Taiway Day 30: Taraoko Gorge and Hualien

Day Thirty

It is only 11:30pm right now but feeling sleepy as I'm typing this because Hui Chee and I woke up at 4:30am this morning to arrive in time for our 6:10am train to Hualien. We were lucky to ride the newest train from the Tze Chang line which got us to Hualien by 8:15am.

We joined a local tour agency in Hualien which offered a one day tour of Taraoko Gorge for NT1000 per person (agency contact below). There are supposedly shuttle buses in the national park but I didn't see any during our entire day there. It is not possible to walk to the main points of the park because there are no street lights so one must be out before dark. Most people opted to drive, ride a large tour bus or rent a private taxi, although I did see some motorbikes and bicycles as well.

Our tour guide picked us up from the Hualien train station and then four others in his van before setting off for the park. We stopped at a place called "Clear Water Cliff" on the way. The silhouettes were really beautiful.

Clear Water Cliff

Clear Water Cliff

Tour guide taking photo for our tour mates

Soon we were at the entrance to Taraoko National Park which is actually the arch in the background but the rock was created so tourists could take photos without standing in the middle of the road.

Entrance to Taraoko National Park

First stop inside Taraoko was this bridge which is made of marble and lions of different expressions. Hualien is known as the city of marble because the Taraoko area has a large deposit of marble. On the side of the bridge was the door to a trail along the mountain. We were given an hour to walk along there.

Marble bridge

Marble lion

Entrance to trail from the bridge

The trail itself was easy to walk because it was paved nicely although it might be a bit cramped for those nearing 6 feet tall because the rock roof overhead isn't that high.

Walk along the trail

It started raining as we approached our next stop which was this Eternal Life Temple situated on top of a waterfall. We took a 10 minute walk along the mountain to reach the temple and it felt so nice to stand on the bridge that covers the waterfall.

Eternal Life Temple

Entrance of the walk to the temple

Top of the waterfall

This next place was my favourite stop at Taraoko: Swallow Grotto Trail. Free helmets are provided for tourists because there is the danger of rocks falling overhead but we didn't use them because we  took the cave route.

Swallow Grotto Trail

Cave trail

Parent putting on helmet for child

On this trail I was able to see swallows fly in front of me and the depth of the mountains up close. The only problem with this trail was that it was filled with tourists so one could not enjoy the vastness of nature in peace.

Swallow Grotto Trail

Lunch was included in the tour which we had the Buluoge area visitor centre. Originally we were going to eat at the first train station stop in Taraoko but the road there was closed for maintenance.

Buluoge Visitor Centre

Lunch!

Back in Hualien, we went to this dried squid museum which had many tasters for us to try! It is located next to the seaside and by Hualien's airforce base but we didn't go to the seaside since it was raining heavily.

The tour ended at 4:00pm at the Hualien Train Station. On our way back to Taipei, we stopped briefly at Luodong to see what the nightmarket was all about. I read online that it is really big but when we were there it was relatively uncrowded and it didn't seem to be that special. I can find the same food sold in Taipei's nightmarkets without having to make a trip out to Luodong.

Luodong

It is possible to do a one day trip to Hualien, see Taraoko National Park and make it back to Taipei by the evening without taking a plane like many tour agencies promote! The train is very convenient and you can return to Taipei within 2 to 4 hours depending on the train you pay for.

Despite the rain, I'm glad I got to see such a beautiful side of Taiwan.

Take care,

Tour Agency Contact
Taiwan phone number: 0972501921
Note: I do not have the exact name of the agency because it was recommended by a relative of a friend. But their company was affiliated with a 5 star hotel in Hualien to bring the hotel guests on tours so they are credible.