Why this ride
It goes by way of Tianxiang, Qixingtan beach and Taroko Gorge. The climb of the day is Hehuanshan high road. It tops out at about 3,300 m. It is a high-mountain day.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Taiwan · Taroko Gorge and East Coast + East Coast Highway 11
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 570 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 16
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Taiwan Central Cross Island Highway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 30 km this is Taiwan Central Cross Island Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Taiwan Central Cross Island Highway
- Pass
- Hehuanshan Wuling
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Taroko Gorge gate
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.
Read the complete Taroko Gorge gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Taroko Gorge is where the day begins. Next is Tianxiang.
2. Tianxiang
Tianxiang is a small settlement deep inside the Taroko Gorge on Taiwan's east coast, and it is where the Central Cross-Island Highway stops being a canyon road and turns into a mountain one. Just before you reach it, the road threads the marble gorge of the Liwu river, one of the most remarkable canyon landscapes in Asia, where grey and white cliffs rise hundreds of metres, and tunnels, galleries and a narrow ledge cut by hand carry the traffic. At Tianxiang, the valley widens, and the road splits, one branch continuing up toward the high mountains and the other leading into a side valley.
Read the complete Tianxiang write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tianxiang is where this day stops to eat. Next is Hehuanshan high road.
3. Hehuanshan high road
Wuling, the pass just beyond the Hehuanshan high road, is the highest paved road crossing in East Asia, at 3,275 metres, and the ride there from the lowlands is a journey through half the climates of the world. In Puli the air is warm and smells of fruit and betel nut, and by the time you reach the pass you are in a landscape of alpine meadow, bamboo grass and wind-sculpted fir, with temperatures that can hover near freezing even in summer. The road is Provincial Highway 14A, a spur off the main east-west highway, and it climbs from the valley of Puli in a long succession of curves for more than eighty kilometres.
Read the complete Hehuanshan high road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Qixingtan beach.
4. Qixingtan beach
Taiwan's east coast does not have sand beaches in the postcard sense. Qixingtan, whose name means Seven Star Lake, is a long curve of grey pebbles on the Pacific side of Hualien, where the water goes from shallow to deep in a few steps and the waves arrive with real weight. Swimming is discouraged because of the undertow, and signs make that clear, but sitting on the stones with a drink while the sea rolls in is a very good way to end a ride. Behind you the Central Range rises almost straight from the coast, with cloud caught in the ridges, and on a clear morning the sun comes up out of the ocean in front of you.
Read the complete Qixingtan beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Qixingtan beach, early in the day. Next is back to Taroko Gorge.
5. back to Taroko Gorge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Taroko Gorge gate write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at back to Taroko Gorge. That is the ride. Next is Hualien.
6. Hualien
Hualien lies on Taiwan's wild east coast, squeezed between the Pacific and a wall of mountains that rise to over three thousand metres within a few dozen kilometres of the sea. The city is relaxed, with a lively night market, sea-view cafes and the slightly weathered air of a place that is regularly shaken by earthquakes and typhoons. It is also the gateway to Taroko Gorge, where the Liwu river has cut a deep canyon through marble.
Read the complete Hualien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The day opens at Hualien. Next is Shitiping.
7. Shitiping
Shitiping means roughly stone steps terrace, and that already tells you a lot about the place. It sits on Taiwan's east coast, where the Coastal Mountain Range drops almost straight into the Pacific, and the highway squeezes itself between rock and sea. The area belongs to the long, wild stretch of Provincial Highway 11, the road that runs south from Hualien towards Taitung with the ocean on one side nearly all the way.
Read the complete Shitiping write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
251 km in you reach Shitiping. Next is Sanxiantai.
8. Sanxiantai
Sanxiantai means Terrace of the Three Immortals, and the name comes from a legend of three Taoist immortals who are said to have rested on the offshore island here. It lies on Taiwan's east coast, near the town of Chenggong, where the sea turns a startling deep blue, and a long arched footbridge, shaped like a dragon's back, runs out to the island across a lagoon. Seen from the shore, with the waves breaking on dark volcanic rock, it has a wild, sculptural look.
Read the complete Sanxiantai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sanxiantai, about halfway. Next is Dulan.
9. Dulan
Dulan sits on Taiwan's east coast, where the mountains drop almost straight into the Pacific. The village, in Taitung County about fifteen kilometres north of Taitung City, lies along Provincial Highway 11, a ribbon of road that runs between the Coastal Mountain Range and the sea, and the combination of mountain, surf and open sky has made it a haven for surfers, artists and refugees from the island's crowded west.
Read the complete Dulan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dulan sits at 334 km, about halfway. Next is Taitung.
10. Taitung
Taitung is a quiet, easy-going city on Taiwan's south-eastern coast, with about a hundred and ten thousand people, a long Pacific shoreline, and a pace of life noticeably slower than the busy west coast. Behind it, the Coastal Range runs north to south on one side and the Central Mountain Range on the other, with the long East Rift Valley in between, a flat strip of farmland that follows the line where two tectonic plates meet. For a rider who has spent the day on the road, it is an easy and friendly place to end.
Read the complete Taitung write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Taitung comes up 376 km in. Next is back through Dulan.
11. back through Dulan
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dulan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
418 km in you reach back through Dulan. Next is back through Sanxiantai.
12. back through Sanxiantai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanxiantai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sanxiantai, late in the day. Next is back through Shitiping.
13. back through Shitiping
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Shitiping write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Shitiping sits at 501 km, late in the day.
14. Hualien
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hualien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Hualien. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Taroko Gorge gate to Tianxiang
Taroko Gorge gate → Tianxiang is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tianxiang to Hehuanshan high road
Tianxiang → Hehuanshan high road is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hehuanshan high road to Qixingtan beach
Hehuanshan high road → Qixingtan beach is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Qixingtan beach to back to Taroko Gorge
Qixingtan beach → back to Taroko Gorge is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back to Taroko Gorge to Hualien
back to Taroko Gorge → Hualien is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hualien to Shitiping
Hualien → Shitiping is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Shitiping to Sanxiantai
Shitiping → Sanxiantai is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sanxiantai to Dulan
Sanxiantai → Dulan is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dulan to Taitung
Dulan → Taitung is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Taitung to back through Dulan
Taitung → back through Dulan is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dulan to back through Sanxiantai
back through Dulan → back through Sanxiantai is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sanxiantai to back through Shitiping
back through Sanxiantai → back through Shitiping is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shitiping to Hualien
back through Shitiping → Hualien is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- East Coast Highway 11 · part 1 · 114 km
- Taiwan East Rift Valley · 172 km
- East Coast Highway 11 starting at Hualien City · 340 km