No visit to Taiwan would be complete without a visit to Taroko Gorge. The park is the country’s most popular tourist spot and it’s easy to fast see why.
Before we came to Taiwan I had read about how magnificent Taroko Gorge is. It is the most famous of Taiwan’s National Parks and the most recognizable; known for the grandeur of its natural marble landscape. If you are completing a loop right around the island of Taiwan like we did, then Taroko Gorge as a last highlight really does feel like the icing on the cake.
About Taroko Gorge and National Park
Taroko National Park is one of nine of Taiwans National Parks. The Park is named after Taroko Gorgre, the iconic landmark gorge of the park carved by the Liwu River.
The park features high cliffs and mountains with steep gorges and dramatic rivers flowing below.
Visitors to Taroko National Park are attracted by the spectacular scenery and opportunities for hiking, mountain climbing, river tracing and other outdoor activities. There are many different walking and hiking trails in the park. Some trails follow the old hunting paths of the indigenous people to the area. And there are beautiful bridges, shrines and temples that add to the surreal feeling and beauty of visiting Taroko Gorge.
Taroko Gorge is often nicknamed “The Marble Gorge” for its rugged 19km long marbled-walled canyons. The impressive natural gorge was created by tectonic forces and then carved out by the Liwu River.
It was interesting to learn about two indigenous tribes that once occupied the Taroko Gorge; the Atayal and Truki tribes. (Note: Information signs on the Shakadang Trail provide more details on this).
Useful information before you go
- Park opening hours: Taroko National park has no barriers and is open to the public at all times and days of the year.
- Visitor Centre opening hours: 08:30 – 17:00, closed every second Monday of each month.
- Cost: Entrance to the park is free.
- Check the weather: Conditions on Taiwan’s East Coast and especially in the Taroko National Park can be unpredictable. Check before you go.
- Busy times: Note, to avoid the high times and worst crowds, try not to visit the park on weekends or holidays if possible.
How to get to Taroko Gorge
Unless you are staying within the Taroko National Park, the closest major town and best place to stay is in Hualein.
From Taipei it is a thirty-minute flight to Hualein. A train from Taipei to Hualein takes around two and half hours (NT440) on the Puyuma or Taroko express or three hours on the Chu-Kuang express (NT340).
From Hualein it is a 40 minute drive to the park entrance, and there are several options of how best to visit Taroko Gorge.
- Car: Personally, I reckon exploring Taroko Gorge by car is the best way to do it. We hired a car through rentalcars.com with Avis Taiwan and picked it up in Kaohsiung down on the coast, and dropped it back in Hualein. (From there we got the train back to Taipei).
- Scooter: We saw quite a few people exploring Taroko Gorge by scooter. This seems to be a cheap and fuel-efficient way to get from Hualein to explore the gorge.
- Bus: By bus, the journey to and from Hualein takes about one hour. Buses leave every 1 – 1.5 hours from Hualein and Tianxiang (at the entrance to Taroko Gorge National Park). The earliest bus leaves Hualein at 6:30 am and the last bus from Tianxiang is at 5:00 pm.
For more information on the Taroko Shuttle Bus and Taroko Bus check the timetable here.
There are also many tours available. Ask your accommodation if you are interested in a tour of the park and gorge.
Exploring Taroko Gorge
The park is set up with main roads connecting the trails within the park and gorge. Entrance to the National Park is clear with a beautiful arched entrance way.
The only ‘town’ in the park is Tienhsiang which has an option for pre-booked accommodation and does have a 7/Eleven convenience store and toilets.
Elsewhere within the park it is easy to find your way around and the different walks are well signposted. While some guidebooks do suggest you could walk around within the park and make your way from trail to trail, I would advise against it. The roads within the park are extrememly narrow and winding, and in many places there is NO shoulder on the road. It is easy to get around by car and use the car parks provided at the trailheads for the main walks.
There are many walks available in the park offering a range of differing degrees of difficulty and length. The following details our three favourite walks in Taroko Gorge.
Shakadang Trail
- Trail length: 4.4 km
- Altitude: 60m
- Time needed: 2 -3 hours
- Difficulty: Easy
The Shakadang Trail is also known as Mysterious Valley Trail, which in itself just sounds exciting! This is one of the most popular walks in the park and so we *prioritized this as a must-do walk for our visit to Taroko Gorge.
The track is built along the river cliff winding alongside the river and beneath low hanging rock formations at parts. The trail itself is easy and a stunning scenic walk with crystal clear pools of sapphire coloured water.
Part way along the track passes through a Truku aboriginal village where locals sell snacks and crafts. (I recommend trying a local Truku sausage on a stick!).
*Note: The only downside to this prioritization of thoughts was that we were not alone in that! However, we left Hualein early in the morning and were one of the first on the trail.
