Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

Taroko Gorge....... FANTASTIC... We read about how good the Taroko Gorge was but it surpassed all expectations. At around 18km long and many walking trails we set off on a day trip to take in the main 5 sites along the 18km. The first trail was Shakadang 4km section up into one of the side Gorges. The warning sign at the start of the trail told us to be careful about the Killer Bees and Poisonous snakes that lived there.. All we saw were spiders and loads of butterflies. Our next walk was at the Eternal springs shrine a bit further into the Taroko Gorge. Followed by the Swallow grotto where the gorge starts to get very deep.

The highlight of the Gorge is the nine turns trail but as we approached it was shut off due to a rock fall on the previous day.. Luckily we could access this trail from the other end and could walk back to within 100mts of the start so we didn't miss anything. We had to wear hard hats as the rock falls are frequent. Seeing the size of the rock fall boulders I am not sure what good a hat would have been.. We also managed two more smaller trails in the main Gorge. What a great day this was. Superb scenery awesome geology and great weather.. 10/10 one of the best days so far and without doubt the best Gorge, it knocks the Tiger Leaping Gorge for six. And there was no admission fee ...... Taiwan takes the view that Natural scenery is there for everyone to enjoy not just those who can afford it ( unlike China ! ). So a big thumbs up again for Taiwan...

Start of the Shakadang trail Taroko Gorge.

With all those killer bees and snakes it was best that Linda went first.....

One of many great views.

Some great geology..

More warnings about those killer bees.

Not a killer but probably could deliver a bit of a nip..

Non venomous butterfly.

The Eternal Springs Shrine area.

Cave Buddha's.

Linda taking it easy at the Eternal Springs Shrine.

Swallow Grotto trail Taroko Gorge.

Only 42 people a day are allowed to do the complete trail.

Into the Gorge.

Trail lookout and Gorge.

Swallow Grotto trail.

Start of the Nine Tunnels Trail complete with hard hats.

A sample of the boulders that frequently come tumbling down..

Nine Tunnels trail Taroko Gorge.

The trail stops here.

more views.

Bob the builder and his mate..

Waterfalls in the Taroko Gorge.

Footbridge.

Temple entrance at Tiansiang.

Linda at Lyushui bridge.

Lyushui the deepest part of the Gorge.

I can see a face in this.

Then the clouds came in and it rained.. just as we completed our last walk.. great timing.

End of Taroko Gorge blog unless we do it again..