Maolin Purple Butterfly Ecological Park (Purple Butterfly Valley) Introduction
Maolin Purple Butterfly Ecological Park is located on Maolin Lane in the Maolin District and serves as a site for butterfly watching activities during the butterfly season. Walking along the trails in the park will lead you to the Butterfly Viewing Trail. "Purple Butterfly Valley" is not a geographical name but rather an ecological phenomenon where various species of butterflies congregate for hibernation. The "Purple Butterfly Valley" is primarily distributed in the low to mid-elevation mountainous areas of Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Taitung, traditionally inhabited by the Paiwan and Rukai tribes. Each year, from October to February, over a million purple butterflies migrate to the warm and sheltered valleys at the foot of Dawu Mountain, revered as the sacred mountain by the Rukai and Paiwan peoples in southern Taiwan. The Maolin "Purple Butterfly Valley" is on par with the "Monarch Butterfly Valley" in North America, both recognized as world-class natural assets and listed as the only two large-scale "hibernation butterfly valleys" in the world. It has also been rated as a must-visit top-tier attraction (three stars) in the Michelin Green Guide for Taiwan! The recommended stay is about three hours; you can stroll along the Butterfly Viewing Trail towards the Zishalishali Trail in the Purple Butterfly Ecological Park, where you can see different species of purple butterflies and a variety of colorful butterfly species.
