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Darwin on the rocks
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AsiaEastern TaiwanTaiwan

Road trip in Taiwan – 2 days in Taroko National park (part 2)

March 18, 2016 62 Comments

Last November, we went to Taiwan for two weeks and we did a road trip around the island and it was fabulous ! The weather, the people.. and the food, oh the food…. it was just amazing ! We landed in Taipei and we started to drive clockwise around the island. Previous parts can be found here : Taiwan 

We started our second day of exploration at Taroko National park by doing the Swallow Grotto Trail.

Taroko_National_Park_Map

It is not a very long walk (it will take you approximatively 30 minutes to complete) but in order to do it safely, you are supposed to pick up a helmet when you enter in the park. We tried to find the place (several times) and we were unsuccessful. We still visited the place, hoping nothing would hit our heads. The views of the deep and narrow marble canyon were really dramatic, with the potholes on the the cliff faces and the Liwu River flowing at its centre. The name “Swallow Grotto” comes from the swallows that nest in these potholes but we didn’t spot any flying around.

Swallow Grotto Trail

Swallow Grotto Trail
Swallow Grotto Trail

A bit further away, there was The Tunnel of the Nine Turns. It was closed due to the risk of falling rocks so it wasn’t possible to visit it. We stopped briefly at Cimu bridge nearby to enjoy the views. The rock beneath the bridge looks like a frog but you really need a lot of imagination to see it 😀 A pavilion was built on this frog rock, representing the crown on the frog and I think it was really cute !

Cimu bridge
Cimu bridge

We also visited The Zhuilu Old Road and the famous suspended bridge and it was awesome. It was definitively my favourite part of the park basically because no one was there. It was a recommendation from the lady at the guesthouse. She qualified it as a “hidden spot” and she was right ! Hiking permit is required in advance so if you wish to do the trail completely better to book the permit in advance !

The Zhuilu Old Road
The Zhuilu Old Road

Tianxiang was our next destination where the Dasha River and Tacijili River converge to become the famous Liwu River. It’s possible to visit the graceful pagoda and the Xiangde temple. This temple is surrounded by mountains and the views are known to be gorgeous but we could’t get access to it that day… the trail was closed.

Tianxiang
Tianxiang

Tianxiang

The food over there didn’t seem too appealing so we decided to drive to Buluowan instead, a terrace that was formerly inhabited by the Taroko tribe. It is now a service station where you can buy food and visit a museum about the Taroko Tribe. It was very interesting to see the film and learn about this tribe !

Buluowan
Buluowan

Our last stop was The eternal spring shrine ! The shrine was inspired by the famous Tang Dynasty temple and the “Changchun Falls” made this place very iconic. There is a trail behind the temple to be able to climb to the Changuang Temple. The hiking trail was closed but we managed to take the road with the car (very steep) and visit it afterwards.

As you can see, we were quite unfortunate and most of the trails were closed during our visit, but we still enjoyed the park very much !

The eternal spring shrine

End of afternoon, we decided to drive to Hualien to buy some souvenirs and tasted the local food (we bought some taro balls and peanuts coated deserts, cured meat as well as some Taroko liquor). I had a nice papaya milk, tasted some delicious dumpling and we ended up in the night market and sampled even more food !

IMG_3944
IMG_3942

 

 

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62 Comments

  1. cattan2011 Reply
    April 2, 2016 at 10:41 am

    woo what a gorgeous place to go – I had missed this place twice and will have to go back and visit this amazing place. Thanks for sharing Ginny and awesome photos. Love it…

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      May 6, 2016 at 4:59 pm

      A lot of paths are closed but they may reopen in a few months.. you never know when you visit taiwan. Toroko is always hit when there is a Typhoon coming from the East 🙁

      • cattan2011 Reply
        May 8, 2016 at 3:37 pm

        Yes! it is so sad that both times I had missed this gorgeous place.

  2. lesouffleurdemots Reply
    March 30, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    Magique magique! Très belles photos. Belle soirée à toi

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 30, 2016 at 7:51 pm

      Merci Vivien ! J’étais un peu fort occupée ces derniers temps et en vadrouille en Italie. Je viendrai te rendre visite sur ton blog très bientôt 🙂

      • lesouffleurdemots Reply
        March 30, 2016 at 7:56 pm

        Yeah pas de soucis miss! Avec plaisir!

