Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) Day 2

Click here for Day One at Taroko National Park.

Day Two:

We started the day back at the entrance of the park, first stopping at the tourist center (national parks in Taiwan have wonderful tourist centers with friendly, informative staff, clean restrooms, and free water refill machines). First up for the day was Shakadang Trail. Unfortunely we soon realized that this is also the first trail of the day for the tour buses (why they all seem to travel together, I don't know... maybe so as not to punish the other visitors), so the start of the trail was packed with people taking selfies. It's a 4.5km trail cut into a mountain and following a river - a level, easy path leading to 3D Cabin... except that it was closed about a kilometer and a half in! Neither the park's website, maps, visitor center, or even the trailhead mentioned this!!! Unfortunately there were a few makeshift stands selling sausages and jewelry causing people to linger in the area, otherwise we would have crossed the barricade and seen how far we could go. (Signs noting fines and hotlines to call if you saw people crossing were what made us care that people would see us.)

cut into the mountain, Shakadang Trail

the relatively easy but pleasant Shakadang Trail

trail closed ahead, Shakadang Trail

Continuing on, we drove our motor scooter back up the gorge's road passing many of the places we visited yesterday and headed to Lushui Trail, which is a short trail overlooking the the road as well as the Liwu River below. There are more tunnels, so again a flashlight is extremely useful. (This time actually I remembered my headlamp, as yesterday we had to use our phones for light.) Being so close to the road there is surprisingly nice landscape and we did mange to see one wild monkey hanging out in a tree staring at us. It's a level, 2km walk. There are also numerous signs warning of falling rocks, and if you don't believe the signs, there are more than enough fallen rocks on the trail and dented fence bars to given them merit.

Beware of Rockfalls, Lushui Trail

Lushui Trail

view of Liwu River from Lushui Trail

Still having time left in the day because Shakadang Trail was closed, we headed further up the road to check out Lianhua Pond Trail. This wasn't on our itinerary but it turned out to be more than worthwhile, if not one of the more scary trails I've ever done. The trail to the village beyond (Meiyuan Zhucun agricultural road) was closed due to landslide damage(?), but the detour to the pond was still open. [I believe they are both open now.] The trail is high above the river and the sheer straight drop down is vertigo inducing. The first suspension bridge is insanely high and about two-thirds of the way across we realized that at one point it broke (or was about to break) and has since been haphazardly fixed with a mixture of wooden planks and plastic plumbing pipes. I usually don't mind heights but crossing that makeshift fix-up was mentally difficult. I've crossed a lot of suspension bridges in this country but this was the highest and the only one I've actually felt afraid on.

seriously damaged with scary sheer straight drops down, Lianhua Pond Trail

the last third of it improvised, Jiumei Suspension Bridge

and then we realized the bridge was broken, Jiumei Suspension Bridge

After the deathly-high suspension bridge we crossed a number of landslide areas that tested our guts, and should be avoided by most people. The trail has been wiped out in two or three places (I'm forgetting now), but people still continue to cross. One false move or slip of the foot and we would have slide down to our deaths. I felt like the worst part was knowing that every tricky pass we did had to be retraced to get back to our motor scooter on the main road. All the tourists we saw at the beginning of the day were nowhere to be seen. We only saw two other Taiwanese couples hiking here. There was also an older man, who effortlessly crossed one of the landslide-destroyed bits (he had plastic toys poking out from his backpack and was likely a villager heading home along the closed path beyond).

To add to the tension, there were numerous rocks (ranging from small rocks to large boulders on the path that had clearly fallen from above. Neither of us had brought our scooter helmets this time, and though we joked about wearing them yesterday, today they were looking potentially useful. However, we could also see massive dents on the bars along the path's edge that implied helmets wouldn't do squat to save us if the right rock decided to fall. It was a thriller of a trail, but I admit that both my friend and I felt seriously uneasy.

