Dawu Mountain, the sacred mountain of the Rukai and Paiwan peoples in southern Taiwan. Maolin's "Purple Butterfly Valley" is recognized alongside the Americas' "Monarch Butterfly Valley" as a world-class natural asset, listed among the two major "overwintering butterfly valleys" globally. It has also been rated as a must-visit destination with the highest three-star level in the Michelin Green Guide Taiwan! A suggested stay time is about three hours, allowing visitors to stroll along the Butterfly Watching Trail in the Purple Butterfly Ecological Park towards the Zisharishari Trail, where various species of purple butterflies and colorful butterflies can be seen.
