Active Exploring In Taiwan’s Taroko National Park
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Looking for incredible places to visit in Taiwan?
Encompassing 920 kmยฒ (355 square miles), Taroko National Park is one of Taiwan’s eight national parks.
It spans Taichung City, Nantou County and Hualien County, and includes an array of recreational activities, attractions and beautiful landscapes. It’s also a great place to visit whether you’re enjoying Taiwan solo travel or are exploring in a group.
One highlight of visiting the national park is its magnificent Taroko Gorge — the natural attraction the park is named after — which you can explore by strolling along the 0.5-kilometer (0.3-mile) Swallow Grotto Trail, one of the best hiking trails in Taiwan!
Itโs a paved trail along a driveable road, which takes you into a tunnel featuring rugged black cement ceilings and views of the gorgeโs naturally-carved marble walls featuring colorful patterns painted by Mother Nature Herself.
Another worthwhile trek that takes you into the gorge is the parkโs waterfall-littered Baiyang Trail. The moderate hike takes about 90 minutes total to reach the Water Curtain and go back. Youโll traverse canyon ledges while taking in views of overlapping peaks covered in lush green and sloping crevices. Moreover, a mix of slender waterfalls gently sliding down jagged rock face and powerful cascades gushing down the mountainside make for a postcard-worthy excursion.
There are two highlights to the experience. One is walking over the shaky suspension bridge, which adds a bit of excitement to the journey and allows you to see some of Taroko National Parkโs biggest waterfalls up close. The other is the Water Curtain, a natural colorful marble tunnel that features a crystal clear river with beautiful smooth stones as well as a walkway with streams of water pouring down from the ceiling. After hiking through Taiwanโs notoriously hot, humid climate, itโs a refreshing attraction. Note: Youโll need a flashlight for this hike as youโll be traversing numerous dark tunnels.
Walking along the Swallow Grotto Trail, a short paved trek through a tunnel and along the Taroko Gorge
Accommodation
Located at the edge of the Taroko Gorge, Silks Place Taroko is a 5-star hotel located right in Taroko National Park. The property exudes tranquility, with a candlelit lobby, dimly lit hallways, private sauna, yoga and fitness room, a scenic rooftop, restaurants offering dishes with natural and fresh ingredients, and a curative spa with treatments like Oriental bodywork, seaweed skin polishing, a ginseng hair and scalp treatment and a volcanic clay body wrap. Rent a bike for about 100 NTD (about $3 USD) per hour and explore the nearby waterfalls, mountains and monasteries, or head to their rooftop for an Aboriginal show. Additionally, their 160 rooms feature a mix of standards and suites offering either garden or gorge views.A native Aboriginal meal of fatty pork, bamboo rice, chicken soup and local vegetables like morning glory, sweet potato and mushrooms