After we crossed the second bridge and began the ascent up to the pond, it started to drizzle. We still had to return back across those landslide areas and if the trail became wet, we worried that they would become impassable. So we debated for awhile about whether to return or continue on, hoping the rain wouldn't worsen. Guessing that the pond would be underwhelming and that we had already seen what this ascent had to offer in terms of scenery, we eventually turned around and started heading back. Actually, crossing those scary parts was a lot easier the second time around, and I felt a bit foolish for being so scared the first time. Also, I insisted on going first this time, as I think watching my somewhat clumsy friend cross them had freaked me out more than if I had just done them without seeing him first.

dented and missing barricades due to falling rocks, Lianhua Pond Trail

the much safer, second bridge, Jiumei Bridge

We reached our motor scooter safely, and decided to head further up the road, which my friend had driven before years ago when crossing the island by motorcycle. It was still drizzling, but not enough to warrant us heading back just yet. As the road continues on, the elevation continues upward and the weather gets colder and colder. Soon we were in either a deep fog or the clouds, in this weather it was hard to tell one from the other. At this point I was hugging my friend tightly for both warmth and protection against the increasing hard, cold pellets of rain. We continued driving for maybe forty-five minutes, not reaching as high as he wanted to show me, but it was so foggy that there wasn't much of a view, not to mention that I couldn't see anything through my helmet's rain-and-fogged-out visor. Plus, I was shivering uncontrollably with cold.

Not long after we had turned around we heard a loud thump on the road behind us. I didn't feel safe enough to turn around, but I immediately knew it was a falling rock hitting the road. My friend caught a glimpse of it in the scooter's mirror, and rather skittishly said that that was not something he wanted to see. I didn't inquire further, and neither of us were interested in turning around to check it out. Freezing, wet, and uncomfortable, we were both very ready to leave.

As we descended back down the rain slowed until it finally stopped, and the temperature became bearable again. We passed all the trails we had done in the past two days, as well as all the parked tour buses in front of Eternal Spring Shine, right on time for whatever there is or isn't to see in the early evening / late afternoon. After we passed through the main entrance to the national park, we stopped at 7-Eleven to rest and warm up with some soup and hot chocolate. Since it wasn't raining anymore, my friend let me drive the hour back to the hostel (I don't have a license and this was only my second time riding a scooter in traffic... Taiwan traffic at that). I managed not to kill us, though I had trouble keeping the scooter balanced when stopping at a couple of the stoplights. I blame my friend's weight for throwing off me off, and not my mad scooter skills.


For more information visit Taroko National Park's very informative website.
*** Check their website for trail opening and closures as they often change. ***

Two days is more than enough time to explore Taroko Gorge's basic offerings, though there are a couple amazing trails that require permits in advance, but those are better saved for special trips out and not first-time visits. River tracing is also popular during certain seasons.

Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) Day 1

Cimu Bridge

Two years into living in Taipei I finally went to visit Taiwan's most famous geological wonder, Taroko Gorge (太魯閣). With peaks as high as 3,000 meters, this long, narrow gorge is a popular destination for local Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese alike. However the thought of visiting on a crowded weekend with tour buses shooting up and down the Central Cross-Island Highway, which runs through the gorge, was enough to keep me delaying my visit. But through a last minute argument on what to do for the weekend, I managed to score train tickets on a Thursday night for the upcoming weekend (it's definitely better to get tickets much further in advance as weekend trains from Taipei to Hualien usually sell out).

We took an early Saturday morning train from Taipei Main Station, arriving in Hualien (花蓮) around two hours later. The street just outside the train station is lined with scooter rental shops and we asked about the prices at a couple while we made our way to Formosa Backpackers Hostel, which I had booked in advanced. The hostel seemed to be recently renovated with freshly painted walls and a mixture of traditional Taiwanese furnishings and new Ikea furnishings making up the more hostel-related stuff (bedding, lamps, etc.). For an added bit of warmth for a bookworm, they had a large library on the first floor, as well as numerous other books spread about the hostel's various floors and rooms in Chinese, English, and other languages. Our double-bed room was simple and comfortable, and the shared bathroom was clean.