Swallow’s Grotto (Yanzikou Trail)
- Trail length: 1.4 km
- Altitude: 275m
- Time needed: 20 – 30 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
Swallows Grotto is actually the incredibly well carved stretch of road through multiple tunnels. You can walk along the side of the road (on a narrow pedestrian shoulder) and peer over the sheer vertical drops down to the river far below. However, do take care as the road shoulder is narrow and the drops are huge!
Baiyang Waterfall Trail
- Trail length: 2.1 km (one way)
- Total distance: 4.2 km
- Route: Return via the same track
- Time needed: 1 – 1.5 hours
- Difficulty: Easy
This is one of the most popular short walks within the park so start early. The first part of the track starts out through a 380m long pedestrian tunnel which is unlit. This is what you need your torch or headlight for!
From there the path follows a cliff-side path along the river and features valleys, waterfalls, cliffs and a huge range of flora and fauna. There are several further tunnels to pass through along the trail.
Three points of interest on the trail
- Viewpoint: This is the spot for a first view of spectacular Baiyang Waterall.
- Suspension bridge: Nearby the first viewpoint to Baiyang Waterfall is a second observation deck that is reached by a suspension bridge. From here you can enjoy the impressive 200 metre waterfall.
- Water Curtain Cave: This is as exciting as it sounds! At the end of the trail you have the option to enter a cave with an enormous water curtain which is seriously impressive. Note: There is nowhere to store valuables or leave things you do not want to get wet, so it is worth considering a plan to go separately into the cave.
The start of Baiyang Trail begins near a vehicle semi-tunnel approximately 700m up the main road from Tianxiang.
Best time to visit Taroko Gorge
Taroko Gorge National Park is open and able to be visited at any time of year. However, it is worth nothing that during typhoon season which runs from May to September, certain trails or sections of the park may be closed for safety reasons.
The park enjoys mild temperatures year-round, but albeit the temperature drops as the elevation inside the park rises. Summer temperatures average 25 degrees Celcius with winter temperatures in the range of 12 to 16 degrees. Note: The park elevation ranges from 70m to 3,742m so it is worth bringing at least a light rain jacket regardless of what time of year you are visiting.
Visiting Taroko Gorge with kids
Taiwan on the whole turned out to be a very family friendly and easy Asian travel destination. And visiting Taroko Gorge with the kids was a highlight of our time in Taiwan! We spent two nights in Hualein and explored the Taroko National Park for two days. If you have the time and are visiting with kids then I would recommend allowing time to really enjoy it all.
There is a large range of walks within the park that make it ideal for visiting with kids.
And go early! By 10:00am the walking paths within the park begin to fill with large tour groups and parking spots are taken by huge buses. If you are planning to visit Taroko Gorge with kids then definitely plan to get there early.
What to bring
- Mosquito repellant
- Walking shoes
- Light rain jacket
- Water bottle
- Snacks
- Headlamp/torch
- Hat/cap
- Sunscreen/sunglasses
- Camera
Note: Be cautious of falling rocks on the trails. Park authorities provide hard hats free of charge. You can pull over and pick these up on entrance to the park. There are several options for places to pick up the hats.
Where we stayed near Taroko Gorge
Here are some low cost accommodation options for travel in Taiwan with kids. And note, we found the Cullinan Hotel in Hualein an ideal base to visit Taroko Gorge.
- Hualein: Cullinan Hotel [great breakfast; easy to find; nice clean and spacious room].
- Taipei: Chair Man Hotel [central location; 5 min walk from main train station; Taiwanese breakfast].
- Kenting: Ivan Garden BnB [basic but fine; cheap; empty when we were there; only ok with own car].
- Taimali: Amy Walker BnB [very friendly AirBnb host called Amy! Amazing breakfast].
More useful links for your travels in Taiwan and beyond…
These are the companies we use while traveling fulltime as a family and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation and it’s easy to filter and sort into price and availability with all the extras you are looking for personally. (We love their flexible cancellation policy!).
- Skyscanner– This is by far our favourite flight search engine. They are able to search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide– Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world including everything from walking tours, to street-food tours, cooking classes, desert safari’s and more!
- SafetyWing – A global travel insurance that covers people from all over the world while outside their home country. You can buy it short or longterm; and even if you are out of the country.
- World Nomads – Travel insurance tailored for longterm travel and nomads (including those who have already left home).
Read more about travel in East Asia
- The ultimate travel guide for Japan with kids.
- Fushimi Inari Shrine: Walking up Mount Inari.
- Taiwan with kids: A complete Travel Guide.
- Taiwanese food: The real deal traveling in Taiwan.
- Visiting Busan’s Jagalchi Market, South Korea.
- Hong Kong: Mount Davis (accidentally) and the Monster Building.
So what do you reckon? Are you planning a visit to Taroko Gorge or have you been?