Just south of Su'ao, the first serious climb of the Suhua Highway lifts you above the sea, and suddenly the scale of the coast becomes clear. Below the road, the cliffs drop straight into deep blue water; ahead, ridge after ridge of the Central Mountain Range falls into the ocean, each one cut by a gorge, each one breaking the coastline into another bay. On clear days you can see far down the coast, and on many days you see only cloud and rain.
The coast south of here was once almost cut off from the rest of Taiwan. Indigenous Atayal villages lay in the valleys inland, and the first road along the cliffs was built during the Japanese colonial era, a narrow track for carts and later for buses that became infamous for accidents. Over the decades it was widened, and in recent years much of it has been replaced by tunnels, but you can still see the old road in places, clinging to the rock below the new one, and the sense of how hard it was to build remains.
Down at sea level the road passes through Dong'ao and Nan'ao, small towns on wide bays where rivers come out of the mountains, with gravel beaches, rice fields and fish farms. Nan'ao has a few shops and places to eat, and its bay is beautiful in the morning light. The surf here is rough and the currents strong, so swimming is not a good idea unless locals are doing it.
Riding this section is a mix of long tunnels, which are well lit but noisy with trucks, and short open stretches with views. Wet tarmac here is greasy with truck diesel, and landslides after heavy rain are common. Trucks are the main hazard, overtaking on blind bends or kicking up spray, and it helps to keep your distance. The best seasons are spring and early summer, before typhoon season, when the weather is more settled. Su'ao, behind you, and Hualien, ahead, are the main places for fuel and food, so plan accordingly and do not let the tank run low in between.