The girl who runs the place keeps watch at the bar downstairs, speaks English well and is helpful with any questions. We rented a scooter through them since it was the same price as the places by the train station, and after filling out the paperwork we waited for it to be dropped off (another perk).

The drive from Hualien to the gorge is about an hour. I definitely recommend renting a scooter over using the buses, since the gorge consists of a long road (one could ride for hours) with scenic spots and short trails dispersed along the way. Walking between these places is not possible and waiting for buses, which didn't seem to run very often at all, would be a hassle. Most people seem to visit the gorge in tour bus groups with their flag waving, mic carrying guides, which I would never recommend. (These groups were also older people and always Chinese-speaking, so not really an option for foreigners anyway.) We also went in January, which in retrospect was off season and a good choice. The hostel was cheaper and the gorge was wonderfully void of the traffic and masses I was anticipating. The only issue is it gets surprisingly cold the further up you go, especially on a scooter, so dress accordingly.

Map of Taroko National Park

Day One:

We started at the much photographed Eternal Spring Shrine. The shrine itself is quite small and is more remarkable from a distance against the backdrop for the gorges' massive walls than to walk through. DO NOT come here around 4p.m. as this is when ALL the tourist buses stop here. (For sunset? I don't know, because it was so overcast we never saw the sun, and the walls of the gorge don't really make that sound reasonable.) Being relatively close to the mouth of the gorge and the park's entrance they create a huge traffic jam, though with a scooter you can weave between the cars and buses to manage a reasonable escape.

(Changchun) Eternal Spring Shrine

Next we drove to Swallow Grotto, named for the birds that make their homes in the rock walls. We parked our scooter and walked the short walkway along the road. We kept our helmets on in case of falling rocks (actually more to keep in fashion with the other walkers than for actual fear of falling rocks, not that helmets aren't recommended).

Yanzikou (Swallow Grotto)

Yanzikou (Swallow Grotto)

We tried to visit the Tunnel of Nine Turns (Jiuqudong) next but it was under construction at the time, so we made our way to Tianxiang, which turned out to be an uneventful parking lot with a few small restaurants and souvenir shops. It mostly attracts people for the nearby picturesque Xingde Temple, which rests higher up the mountain. There's a trail up to reach the temple, but we decided to admire it from below, preferring to make our way to the next place since we were a little worried about both time and weather.

Xiangde Temple

Not too far from Tianxiang is the delightful Baiyang Trail. BRING A FLASHLIGHT and come prepared to get wet. The start of the trail is through a 380m, slightly leaky, pitch dark, cement tunnel. Navigating the darkness is both slightly eerie and slightly exciting. After the tunnel, the trail follows along the side of a mountain, looking down to the river below. There are a few more rock tunnels until you come to an open area to the left, and the way to Water Curtain Cave on your right (everything is well sign posted).

Baiyang Trail

entrance to the second tunnel, Baiyang Trail

more caves and tunnels, Baiyang Trail

view of the trail from a lookout point, Baiyang Trail

Water Curtain Cave is completely dark with spring water from the roof of the cave continuously leaking down (also threatening the cave to eventually collapse). Bring a cheap 7-Eleven poncho (or use one of the abandoned ones at the entrance to the cave, as we did) and/or an umbrella. Most of the cave floor is too rocky and deep in water to safely traverse in the dark, but there is a narrow path along one edge just wide enough for one person. It's a really magnificent, otherworldly, and slightly scary walk through the tunnel and on to the other side. There's a second cave after that but it's closed off to visitors because it's too dangerous (of course I tried to enter it anyway, and yes, it actually is too dangerous). Round trip, the trail is about 4km long.

