Taroko Day Tour | 4everdiscovering

Day Trippin’ Through the Taroko Gorge

Rainy Day? No Problem! Just Call Momma for a Lift!

When you do your research on Taiwan, our reliable Google will offer many pictures of scenic mountains, beautiful waterfalls and never-ending rivers. These pictures, my friends, are most likely taken at Taroko National Park. This breathtaking area is located on the east coast of the country and can be most easily accessed from the closest city, Hualien. The name ‘Taroko’ derives from the first indigenous tribe to occupy the land: the Truku. Before Taroko became an official landmark and national park in Taiwan, the Truku tribe populated the area in their own isolation and peace. The name ‘Taroko’ translates into 'human being' in their mother tongue. It was said that every time these people saw the beauty of the gorge, they were reminded of the incredible landscape on which they inhabited and yelled ‘TAROKO!’

When I was researching the best places to visit in Taiwan before I arrived here, the Taroko Gorge was at the top of list. Being one of the 9 national parks in the country, it attracts all sorts of tourists throughout the year, especially on a long weekend. Everyone comes to see the beauty of the park and the marble in the mountains. That’s right, this park is full of marble and jade in the rocks. Just think of your kitchen countertops and how nice they look; now imagine an entire National Park with that same design. Absolutely amazing.

Originally, Emily and I were supposed to travel to Hualien on our first long weekend in September. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was not working in our favour and we were forced to cancel our trip due to a typhoon. When our second long weekend quickly approached about a month later, we were determined to reschedule our visit and explore the beauty of the Taroko Gorge. Our October long weekend (the same as Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) is celebrated on October 10th (10-10) of every year. This day is like our July 1st; it is Taiwan’s birthday and everyone is looking for a way to celebrate with their friends and family. We decided to take part in the festivities and celebrate in one of the most beautiful areas in the country.

As I mentioned before, our first plan to visit Taroko was cancelled due to a typhoon. It is important to know that even 4 weeks post-typhoon, there is still a lot of damage that is waiting to be repaired or cleaned up. In a huge national park, you can imagine the amount of damage a typhoon can cause, especially when you are surrounded by water and trees. When we arrived at the hostel, we were surprised to hear that many of the hiking trails were still closed and were waiting on repairs. However, once we saw Taroko for ourselves and just how big it was, I was surprised that some of the trails were even opened!

Overwhelmed by the size of Taroko and not really knowing which trails were opened and which ones were closed, we decided our best option was to join one of the day trips that were offered by the HUNDREDS of people outside the tourist office. As we were being hounded by the mass amounts of people wanting our business, one older lady approached us and asked if we wanted to see a tour of the park. She was such a sweet, gentle lady who didn’t swarm us like the others; she reminded me of a loving grandmother who is looking out for your best interests. It wasn’t just about the money with this lady, unlike the other sellers. We decided this was probably our best option for the day, so we gave her a call and she came rushing back with a minivan, ready to chauffeur us around for the day.

Here are some reasons why you should consider taking a day trip through Taroko:

1. The park is so BIG! This tour lets you see the park at a glance and highlights the main tourist spots. If you like what you see, you know exactly where to go back to explore on your own.

2. You have a personal driver for the day. You don’t have to worry about catching the bus around the park and not missing the last bus back to Hualien.

3. You are supporting a local family. Our lovely lady sat shotgun while her husband drove around. It was a Saturday well-spent on both ends.

4. If it’s pouring rain (like it was for us), this tour lets you stay dry while seeing the gorge. They will stop if you want to snap a picture or tour around, but if you feel like staying dry, you can admire the view from inside the van.

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

To our surprise, we were not the only tourists who took advantage of our lady’s offer; there was another couple from China who joined us for the day. Along our drive to Taroko National Park, our friendly lady was doing her best to try to speak as much English as she could. When we asked her what her name was, she told us we could call her ‘Momma’. Hey, easy enough right? Before we made it to the park, our first stop was at one of the Hualien-famous mochi stores. Mochi is like a small rice ball but offered in many different flavours. Momma convinced us to try some so I chose a sesame and a peanut flavour. I loved both, but I think I would choose the peanut one over any other. Momma was so sweet, she even bought our mochi for us; she said she was just so happy to spend her day with us!

