Taroko Gorge
A river cut down through solid marble on Taiwan’s east coast, a temple at the head of the canyon, and a national park reopening trail by trail after the earthquake of 2024.
- Arrival
- Hualien Airport · HUN
- To the gorge
- About 15 km from the airport as the crow flies
- Private jets
- Huan Yu VIP Terminal at Taoyuan
- Best time
- March to April · October to December
The city
Marble walls, and a park coming back.
The Liwu River runs from the Central Mountain Range to the Pacific through marble laid down as lime about 230 million years ago, and over time it has cut a canyon with walls that close almost overhead. The Japanese administration made it a national park in 1937; Taiwan re-established the park in 1986, with the gorge as its spine and Tianxiang, with Xiangde Temple, at its upper end.
The earthquake of April 2024 brought down rock across the road and the trails, and floods followed later that year. Repair has been slow and careful: on 29 August 2026 the park reopened its ecological-area trails, while some routes, the Zhuilu Old Road among them, stay closed. Check the park’s notices before setting out; we plan the day around what is open.
- The gorge road Provincial Highway 8 threads the canyon between marble walls, with the river far below.
- Tianxiang The settlement at the head of the gorge, with Xiangde Temple above the river.
- Qingshui Cliffs North of the park entrance, the mountains drop straight into the Pacific.
Arriving
Taoyuan for the jet, Hualien for the hop.
Hualien Airport, about 15 km south of the gorge, shares its 2,750-metre runway with an air force base. Taoyuan International, Taiwan’s gateway, is on the other side of the island.
- Shanghai 1 h 20
- Hong Kong 1 h 25
- Tokyo 3 h 10
- Kathmandu 5 h 00
- Sydney 9 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
March to April, and October to December.
Warm and wet, with rain in every month. May to September brings the heaviest of it, more than 200 mm a month, and typhoons come between July and October; the park warns of landslides after heavy rain. Spring and autumn into early winter are the seasons for walking, with afternoons of 22 to 28 °C.
- 21° J 108
- 21° F 132
- 23° M 139
- 26° A 135
- 29° M 204
- 31° J 282
- 32° J 265
- 31° A 294
- 30° S 207
- 28° O 133
- 25° N 124
- 22° D 98
Where to stay
In the park, and on the coast below it.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Silks Place Taroko The only five-star hotel inside the national park, close to the trails at the head of the gorge.
- Farglory Hotel Hualien Opened in 2002 on a hillside over the Pacific and the Huadong Valley, with 388 rooms renovated in 2022.
- Le Méridien Hualien Resort Selected by the MICHELIN Guide: 252 rooms facing the ocean or the mountains, and spring-fed baths in the spa.
Elsewhere in Taiwan
More reasons to come.
Flying to Taroko Gorge?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.