Water Curtain Cave, Baiyan Trail

Winter days being shorter, we started to make our way back to Hualien. There's a popular night market in the city but we skipped it, my friend loathing night markets and me having had more than my fill in this country (really, they're all the same, only some more local, while others more touristy in goods). Instead we asked at the hostel and found a nice vegetarian restaurant just up the road called Greenland (143 JianGuo Road).

Click here for Day Two at Taroko National Park.

For more information visit Taroko National Park's very informative website.

Making pineapple cakes, Battleship Rock Trail, and Beitou Hot Spring

Earlier this week my Mandarin language class went on a field trip to Kuo Yuan Ye (郭元益), renowned (if not touristy) for making traditional Taiwanese pastries. There we made pineapple cakes (鳳梨酥), Taiwan's most famous tourist commodity and a common gift given to people as a souvenir. (I know I've given away a lot of them.) These deliciously dense, chewy, bite-sized cakes are traditionally filled with pineapple preserve but numerous variations exist. I've likely tried a dozen different famous brands, with Chia Te and Sunny Hills probably being the most famous (I prefer the latter).

They were fun and simple enough to make, mixing sugar, butter, eggs, and flour together to make a dough that was then flattened and wrapped around of dense cube of pineapple goodness. They are usually marked with elaborate Chinese characters (saying what, I don't know, maybe just that company's stamp). For ease, most of my classmates just put their initial to distinguish theirs from the rest, while I tried writing my Chinese surname on one, putting disgruntled faces on the rest (bottom right corner of the baking sheet). They came out pretty good though far from the best I've ever had. And of course we had to individually wrap and package each cake, box them, wrap the box, and bag it, because all gifted foods are extravagantly packaged in eco- unfriendly, single servings. (It bothers me more getting a box of cookies, anywhere from five to fifty-plus, all individually wrapped, though having to unwrap each cookie does impede binge eating.)

Making pineapple cakes - before and after being baked

Since Kuo Yuan Ye is near Shilin (士林) Station, I took advantage of being up north on the MRT's red line to do a short hike that I had been putting off (too short of a trail to want to use up a day on the weekend but too far off from where I live to do on a shorter work day). The trail starts inside the architecturally unremarkable Yang Ming University (國立陽明大學) near Shipai (石牌) Station, gently climbing up steps to give excellent views of northern Taipei.

The first part of the trail is gentle upward stairs

Taipei is most always hazy but the view is still worthwhile

View further north toward Tamsui and Yangmingshan National Park

Within less than an hour's walk from the MRT station, I reached the trail's eponymous Battleship Rock (軍艦岩), a large area of bare, smooth rock surface at the peak, commanding excellent views. I didn't have the patience to wait for some women to finish their one-hundred-and-one selfies to actually summit the rock peak itself, but it was still a large enough area to enjoy.

Further down is a small, typical recreation area with its plastic stools, foam puzzle-piece flooring, and sun-bleached canopies, as well as some typical mountain-side exercise equipment (half-buried tires for back bends, bars for stretching and pull-ups, dusty hula hoops, etc.). I enjoy seeing these places because I find them very Taiwanese, also appreciating the strong sense of community and activity that elderly people have here.

Battleship Rock (軍艦岩)

A nearby community's recreation area

After another thirty minutes or so of gentle hiking, I arrived at Lovers' Temple (情人廟), a small but peculiar temple (in the sense that it doesn't look like other temples in Taiwan) seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Except for one nun wearing headphones while sweeping the bathroom area, I didn't see a single other soul. (I wondered what she could be listening to, Buddhist chants or Bruno Mars?)

