5% inaccurate: Taroko Gorge

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Taroko Gorge

The most scenic part of Taiwan, I am surprised how many of my friends who visited Taiwan before me never knew about this place. Living in the Alpes for 5 years already, I think I can say I have a special affection to mountains, especially huge mountains. Taroko Gorge became naturally my main target during my travel in Taiwan, it was my must-go spot.

If you stay for a longer period of time, there are many nice trails to hike in Taroko National Park. But if you just want to get a glimpse at Taroko, there is a tourist bus line made perfectly for you. With an one-day ticket, you can take this bus to and fro from Hualien to Tian Xiang (天祥) and stop at any stops in between. The bus runs quite frequently but it doesn't seem like it follows the timetable precisely.

At first, I wanted to rent a scooter to go to Taroko, considering the fact that I could go anywhere at anytime. But it required an international driving license and I didn't have one. A little bit sad and so the tourist bus I went for. One hour bus ride after, my mom and I reached the the "entrance" of Taroko National Park and then I realized how lucky was I to be on a bus and not on a scooter. The treacherous road condition was just terrifying.

The bus ride itself was thus quite thrilling. Cars passing each other with only inches in between, on the narrow road with rocky wall on one side and sheer drop on the other. With so little margin of error, driving on this road is certainly not for inexperienced drivers. It reminds me so much of the show on the History's channel - The Deadliest Roads.

When I was there, the road going through the gorge had just been reopened very recently. Before this, the road had been severely damaged due this a typhoon in July. As I passed through, sight of heavy machinery was still everywhere. The road clearance was still on going and some parts were still closed for visitors.