Taroko Gorge

Why Taroko Gorge works

Taroko Gorge cuts through the Central Mountain Range's marble bedrock so cleanly that the road through it — built by hand in the 1950s, partly by Second World War veterans, and still narrow enough to require one-way traffic control at points — feels carved rather than paved. The Liwu River runs turquoise-to-jade depending on mineral runoff, visible from Swallow Grotto and Tunnel of Nine Turns, two short walks where the marble walls close in within arm's reach on either side. Eternal Spring Shrine (Changchun), a Chinese-style pavilion built into the cliff face with a waterfall falling past its roofline, honours the workers who died building the cross-island highway and remains the gorge's most photographed spot. The Shakadang Trail, a flat riverside path carved into solid rock, follows a clear tributary stream for several kilometres and is the gentlest way to feel the gorge's scale without the road's traffic. Higher up, Tianxiang marks a natural pause point with a suspension bridge and a Buddhist pagoda, before the road climbs further toward Hehuanshan's alpine terrain. Taroko is a full-day trip from Hualien city or an overnight from Taipei via the east coast rail line — the gorge itself is compact enough to cover its highlights in four to five hours, longer with hiking permits for the closed sections.

Trip Snapshot

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