 Lovers' Temple (情人廟)

 Lovers' Temple (情人廟)

 Lovers' Temple (情人廟)

 Lovers' Temple (情人廟)

 Lovers' Temple (情人廟)

After the temple the trail continues toward Beitou (北投), an area famous for its hot springs. Before arriving though, I came upon a strange, massive rock that appeared to be the site of an abandoned temple or worshiping area. Windows were carved(?) into two of the rocks to make small offering areas. There were ropes to climb up the one rock, but it didn't look like the top would yield much of a view. After trying to hoist my short legs up the first bit I decided not to bother and continued on, walking through an abandoned housing area (gates that no longer lead to residences, cracked window glass revealing long abandoned hot spring pools, etc.) before reaching Beitou proper.

A window with candles and offerings

Outskirts of Beitou

Arriving in Beitou, I went to visit Thermal Valley first, a large depression formed by a volcanic eruption, steaming with 90°C (194°F), sulfur-smelling hot spring water. After enjoying Taiwan's hot spring culture for two years now, the smell of sulfur triggers in me a desire to take off my clothes and soak in a bath with old people.

I continued on to Beitou's outdoor public hot spring. For a mere 40NT (about 1.30US), I can soak in three different hot spring pools, ranging from hot (38°C) to slightly uncomfortable (41°C) to oh-my-god-it's-cooking-my-insides (45°C). There are also two cold pools, that can knock the wind out of you, but are especially great in the summer. Everyone has their own routines, and I especially enjoy the people watching at public hot springs like this one. Men in their 70s will soak in the hottest pool, their skin turned a deep red color from the heat, and then drop down and do a series of push-ups. Elderly ladies will huddle in the corner of the medium heat pool with small towels on their heads, chatting and gossiping. I usually soak in the middle pool for ten minutes, then the cold pool for five minutes, then the hot pool, then the cold pool, etc. Make sure you drink lots of water, as it's easy to get light-headed from the heat. There are changing/shower stalls, and make sure you shower (or at least rinse) in one before entering the pools (for sanitary reasons). If you don't a guard will blow his whistle and gesture you to do so (there are signs posting hot spring etiquette with English, but also if you don't know what do to, just watch what everyone else is doing). There are also lockers for 10NT, which I used the first time I came here, but it's Taiwan, so they're really unnecessary as no one would think to steal your things.

From the hot spring it's a short walk to Xinbeitou MRT Station and back home.

Hell's Valley (地熱谷)

Beitou Public Outdoor Hot Spring... I'm going to miss this place a lot

For more photos of this trip, click here.

Lion's Head Mountain (獅頭山)

Quanhua Temple

Originally I was going to do this hike the day before, but slept through the two alarms I set. Today however I was going with a friend, so even if I couldn't fall asleep until three in the morning, I had to wake up on time. We took the 7:16am local train from Banqiao Station to Zhubei in Hsinchu County. The timetables (in English!) on the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) website make travel planning around the island easy enough, and the trains are incredibly punctual. The train was mostly empty so we were able to find seats for the little over an hour ride, chat and watch the uneventful scenery pass by. From Zhubei Station, after some searching, we found the bus stop for the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle. There we stood around talking about (among other things) the differences between  馬馬虎虎, 不錯, and 爛, comparing what our Mandarin teachers have taught us versus what other Taiwanese people have said. We both started studying about four months ago with different teachers, so often we compare notes and the awkward language-related interactions we've had with people.

Soon enough the bus arrived and we continued our journey for another hour and a half to Shitoushan (獅頭山), or Lion's Head Mountain. The shuttles are a great addition to Taiwan's ramping up of its tourist industry in the past few years, even if it's most all local Taiwanese people that use them. These inexpensive buses (often times more economical and far reaching than public buses) run directly from various train stations throughout the island to popular tourist destinations (historic areas, monuments, mountains, lakes, national parks, etc.). For day passes I've paid as little as 50NT and as much as 150NT (US$5).

