Taroko Gorge is the great cleft in Taiwan's eastern flank, where the Liwu river has cut through a mass of marble and schist for several million years, and where the mountains rise almost vertically from the Pacific coast to over three thousand metres. The gate at the mouth lies some twenty kilometres north of Hualien, and from there the road follows the river into a gorge so narrow in places that the walls seem to lean together overhead. The marble is grey, white and streaked, the water is a vivid turquoise, and the sound of the river echoes off the rock.
The road itself is a feat of engineering. The Central Cross-Island Highway, built between 1956 and 1960, was dug by thousands of workers, many of them veterans of the civil war who had come to Taiwan with the army, and many of them died in the construction. A shrine at the entrance to the gorge, the Eternal Spring Shrine, remembers them, built on a hill over a waterfall. The road passes through tunnels cut in the rock, around the Tunnel of Nine Turns, a cliff path carved at the water's edge, and past the Swallow Grotto, where the birds nest on the cliffs. Further up, the road continues to high mountain passes at over three thousand metres, with cloud forest, cold winds and in winter the chance of snow.
The park is subject to rockfalls, landslides and earthquakes, and the road is closed from time to time. A strong earthquake struck Hualien in April 2024 and damaged parts of the gorge and its roads, and some sections were closed for repairs for a long time, so it is essential to check the current status before travelling. Typhoons between July and October can also close the route, and rain can bring sudden falls of rock. Helmets are not just a legal requirement here, and some operators insist on hard hats for walking trails.
The traffic in the gorge includes tour buses on a narrow road, so go early and ride with care. Hualien City, about twenty-one kilometres away, has fuel, food and every service, and the stations get fewer as you climb. The night market in Hualien serves excellent local snacks, including mochi and wild boar sausage, and is a pleasant way to end a day.