Taroko Gorge is one of the most famous natural attractions in Taiwan. We began our journey in this country right from the nearby city of Hualien. The ocean waves crash into the eastern coast of the island, where in places the mountain slopes rise straight from the shore itself. In Taroko National Park, there are 27 peaks high over 3000 m, some of which are just about 30 km from the coast.
With Yee Ling and Sofia, we had a day trip to the gorge, including a small hike of 5-6 km. It wasn’t a tough one, perfectly suitable for carrying a small child in a backpack. But it was as beautiful as a serious hike! The crystal clear water of the river roared down there, breaking into sometimes quite huge rocks, and the mountain slopes lined up one after another, becoming higher and higher in the distance.
The pleasure for the eyes, however, started much earlier – while we were traveling by bus to the starting point of the walk. The gorge itself is 18 km, and the trails are different – I read about options from easy walks to ones with sections only 70 cm wide and a 500 m abyss on the side, without any safety barriers.
We were pleasantly surprised by how well the trails, the several tunnels from our hike, and generally everything we saw in the national park were maintained. On top of it all, both the park visit and the natural museum at its beginning were completely free.
Sofi observed the natural beauties with interest on the way to there and in a deep, peaceful sleep on the way back. I am starting to look forward to making more serious hikes next year with a real hiking backpack for children.
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