Lion's Head Mountain Trailhead

From the Lion's Head Mountain Visitor Center, which we couldn't find as odd as that sounds, we took another shuttle to Quanhua Temple, which dropped us off in the parking lot below it. We climbed up the stairs to the temple, along with a number of locals and in a few minutes we were in awe of both the temple complex and the view. Early February is also the beginning of cherry blossom season, so our timing, despite the overcast weather for the day, seemed well suited. There are modest accommodations for local and foreign guests to stay overnight at the temple, which I debated doing when I originally planned the trip, as well as simple vegetarian meals available on the lower level, but we continued onward.

stairs up to Quanhua Temple 

Quanhua Temple

cherry blossom season at Quanhua Temple

Quanhua Temple

Quanhua Temple

overcast view from Quannhua Temple

view of neighboring temple from Quanhua Temple

Quanhua Temple

Along with Quanhua Temple, by far the biggest in the area, there are also numerous smaller temples along the mountain. I came here in anticipation of going on a three-to-four hour hike, more so than a temple tour, but the paths between temples were uneventful and the majority of the walking we did was along a small rural road between the lion's so-called head and tail areas. Still, the magnificent temples and views at the beginning of the walk, and the natural caves and gorge at the end made the nearly six hours of travel worth the less than three hours we spent there.

trail between temples

Kaishan Temple area

trail along cliff face

Taiwanese hikers, well Taiwanese people general, like to eat and eat often. As usual, there were numerous rest areas along the trail with small stone tables and chairs or covered pavilions where people would be congregated, relaxing. I'm always impressed with the spread of food that locals bring with them on hikes as I sadly nosh on some packed fruit or bread-like products (though this time I had Cliff Bars from my recent trip back to the States). Hiking, like many activities in Taiwan, tends to be a social experience and it's not uncommon for me to get a peculiar look when a group asks me if I'm by myself. Actually I prefer the solitude because being away from the city gives me the time and space to play with my camera and mull over my own thoughts.

roadside picnic

Lion's Head Trail

Without realizing it, we ended up back by the Lion's Head Mountain Visitor Center, where the first shuttle bus dropped us off. Again, we couldn't find the visitor's center (not that I was searching that hard at this point as the maps were no longer of importance to us). I misread my hiking book, so finding the Shuilian Trail took a little while and some unnecessary backtracking, but we found it soon enough. Though it's a short trail, there are some impressive natural caves and a small gorge that is nevertheless stunning to look down upon. (I'm hydrophobic so any body of water that makes me want to go swimming has to be amazing.) At the end is Shuilian Cave (水簾洞), or Water Curtain Cave, which has a temple built into it. Behind steamy panes of glass are three Buddhas (they may have been other gods or goddess as it was hard to see) that were a peculiar, yet familiar shade of yellow. We jested that these butter-colored Buddhas were actually statues made of butter encased in a giant glass refrigerator that once a year would be cracked open for some sort of elaborate Buddha butter festival, 很奇怪.

Sticky Rice Bridge on the Shuilian Bridge Trail

Shuilian Bridge Trail

A Thread of Sky (一線天), Shuilian Bridge Trail

Shuilian Bridge Trail

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We both passed out on the bus ride back to Zhubei Station, as I knew it would be unlikely that we'd get seats on the train. Heading back to Taipei, periodically we would be able to sit down, but then an elderly couple would get on and we'd yield our seats to them. Most places have common courtesy policies on public transportation but I've never seen it so well observed as here. Craving shaved ice, we stopped at Shilin Night Market for some fried snack foods and dessert (yummy matcha flavored shaved ice topped with red beans). I've lived in Taipei for nearly a year now and have managed to avoid this place (the tourist night market in Taipei), so I was rather unimpressed with it at this point, having been to most all of the other popular ones already. The only thing comical was that the vendors on carts were on high alert that night (maybe they didn't have licenses and the police were out?). Seemingly randomly (even when in the midst of cooking up someone's order) they would all pack up in unison and roll their carts away, pushing through the dense crowds at an alarming speed. People were pushing one another to scurry out of the way, and I almost got taken out by a scarf vendor who showed little mercy to the hordes. After a few minutes, they would open back up, only to do the same routine again later.