  3. Ellada Valerie Reply
    March 28, 2016 at 9:47 am

    Wow !!!! It is a another world there, so beautiful !!!!!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:49 pm

      Taiwan is truly incredible and really underrated. This is a magical place !

  4. Chillbrook Reply
    March 26, 2016 at 8:02 pm

    Smashing post Gin!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:48 pm

      Thank you !

  5. Awa on the Road Reply
    March 22, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Beautiful photos of wild nature.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:45 pm

      The nature at its best… 🙂

  6. anotherday2paradise Reply
    March 21, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    Great photo gallery. What wonderful scenery.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:43 pm

      The East coast of Taiwan is very picturesque 🙂

  7. albinsson Reply
    March 21, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    many find pictures! Hanging looked nice out or not! 😱

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      Thank you !

  8. rosemaylily2014 Reply
    March 21, 2016 at 7:28 am

    Dramatic photos Gin! Sorry most of the trails were closed but looks like you managed to see quite a lot despite the problems with the paths! 🙂

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      We made the most of it for sure ! 🙂

  9. twobrownfeet Reply
    March 21, 2016 at 4:56 am

    Can’t get over the scenery. We’ve got one more country to add to our bucket list. 🙂

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:40 pm

      We really enjoyed ourselves immensely. We loved the culture and the food. Also, the nature is really amazing over there. The East was my favourite part !

  10. inesephoto Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 9:21 pm

    What a fabulous trip! Your photography always stunning.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:39 pm

      Thank you for the nice comment !

  11. LaBicycletteAmbulante Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    One of my favorite place in Taiwan ! You should also visit Maolin Park 🙂

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:39 pm

      Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to stop in Maolin District during that trip. But it’s a place I would have loved to visit !

  12. Dancing With Shadows Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Oooh! I want to go there. Your photos are lovely!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:37 pm

      I hope you will visit Taiwan soon ! It’s really a wonderful destination

  13. joylovestravel Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 9:46 am

    Shame about the trails that you didn’t get to hike but the pictures are amazing despite all that. It just looks more gorgeous in every post – the mountains and gorges are stunning.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:37 pm

      It’s nature and there is nothing we can do about it. This park is the first line of defence against the typhoons coming from the East and the paths are damaged all the time. It’s something you have to accept if you wish to visit the place : trails can be closed. It’s a shame though, I would have loved to explore everything :p

  14. greytabby1 Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 12:37 am

    Your photos of Taiwan are absolutely beautiful! The rivers, the beautiful Swallow Grotto and the amazing suspension bridge are spectacular! The food looked delicious too! Thank you for sharing this amazing trip!
    – Kate

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:35 pm

      I’m glad you are enjoying this virtual trip to Taroko as much as I did. It was a beautiful place, where nature is still in control.

  15. jebusandandrea Reply
    March 20, 2016 at 12:00 am

    Stunning country. The food looks good. Great way to end the day.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:34 pm

      We’ve never been disappointed with the food when we were there ! 🙂

  16. mytravelmonkey Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    What amazing scenery… I love the bridges and the rivers. It’s not how I imagined Taiwan to look like – I’m not sure why!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:34 pm

      I can totally relate. It’s difficult to have a precise idea of what taiwan looks like because we don’t talk much about it. All we know about it are the toys or clothes “made in taiwan”

  17. christianekraft Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Grandiose ce trip ! ça devait être génial !!!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:32 pm

      C’était vraiment incroyable, j’en garde un très bon souvenir 🙂

  18. pagedogs Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 11:50 am

    What a beautiful place. I didn’t realize Taiwan had such rocky terrain. I love red bridges, the color turns them into artwork.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:31 pm

      There are so many mountains in Taiwan ! I also didn’t thought it was that rugged and mountainous before going there. The red bridges really pop in the landscape, it’s always very iconic !

  19. Mabel Kwong Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 10:21 am

    Such beautiful scenery of Taroko National Park. Very elegant suspension bridges too. Awww, you didn’t go in with a helmet? And nothing happened to you 😀 Amazing to see how so much nature surrounds the historical temples to this day. Must be a peaceful atmosphere all round.

