In November 2016, my partner and I traveled to Taiwan. One of the reasons we decided on Taiwan, apart from the fact that neither of us had been before, was because we had read an amazing account of a hiking and mountain bike adventure in Taroko Gorge.
Taroko Gorge is in the Taroko National Park on the east coast of Taiwan. The mountains are incredible, spoiled only by a massive concrete factory at the foot of the mountains. The limestone and marble is quarried for concrete and jade.
Before we traveled to Taiwan we had researched and planned to stay at Taroko Lodge, a home stay set at the foot of the Taroko mountain range. This modest accommodation is run by Rihang and his family. Rihang purchased National Park passes for us and assured us that he would be at the train station to pick us up when we arrived.
True to his word, a white van was waiting at Xincheng station, and we were greeted warmly by Rihang. Rihang spoke some English and his son, who we met later, also spoke quite good English.
We stopped at the 7-Eleven for supplies and then settled ourselves into our accommodation. Taroko Lodge is the front part of the family home. The sleeping arrangements were very comfortable, with our own bathroom, and a shared living area.
The only other guests at the time were a group of Americans who were leaving the same day as us. We had access to bikes the whole time so we could cycle into the town for snacks or meals.
The first morning, following a delicious home-cooked breakfast on the veranda, we were piled into Rihang’s van with our bikes and transported to the top of the Taroko Gorge access road. Rihang let us out with a few words of warning about the tunnels we had passed through on the way up.
We strapped on our helmets and waved goodbye to our host with some trepidation. We had a brief discussion about the tunnels which were numerous and completely dark and the fact that we had no lights on our bikes! Too late now, we were at the top and the only way was down.
Luckily there didn’t appear to be a lot of traffic on the roads, that was until we saw the stream of tourist buses making their way up the winding road. Tourist buses that I wouldn’t like to meet in a pitch-black tunnel with no light! We watched them approach and started our descent. Once the last tourist bus had reached the top and the crowd of local and Chinese tourists had disembarked for their obligatory selfies and group shots, we decided it was time to go.
The initial part of the descent was fine. We stopped along the way to take photos and to take in the incredible views. Our first tunnel was one of the shorter ones and there was light at the end so it was easy to navigate. “We’ve got this!” we thought.
The next tunnel was one of the super long ones, no light at the end of this one. There came a point where we were literally plunged into pitch black. Fumbling for phone torches while avoiding potholes. A huge sigh of relief when we reached the other end and had not been taken out by a tourist bus or fallen off. We lost count of the tunnels and needless to say we got to the end without further incident. Rihang’s white van was a welcome sight!
Gauging from the loose health and safety precautions of the previous day, we prepared for our upcoming hike on the Zhuilu Trail with some caution. The region had experienced an earthquake in the months leading up to our visit and we were informed that parts of the trail were unstable. The ranger let us onto the trail through a locked gate and checked our permits. Apparently, they only allow a limited number of people on the trail per day. The signs warn of not attempting the climb if you have a fear of heights or a heart condition. Venomous snakes and falling rocks are also something to look out for. None of this deterred us but we proceeded with caution, nonetheless.
A suspension bridge that spans the entire gorge is at the beginning of the trail. We were two of maybe 5 other people hiking that day. Breathtaking and exhilarating are the only words I can use to describe our adventure. The trails were used by the indigenous inhabitants of this region for centuries before our arrival and later by Japanese forces in their bid to control the area. Towards the top of the climb the trail becomes a very narrow ledge of around 1m in width and there was nothing but a steel cable to hold onto and a 700m drop. There was only one-way traffic on this stretch of the path.
We had a clear day, so the view was phenomenal. Such experiences do not come along very often. If the thought of the Zhuilu Trail is enough to give you vertigo, there are plenty of places to hike or take in the view without balancing on a ledge.
That night we had a lovely meal at a local restaurant with our fellow travellers from America. It was the eve of the US election results in 2016 and they were certain that Trump would not be elected. They left early the following morning before we knew what the result was. I often think about them and how disappointed they must have been.
The final morning was spent exploring the small village and venturing onto the deserted, rocky beach. Rihang took us back to the train station and we said farewell to our lovely host before heading back to Taipei.
If you haven’t read the full account of our trip to Taiwan. https://www.xyzasia.com/home/first-time-taiwan-hiking-biking-train-trips
