Taroko National Park

Taroko National Park is not something to miss when you are traveling through Taiwan. In fact, I think it should be top 3 of everyone’s must do list while here. There are several ways you can go about seeing this national park.

Accommodation

If you are traveling in Taiwan during summer, camping  would be the absolute best way to truly experience as much of the park as you can. There are an abundant amount of trails; sleeping on one of them would be the coolest experience, no doubt. There is a resort inside of the national park but I didn’t even dare to think about looking at the prices. That’s like going to visit Disney World and wanting to sleep in the castle.

We stayed at a hostel in Hualien, about an hour and fifteen minute scooter ride away. Staying in Hualien was a great option because we could visit the night markets and explore the city. We were completely tied to only the national park. Although I do wish that I had one more day to see more of the park because just one day wasn’t enough.

Transportation 

There are a few different ways to go about this. I highly recommend renting a scooter and driving it through the park. I can not say it enough! Rent. A. Scooter. Going through the mountains on a scooter is a completely different experience than in a car or bus. The roads are extremely windy, and it is a very long way down if something bad were to happen; God forbid. I don’t think it would be a good idea to rent one if you are not comfortable on a scooter. But, it is 100% the best way to do it; so I would step outside of your comfort zone and just do it.

I met a girl who took the bus to the back of the park, then rode a bicycle all the way to the front. If you have the stamina of Micheal Phelps and don’t mind getting run over at least ten times, go for it. Also, if the idea of your legs eventually detaching from the rest of your body sounds appealing, then this might be your best option. But, that is certainly not for this gal.

Riding the scooter through the national park is the greatest for countless reasons. You have the freedom to stop whenever and wherever you want. You don’t have to worry about all the peace-signing, photo-bombing, tourists that overflow the bus. Don’t worry, you’ll still get your fair share of interacting with those fools at some in the day. 

The ride is like no other, truly indescribable but I’ll try my best for ya. I have never felt more like I was in a video game. There are so many tunnels that you zip through. Although, I suggest figuring out how to turn your lights on before going through these, unlike we did. Driving through on a scooter can be extremely scary, especially when your friend, that is driving like a road pirate, tells you that he failed his driving test back in Holland. That is just as bad as when your hair stylist says “oops” while snipping your precious locks. With one who failed his driving test, and one who pretended her U.S. ID was her international license in order to rent the scooter, we were as dangerous as Bonnie and Clyde. But, with several “slow downs” and  occasional screeches, we did mange to make it out alive with the two of us taking turns driving. Try to get to Taroko as early as you can, especially if you have only dedicated one day to it. There are a lot of things to see and trails to explore.  As soon as you get there, head up to the Visitor’s Center to pick up an English map.

Swallow Grotto (Yanzikou) Trail

We drove to the back first, then worked our way towards the front. On our way to the back, we stopped for the Swallow Grotto (Yanzikou) Trail.
This trail is supposed to take around thirty minutes, but because we had a scooter it only took us about five. We stayed along the highway because you need a permit in order to explore beyond the bridge.

It is an absolutely breath-taking view that shouldn’t be missed. You get to see views like these while walking through tunnels created in the mountain. It felt like the Rainforest Cafe but in the real world.

Taroko National Park is an absolute nightmare for someone who is afraid of bridges, not mentioning any names… Everywhere you look there is a god damn bridge. I think I went over at least ten bridges that day. The first eight or nine were scary enough to make me almost piss myself. But, I think I was getting the hang of it (ha!) towards the end; I was totally overcoming my silly fear.

These bridges weren’t your standard, trusty-dusty, concrete bridges. They were old school, wood and some nails, bridges with signs only written in Chinese. These bridges were about as faithful as a slot machine; just waiting for a victim to cross so they can collapse. Who knows, the signs could have said “About to fall at any moment, cross at your own risk,” and we were just ignorantly waltzing across them. 

Baiyan Waterfall Trail 

Baiyan Waterfall Trail is a super easy, relatively short trail. In the beginning of the trail, you are required to walk through a long, eerie, tunnel that has zero source of light. Some people took our their phones, but we wanted to challenge ourselves and walk it in the dark. We did pretty great actually, I only ran into one guy. The guy was also trying to be cool, not using a light.

