On our second day in Hualien we took a tour through the Taroko gorge. That wasn't the only place we went to during the tour though, we also made stops at the beautiful Qixingtan pebble beach, multiplw Japanese temple sites, and monkey village.
We had to get up early because the tour guide planned to pick us up at 7:30. The reasons for this was (1) we got more time, and (2) the gorge had timed entry and exit, so an early start would line us up perfectly for the 10 o'clock entry. Our guide's name was Allen; he spoke English fluently, which helped everyone understand all of the information he shared with us during our 8 hours together.
The first stop we made was at the Qixingtan pebble beach. It was so windy that if you stood at the top of a staircase to the beach and leaned into the wind... it would hold you up! We collected pebbles of all shapes, sizes and colors. After we walked about a kilometer along the beach, we met Allen and he drove us to our next stop.
Our next stop was an area that used to have a Japanese temple. The Japanese controlled Taiwan for over 50 years. After the Japanese were forced out of Taiwan, the incoming new government from the Chinese mainland wanted to try and erase reminders of the Japanese culture. Much was destroyed, including many Japanese temples. We visited a former Japanese temple that was almost destroyed. A catholic priest inherited the temple before new government took over. He realized that it must be an important Japanese site because of pillars framing the land and built his church in a way to repurpose (while simultaneously preserving) the former temple site.
The priest claimed it as part of his church so no one would destroy it. You can't see the temple anymore because there is a church standing were it used to be. There is also an art installation depicting Mary. However, the gates are still in tact, as is the extensive Japanese garden and rock formations. We spent a little time looking around the land and a little time in the church. After we finished, we headed out to the gorge.
After a short wait and a visit to the Visitor Center, the timed entry began at 10am sharp. We were let in and drove along a narrow road built into the cliffside. The road into Taroko Gorge National Park is incredibly twisty and turny. In some places, only one vehicle can pass at a time. In others, you need to use mirrors and slow down to avoid going off the edge. Hualien is known for dramatic weather showcasing earthquakes and typhoons. There are an average of 14 typhoons a year in Hualien. A typhoon is tropical cyclone. Because most of the park is steep cliffs, road slides often occur during periods of heavy rain and especially after earthquakes. Hualien is recovering from a dreadful earthquake that happened last spring, killing several hundred people and severely damaging homes, schools and the infrastructure along the gorge. Allen, our guide was one of the only a handful of people willing to drive us into the gorge. Many other tour companies are still too scared to drive into the gorge. Many places inside the gorge were closed including the beautiful Eternal Spring Shrine temple built into the side of the gorge. The gorge's most common rock is marble, so we saw a lot of white rock.
The only place we stopped inside the gorge was a small village/area that was known for it's monkeys. The only kind we saw were Formosan rock macaques. Allen told us that they were aggressive and would grab a piece of fruit out of your hand. We stayed pretty far away from the wildlife, but did take lots of pictures. We also hiked up to a temple on a hillside (so many stairs!!!) and received lucky candy from a Buddhist monk.
Allen picked us up at noon and we drove out of the gorge with the timed noon departure. The last historical spot Allen took us was the biggest temple in Hualien called the Gang Tiang temple. It had two huge dragon pillars that concealed spiral staircases. They were so cool.
We went to an aboriginal restaurant for lunch. When we first got there we noticed that there were a lot of stray dogs and cats. We saw a kitten sitting under someone's chair begging. We ordered the set menu for three people though we had four. Allen said it would be enough, and he was right! It turned out to be a feast. Some of the dishes included soups, sausage, tofu, chili peppers, fiddle leaf fern shoots and much more. The place was known for their bamboo rice, which consisted of rice packed into a medium bamboo shoot, sealed with a leaf and steamed. You open it by banging the bamboo on a hard rock until it cracks open; we had 3 bamboo rices, but could only eat 2. There was just too much to eat! We ended up with multiple to-go boxes.
After lunch, we also took a waterfall hike along the Sakul trail. We were some of the only hikers there. We ended the day at a Japanese temple honoring the men who sacrificed their lives for their country.
We would definitely recommend taking a tour in the Taroko gorge if you happen to be staying in Hualien.
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