Taiwan'17 - Hualien Taroko Gorge National Park 花蓮太魯閣國家公園
Taroko Gorge is one of my must go places in Taiwan, because it looks extreeeeeeeeemly pretty in photos and videos.
Because we are going there, directly from the airport, we could't meet the timing for the package KKDay offers at a relatively low price of S$30 per person. As tour packages starts from S$200 per car of maximum 4 pax, which works out to more than S$50 per person. Thus, we decided to just go using public transportation. Contrary to beliefs, public transportation is slow, not worth the money, etc. However, we managed to cover a total of 5 locations, in our 4 hours there.
It might not be the best way to truly experience Taroko, but, for 4 hours, and on a budget travel, it is definitely worth it. When we were trying out this route, we actually met with our tourists, like us, who are there to explore the area. And definitely, striking a conversation is simply the best thing ever.
The ticket costs NT$250 (S$11.40), for a day worth of unlimited travelling in and out of Taroko is pretty worth it. And there are many buses and services which you can use, as follows.
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| Inbound Buses from Taroko Website |
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| Outbound Buses From Taroko Website |
Those highlighted are the buses that we took, in and out of Taroko. Which, sums up to 5 stops in Taroko, and it is more than enough for a short 4 hour trip. The drivers at Hualien station were pestering quoting us NT$2000 (S$90.90) for a 4 hour trip for me and my friend. And literally following us from the station, till we cross the road to drop our luggage. We kinda lied that we are waiting for friends. The drivers ended up communicating in Taiwanese, about us, and as I understand Hokkien, it wasn't pleasant to hear what they have to say.
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There are also other buses, which we can take with the unlimited ticket.
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We actually went to this area near Hualien Station, paid NT$250 for an unlimited ticket, and wait for the bus to bring us into Taroko Gorge. It is on the left when you leave Hualien Station.
#1 - Tianxiang (天祥）
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Initially we wanted to skip this location, as it is too deep inside, and the ride was really full of turns and very bumpy. However, we totally did not regret just taking the bus all the way in, as this stop is really beautiful. To the extent, we even missed 2 buses, so to explore this stop instead of rushing to other stops.
#2 - Swallow Grotto (燕子口）
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| Am literally hanging at the rock, with my chest muscles. |
Another popular spot, especially for trekking. You can literally see people trekking from one end to another, and there was a period of time they will calling like swallows, which kinda caught attention from a some of us. There were also people flying drones to capture the view around. Trekking, unfortunately, requires a permit, to be applied few weeks in advance!
As we are more interested in the next stop, we decided not to explore much here, and catch the next bus.
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| Panoramic Shot, click to view. |
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| Ask and you will receive. We helped tourists to take photos, in exchange for our photos to be taken. |
#3 - Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠）
This shrine is built to commemorate the 212 works who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. It is actually around a 20 minute walk to the shrine, and behind the shrine, there is actually a 2.2km trail with steep stairs to lead you to Guanyin Cave, Taroko Tower and Bell Tower. It was actually closed when we were there, due to the recent rain.
But even without trekking, the view of the shrine is already very pretty. It is one of the most picturesque places in Taroko.
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| The long tunnel on the left leads you to the shrine. |
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| Sadly, its closed. |
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| Just being tired |
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| Theres so many people at this station! |
#4 - Taroko Visitor Center
#5 - Taroko
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Because there are so many people at Changchun Shrine, people literally squeeze to board the bus. Anyways, we went to Taroko Visitor Center, to walk to the Taroko Gate, was the driver told us that it is nearer that way. And, we get to visit 2 places, instead of 1. Turn out, its really nearer from the visitor center to the gate.
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| My uncontrollable RBF. |
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| The stone that almost every tourist will take, when they are at Taroko. |
If there is another chance for me to go to Taroko, I will definitely go, and this time, I would definitely love to trek at Changchun Shrine, also, to Cingshuei Cliff and Boluowan. If I can choose, I will still definitely take the bus, instead. However, I will not be able to reach Cingshuei Cliff with the bus.
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| Chingshuei Cliff Photo Credit: Flickr by JHH Huang |
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