    I love peanut coated desserts! I hope they were delicious 😀

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:29 pm

      We couldn’t find the damn helmets 😉 I ate the last bit of my peanuts desserts a few weeks ago.. and my last taro cake. I miss the taiwanese food so much ! :p

  20. Jane Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 7:34 am

    I can imagine how much you enjoyed the deserted walks. It’s wonderful to enjoy the beautiful surroundings without crowds. I’m not a fan of walking on suspension bridges due to a childhood incident but I still get impressed by looking at how they are made. What an amazing trip you had. Thanks for sharing it with us via fantastic pictures and interesting words. 🙂

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:28 pm

      Everything is always better without the crowds. I’ve just come back from Italy today, we went to Cinque Terre, and we got up around 7am to be able to do a hike without anyone and it was amazing.

      It is very scary to walk on suspension bridge, my legs were a bit trembling. I can understand your feeling, especially if you associate them with a bad memory 🙁

      You are welcomed ! Sorry for the delay, but I was a bit busy then in Italy 🙂

  21. Shikha Kothari Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 3:28 am

    One of my close friends was born in Taipei and she never told me that such extraordinary natural beauty existed in Taiwan…!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:26 pm

      Oh this is weird, I thought Taiwanese people were proud of their country.

      I think we often associate taiwan with electronic and clothes and all the products “made in taiwan”. I would have never imagined that this island was full of natural beauties 🙂

  22. kabeiser Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 3:01 am

    Taroko is pretty awesome and actually the whole island of Taiwan is awesome. I have lived here for 6 years and I still can’t believe that such a small place has so many great hikes and places.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:24 pm

      I agree, the whole island is interesting. I really enjoyed the East, especially the tea plantations and the food ! It’s a tiny country packed with amazing sights and the hikes look fabulous.

  23. lexklein Reply
    March 19, 2016 at 12:38 am

    I continue to be amazed by the natural beauty in your Taiwan photos!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:22 pm

      This taiwan trip was amazing ! I still have to sort out of few pictures and I hope I will manage to post the rest of the road trip soon 🙂

  24. YellowCable Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 10:22 pm

    Beautiful views!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:21 pm

      The views were incredible 🙂

  25. Francis.R. Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    The most exotic part to me was the use of the helmets for some weird reason xD Great landscapes, they would make great oriental paintings, those of Japanese and Chinese old artists.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:20 pm

      Apparently a lot of rocks are falling down and they think a helmet can save your life (the rock has to be small though.. I agree with you.. I think it’s a bit stupid 😀 because if it’s a big rock, you are in a bad position helmet or not).

  26. Sue Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    What a stunning place!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:18 pm

      It was really incredible. We really enjoy our exploration of the East Coast.

  27. Johanna @ Out of Office Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    Beautiful pictures, especially the suspension bridge photo!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:18 pm

      Thank you ! This place was gorgeous and the suspension bridge was really striking in the landscape.

  28. EmelyeKay Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    Wow, looks like a beautiful place!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:18 pm

      It’s an amazing place ! The pictures are speaking for themselves 🙂 Thank you for your visit.

  29. vever02 Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 6:10 pm

    Les paysages de Taïwan sont très beaux,
    merci beaucoup de nous les faire découvrir.
    La montagne avec le nuage est magnifique.
    Je te souhaite un bon weekend.

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:17 pm

      Je suis ravie de pouvoir partager cet incroyable voyage. Taiwan est un merveilleux pays et les habitants sont tellement gentils et sympathiques. Un réel plaisir ! Désolée d’avoir pris tant de temps pour répondre !

  30. David Reply
    March 18, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories! I spent some time in Taiwan and very much enjoyed my Taroko trip and Hualien. Hiring a car and driving was an adventure with the limited English in that area! Great so see that we basically took all the same photos. What a fantastic place, lovely people and delicious food!

    • darwinontherocks Reply
      March 28, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      I can imagine how difficult it must have been to find your way 😉 But people are extremely kind and helpful 🙂 When I think about it, the East Coast was my favourite part of the trip !

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I love travelling and exploring new countries. I’ve spent a few months in Galapagos Islands during summer 2011 and that was the beginning of my passion for travelling.

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