Taroko Gorge

Taroko Gorge

There was blue skies when we awoke - perfect for a day climbing through Taroko gorge and exploring some of the many walks.  Given the anticipated road closures, with scheduled openings on the hour, Si, G and I were out by around 7:45am.  We confirmed the closure location with the hotel owner, so we knew our 9am destination.  As we were heading out of the 7-11 with our lunch supplies, we spotted the non-conversant Australian cyclists from dinner as they raced towards the gorge. 

The road into the gorge was fairly flat, and we stopped at the gates for the obligatory photo.  We planned to cycle up as far as Tianxiang Recreation Area to make the most of the lighter traffic, then make our way back slowly, stopping at all the various places of interest.

The road hugged the gorge, which was quite wide to begin with, then narrowed, flanked by impressive cliffs.  It was a gentle gradient, making for easy uphill riding.  The water was a stunning blue, and looked icy cold. Given the early hour, there was hardly any traffic and the expected road closures were non-existent, making for an easy start to the day.

There were lots of tunnels and any traffic gave us a wide berth, including the occasional bus. With so many great views of the gorge, it was a fantastic ride.  Just before the bridge into Tianxiang, a red-roofed pavilion was perched on a high cliff,

We stopped for morning tea in a little picnic area and supplemented our supplies with millet donuts and some weird tasting waffles from the nearby food stalls.  As we were packing to go, an elderly man signalled to let me know that my front light was flashing. I turned it off and he smiled in appreciation, though I had to turn it on just minutes later in readiness for the tunnels on our descent.

We stopped at the chrysanthemum flanked entrance to the Xiangde pagoda and watched as a man lowered a bucket into the Liwu River, filling it with a little water, most of which he lost as the bucket tipped over the railings on its ascent.

We passed the Heliu campground and stopped to look at the nearby pavilion and walk across the suspension bridge, with its amazing views up and down the gorge. The wind had picked up and was quite fierce as we continued  our descent and we could see clouds rolling in over the tops of the mountains, not boding well for our fine day.  We passed Jonno who was heading uphill.

Next stop was the Tunnel of the Nine Turns trail which meandered along the edge of the mountainside, with impressive views of the river and waterfalls. The marble walls were particularly impressive as you could clearly see the folds and layering of the beautiful rocks.  There were interesting information boards on all the different bridges, providing insights into the history of construction and the frequency of some of the repairs and rebuilds required following typhoon damage. 

We ran into the Canadian couple from the day before, and chatted a while before returning to our bikes. They returned whilst we were admiring some of there bike gear - I was quite impressed by their Smith helmets. We exchanged details so we could follow their travels, and hopefully our paths may one day cross again.

The Swallow Grotto was clearly a popular spot for tour groups and we had to dodge the buses as we made our way along the trail, with its view of the marble gorge terrain .  Curiously, there was a group of people dancing on the path which drew a few interested onlookers,  It was a relief to rejoin the road, and we continued on to the Idas walk, a 400 metre climb through the forest up to the Buluowan Recreation Area and the Shanyue Suspension bridge. 

This is the fourth version of the bridge, with the first built in 1914, with replacement bridges built in 1930 and 1941.  Some of the Japanese posted to Taroko were scared by the bridge’s height and length and handed in their resignations, and the bridge was nicknamed “resignation bridge”.  We found a spot near the information centre to enjoy our lunch out of the wind, that was now quite brisk and cool. We ran into Jonno on our way back down the path and he had parked his bike next to ours.

Our final stop was the Eternal Spring Shrine, reputedly one of the most famous sights in the gorge, and well-deserved if the number of tour buses was a measure. However, most of the people clustered around the viewpoint and the path to the shrine was almost deserted. It was built in 1958 to commemorate the 212 workers who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island highway. Recessed into the mountainside, spring water flowed through the front of the shrine and into the river below,  Unfortunately the path to the Changguang temple was closed.  Though that didn’t stop Jonno who made his way to the temple via the incredibly steep roadway that we decided to avoid.

We left the gorge, pleased to have avoided any showers from the lowering clouds, and detoured via the station to buy train tickets for the short trip to avoid the Suhua Highway reputed to be narrow and noisy, with lots of tunnels. As Si finalised the purchase at the ticket machine, G and I browsed the little gift shop leaving the bikes temporarily unattended.  I returned to find some Taiwanese women posing for photos with the bicycles,  Before long, I had the whole group in the photo together.  It was hysterically funny to watch them pose with the bikes.

Back at the hotel we had a restful hour or two before heading out for a Thai dinner at a nearby restaurant.

 Prev entry - Home - Next entry