It was almost a year ago that we made a trip back to Hong Kong and Taiwan. We spent almost three weeks there. The Portuguese called Taiwan Formosa, which roughly translates to the Beautiful Island. For me it was an opportunity to look back on an island, and a people, that have transformed my life in a myriad of ways. For Sam it was an opportunity to see the island for the first time.
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| The 380 m tunnel entrance to the 白楊 trail |
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| 白楊 Falls |
The last time I set foot on Taiwan, as a LDS missionary, my travel was restricted to a specific area. In summary, I was not permitted to travel north of Xinzhu (新竹) province, south of Yunlin (雲林) province, or east of Nantou (南投) province. As a result I became very geographically familiar with many areas and towns within these boundaries while remaining generally ignorant of what lay outside.
One such area was the east coast, and more particularly, a gorge at least partially cut by the Liwu River.
Taroko (太魯閣) lies on the east coast of Taiwan roughly two hours north of the province capital. We drove up the gorge late in the evening to a small village called Tianxiang (天祥) where we would stay for two nights.
The gorge is cut from marble. In contrast to the Grand Canyon, which features a great deal of sandstone, the marble walls of the Taroko Gorge are a polished white.
Most of the common hiking trails are fairly brief. For the more difficult routes, you need a permit to go deeper into the park. As we were not particularly familiar with the park nor had we proper preparation for it, acquiring a permit to take some of the longer hikes (10 km or 6 miles plus) was quite out of the question.
The trails open to the general public are cut through many of the cliff walls in a tunnel network. The first and most significant walk we did started via a tunnel that is nearly 400 m in length. The trail winds along the cliff side and ends in a pair of waterfalls as well as a small tunnel featuring a "water curtain".
The trails closed to the public wind up steeper areas of the gorge. Sometimes you need chains to pull yourself up as the pathway is not particularly well cut. Usually the trails requiring permits are blocked by a gate and padlock.
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| Chains on the 文山步道 |
However, one such trail (文山步道) was either not marked properly or there was (on our part) some general confusion as to whether or not it is a trail that
required a permit.
The reasoning for the permit is due to the tumultuous geological activity that Taiwan is subject to. Several earthquakes a year lend the landscape to frequent changes including rock slides. Often, trails can be closed without warning for several weeks a year as crews have to clean up after seismic activity.
Our original plan was to only spend a part of a day here. We spent over two. There is something uniquely fascinating about this place. Taiwan can be a busy mass of humanity within the cities that I had spent so much time in four years before. Here, there was an unusual solitude that masked a landscape that could literally change every day. I feel like we just scratched the surface of what this park is.
One of the last walks we did was late in the day in a trail called the Tunnel of Nine Turns. It is not much of a trail but rather a paved walkway cut through the cliff side. It serves as a trail head to a much longer and rugged trail that requires a permit. The Nine Turns road was congested with tour buses and tourists, so we hung around later into the evening in order to avoid the throngs. It got so late that by the time we headed back to our car, nightfall was already upon us.
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| Flash photography to find a way back to our car |
There is no light in these tunnels at night. It was pitch darkness. We had to use flash photography to make our way back to the car. One of us thought it unsettling. One of us thought it fun.
My original intention in coming here was to see it once and probably never see it again. Taiwan's east coast makes access somewhat tedious by vehicle or train. But looking back, I think it would be worthwhile to have another look and acquire permits for a deeper sojourn into Taiwan's marble canyon.