Our next stop on our day trip was at Qingshui Cliff. This cliff is considered one of the eight wonders of Taiwan and provides you with an absolutely beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, they say you are able to see three different colour tones in the water. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that luck and couldn’t see much past the fog. The Qingshui Cliff spans over 21 km and has different trails that lead you along the edge. I’m sorry to say that we did not have the chance to walk along these; the typhoon continued to haunt us and left too much damage along the path for it to be opened. We were able to have a great view of the cliff from a lookout point on the side of the road, but I can only imagine what the walk along the edge would be like. I will let you know how it is next time we go!

Once we made our way to Taroko, Momma led us through the entirety of the park, allowing us to see all of the landmarks along our drive. We started with the infamous Eternal Spring Shrine. Unfortunately, we were not able to walk any of the hiking trails on this tour. I’m sure Momma would have waited for us, but I don’t think our Chinese couple would have appreciated it! We saw the shrine from the viewpoint when you first enter the park. It was built to commemorate all of the workers who died while constructing the Central Cross-Island Highway. Next time we will make sure to take a walk through and hit the trail!

After driving the winding roads of Taroko, we made it to our next stop: Buluowan. This area is where you can learn all about the Truku tribe and how the park originated. We were able to watch a short movie to learn about the first tribes; unfortunately the movie was spoken in the Truku language with Chinese subtitles. Double whammy for us. All I understood from the movie was that these people were pro arranged marriage. After Momma did her best to translate for us, we learned that when the boys became men after their first head-hunt, they were tattooed on their chin to symbolize their coming of age story. For the girls, they were officially women at 15 years old when they could master their sewing and were tattooed across their face. Now, living in the 21st century and knowing some people don’t agree with tattoos, all I can say is I would not appreciate a blue tattoo scarred across my entire face for the rest of my life. Or maybe that will be my next tat? You will have to wait and see……

After some very scenic stops and an encounter with some monkeys, we made our way to the Frog Prince rock. From afar, you can see the outline of the rock looks like a frog sitting and the gazebo on the rock resembles his crown. Momma insisted we give him a kiss in case we find Prince Charming, but I don’t think it works the same if it is just a rock. We didn’t want to crush her spirit, so we made sure to take some photo evidence for her.

Once we drove through Taroko and saw everything we needed for our first day, we made our way to Cisingtan Beach. Due to the inclement weather, we did not feel up to taking a dip in the water, but catching the view at sunset was something else! This beach is made up of black pebbles; not ideal for swimmers or sunbathers. Most people come here to surf, but I’m sure I can find a way to relax on the rocks. If anything, it would probably be just like the rocky beaches of Nice. French Riviera, Taiwan, same thing right?

After our eventful day driving around Taroko, Momma dropped us off at Hualien’s local night market so we could find some dinner. She gave us all big hugs when we left and even snagged her business card for when we go back! It was so nice to see people grateful for our business, especially when they are so genuine and caring. We told Momma we would give her a call next time we are in town so she can show our visiting friends around. Taroko National Park is just so breathtaking, I think everyone who has the chance to travel to Taiwan MUST go there. To see such beauty and tranquility in nature is absolutely incredible. I have never been surrounded by so many waterfalls in my life. Thanks to the typhoon, there was still so much water from the rain, water was spilling everywhere over the mountains. Everywhere you looked there was a waterfall around you and you couldn’t tell if it was always there or if it was just the aftermath of the storm.

Between the waterfalls, the marble rocks, and our amazing tour guides, our trip to Taroko was by far the most scenic and beautiful place we have travelled to in Taiwan thus far. I can say without a doubt, we will most definitely be going back here to explore more of the park. Hopefully next time all of the trails will be opened to hike! Let’s pray for no typhoons!