Massive boulders and twisted metal, destroyed hiking trails and bridges, ongoing road clearing and repairs. This is what’s closed Taiwan’s treasured Toroko Gorge. Its most popular trails are off limits to hikers because of a strong earthquake and typhoons earlier this year. As I stood in the gorge on a recent limited visit, it was easy to see why the best-known trails will be closed another six or seven years.
After the roads are cleared, repaired, and in some cases rebuilt, they’ll get to the trails.
Some areas in the gorge – not the most popular hiking tails – could possibly open to tourists for ‘sightseeing’ sometime in later 2025 or 2026. The timeline depends on a calm Earth.
As you can imagine, this has really strained the economy. The local government has an alternative itinerary and incentives for travelers to see and do other things Hualien City and County. I’ll get to that a bit later. But first, let’s go into the gorge.
Taroko Gorge trails closed, Highway 8 open
The Central Cross-Island Highway, or Highway 8, goes through the entire Taroko National Park. The section through the gorge on the eastern side of the island is open a few times a day – weather and road work permitting. Even though it’s ‘open’, there are rules to follow and release times to consider, and unnecessary travel is discouraged.
Most importantly — it’s a risky trip. Safety officials don’t want tourists there yet for good reason. The road is open for local and cross island travel, but not for tourists to go hiking.
The April 2024 quake measured a 7.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It sent untold tons of boulder, rock, earth and trees down steep slopes on that day, and on subsequent days when 1,400 aftershocks further rattled the region. It took a month – yes, a month – for the dust to settle. Many hikers and drivers were killed and injured, and two people are still missing today. Rockfalls and landslides can still happen any time after heavy rain or – God forbid – from another strong earthquake.
Road clearing isn’t finished, some spots have no guardrails, the highway is down to one lane.
Why risk a drive through?
Even before the big April earthquake, there was danger in the gorge. All hikers needed permits and the park lent out free safety helmets for some trail sections.
Taiwan sits atop the Eurasian Continental Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. Over 100 million years, the colliding plates created the Taroko Alpine Gorge. Recent collisions shook us Taipei – and in Hualien City, where we stayed near the park.
So why risk it? Why drive in? Well, it’s not illegal or anything like that, and there are no restrictions on who can be in the car or on a motorcycle. And like most travelers to Hualien City, we simply had hoped to see the famous marble valley. But we took precautions.
Instead of renting a car or motorcycle, we went with a local unemployed hiking guide. (I personally would never drive a moto through there. An unbelievable, horrible dashboard video from the quake shows why.)
Our local guide agreed to drive us in, turnaround and drive us back out. We made a couple of short stops but we stayed far away from any construction work, far away from any earthquake remnants or flooding debris.
Theo was a little anxious. Our guide was a little worried, and extra cautious.
We briefly stopped at a few landmarks that were ‘safe’, took in the scenery and took a few photos. Our guide pointed in the directions of closed trails and told stories. He is a survivor. He was guiding hikers the day of ‘403 Earthquake’ (April 3), as some people call it. He guided them out safely, but others weren’t as lucky. Wrong time, wrong place.
Before April, the Liwu River looked turquoise blue, like the Ganga River in Rishikesh, India. Now it’s gray, still washing away earthquake debris and typhoon muck – Typhoon Kong-rey wrecking the most havoc of the typhoons to hit Taiwan this year.
Yet I saw the beauty of the marble mountains shine through.
There were no quakes while we were in the gorge for a couple of hours — not even a little one. Another blessing: the sun came out for most of our visit.
Recommendations
We stayed in nearby Hualien City one week, amused ourselves with stuff other than gorge hiking, and spent a little money in the devastated local economy.
If you head this way, we have several recommendations.
- The local government has made bus rides to various places en route to the gorge free in 2024, and half price in 2025. Their special itinerary makes suggested stops for sites to sample local food and culture. Stop by the tourist information center inside the bus station, across the lot from the train station.
- Our Airbnb was centrally located near the Dongdamen Night Market night market and was extremely comfortable.
- Liyu Lake is a peaceful place for a nature walk. There are also hiking trails. Lots of Formosan rock monkeys and other wildlife.
- The coastal walkway near the night market is a joy, including the local surfing spot at the north end.
- There are bicycle lanes all over the area.
- Qixingtan Beach is a cool spot to stroll against the mountain range.
- For those seeking more local adventures like zip lining and rafting and more strenuous hikes, or spa resorts with hot springs, stop by the information center inside the bus station.
- High mountain trails on the western edge of Taroko National Park are open.
- The Taroko Visitor Center is open, with information and photos about the quake, geography, flora and fauna.
- For the phone number of our guide— who can show you local gems around Hualien City in addition to a short gorge drive— contact us. But know this: there is absolutely no hiking, he will only briefly stop in the safest areas, and you run a real risk of calamity.
I always say it, and try to live it: Life is Now.
Thanks for reading, “Earthquake tour in Taroko – the world’s largest marble gorge.”
About Ellen
Ellen and spouse Tedly started a budget slow travel lifestyle in 2015. She was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer while traveling in Europe in 2018 through an annual mammogram. She had a double mastectomy in Croatia, recovered from surgery, and kept traveling.
As a recovered alcoholic, Ellen seeks out spiritual growth opportunities in a variety of ways during her travel life, including service work, volunteering, and the occasional silent meditation retreat.
More posts about Taiwan:
Health care and Greatest hits in Taipei
Ellen