I think it took us around an hour to do the trail, there and back. We were super bummed to find out that the Waterfall Curtain was closed when we went; apparently it is incredibly fascinating. We continued on with our hike anyway, still stoked to see the Baiyan Waterfall.
The trail is mossy on one side, and a long, rocky fall on the other side of you.
After walking through some super dark and mysterious tunnels, you finally reach the waterfall. It almost looks fake because it is so high up. Locals declare that it falls from the Milky Way.

After catching some amazing waterfall views, we got a bite to eat. Dumplings! I might want to start monitoring my dumpling intake, because it is getting pretty excessive. I just can’t stop, they are so scrumptious. I won’t be able to get ten dumplings for $1.50 wherever I go, for forever. So my belly is stocking up while it can. By the way, my chopstick skills have improved immensely.

Wenshan Hot Springs 

The Wenshan Hot Springs are quite tricky to get to, but a point you absolutely cannot miss. It is difficult to find due to the lack of signs. The hot springs are actually closed right now because the stairs that used to lead you down to them, have eroded and it’s pretty dangerous. Fortunately, that doesn’t stop anyone from going. Nor does the locked gate at the entrance.
Ironically, this was the most crowded trail we hiked in Taroko. The hike down to the hot springs is a series of never-ending steps. Oh, and don’t forget the bridge.

There are two different hot springs. There is one that is more exclusive, tucked away in a spot behind part of the rock. This one actually stays really empty because the water is boiling hot. Not actually boiling, but pretty darn close. I preferred this one, due to the lack of people, but I couldn’t stay in it for longer than fifteen minutes.

I’m almost certain a couple of centimeters my skin melted off, but no biggie. I kinda, secretly declared myself queen of that hot spring because I was in it for an impressively long amount of time.

These three Chinese girls even asked to take a selfie with me. I’m certain that it had absolutely nothing to do with me being queen of the hot spring; it was because I have blonde hair.  This is a weekly occurrence for me.

 

On the other side of the rock, next to the river, there was a much more appealing hot spring that didn’t quite give you 1st degree burns. On the down side, there were a lot more people in this one. I guess not everyone likes to burn themselves for fun. There was a good mix of local Taiwanese people bathing in the hot springs, and adventurous foreigners that are just visiting. The local people believe that the hot springs have healing powers, so they come to visit them quite often.

I was wearing a couple of silver rings and bracelets when entering the hot springs. After about ten minutes of relaxing in them, I notice all of my silver jewelry has turned into this gold color. I swore that it was a sign from the gods and assumed I was some lucky, chosen one. I think it had something to do with the sulfur. It turned back to its natural silver color after a few days. Bummer, I wasn’t the chosen one this time.

The views were close to impossible to beat; I could have stayed for days in this glorious secret spot. The fact that we had to climb over the gate, into forbidden land, made them so much more legendary.

I definitely thought that getting out of the hot spring would be miserably cold, but it wasn’t at all. You are so hot when you are in the hot spring that it actually feels nice when you get out. Now, the walk back up the stairs is a totally different story. I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.

The first five minutes are pretty sweet because it looks cool and it feels like you’re in a scene out of Mulan. But that sweet atmosphere doesn’t even begin compete with the muscle aches in your legs. Totally worth it though, I am just being ridiculous. 

Because the hot springs are so captivating, we completely let the time go by without noticing. We intended on exploring the Shakadang Hike because so many people told us how incredible it was, but we did not have enough time to complete that hike.

On the way out, we passed a massive bridge. I thought it would be good for me to confront my fears, one last time. I crossed that bridge like a professional. A professional bridge-crosser is exactly what I was at this point. On the other side of the bridge was a stunning pagoda. Unfortunately you couldn’t walk up the stairs to the top of the pagoda, but you were allowed to go inside the bottom of it. We considered being rebels again and going up the stairs anyway, but we didn’t wanna disrespect anyone because it was a place of worship.

 

The drive back was so seriously terrifying because I let my license-less friend, Bram, drive the whole way out of the park. I may have been being slightly unreasonable, but it was a terrifying setting. I would never in a million years take a bicycle on that road. You’ve got to be bat-shit crazy to do something like that; although it would be pretty awesome (to watch, of course). 

Despite the burning of flesh, extreme muscle soreness, and coming close to wrecking off of a cliff that was a couple thousand feet high, it was one of the best experiences I have had in Taiwan. A very successful adventure, indeed.
It is important to put yourself outside of your comfort zone frequently. And let me tell you, with all those bridges, I was so far out of my comfort zone.

Taroko is not a spot to miss; do whatever you gotta do to make time for this gem.