Taroko Gorge

Published 2007-05-02

Jenny and I took the train (not, unfortunately, the High Speed Rail, although it was plenty fast) out to Taroko Gorge, Taiwan's world-famous National Park. We hired a driver/guide and spent 6 hours in the park -- about 30 hours too few, probably. Words won't do this place justice, so you'll have to wait for the pictures. Which, as I forgot to bring the camera's USB cable, you won't be able to see for like two more days.

Suffice to say: Taiwan is rilly pretty.

Update:

And here's some pictures. Like most rilly pretty places, it translates poorly to photographs. But you can get a sense of how steep and lush the entire place is. Also: this gorge, like much of eastern Taiwan, cuts through a landscape made of solid marble. So the whitish outcroppings you see in these photos are marble. The beaches around here lacked sand; they were composed of pebbles the size of, well, marbles.

A narrow road with a railing and sidewalk, literally carved from a cliffside, in a steep narrow canyon above a small swift river. The road passes through a short tunnel about 200m ahead

The road up Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

Landscape up a narrow river valley with white marble banks, steeply forested above. In the foreground, a white marble lion statue. About 200m distant, a small shrine on a rocky prominence above the river

Marble lion statue, suspension bridge, shrine; Taroko gorge, Taiwan

Landscape of steep forested hills, hazy with tropical moisture. A small shrine or temple is in silhouette on the side of the nearest hill, perhaps a kilometer distant

Hilltop shrine, Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

Low perspective shot of small waves lapping over a beach made of roughly dime-sized pebbles, most of which are well-rounded marble fragments

Marble beach, Taiwan