Taroko National Park

Hualien - We had breakfast provided by the Hotel and it was simple and the food was cold, had to ask the server to reheat some of the food.  The Taroko tour began @ 8:30am with the min-bus waiting outside the Hotel.   The tour cost NT750 per person w/o lunch; below 12 is NT650.   The bus driver is also the tour guide - very productive.

Susan wanted some fruits and so the bus driver stopped by one of the fruit stalls along the way to the Taroko National Park.

Choosing bananas

Taroko Gorge is carved by the Liwu River through marble mountains, forming spectacular canyons whose precipitous cliffs are draped with waterfalls and overhung with lush jungle vegetation.

The entrance to the Taroko National Park.  The name, Taroko, means "magnificent and beautiful". Long ago a Truku tribesman saw the beauty of the azure Pacific when he walked out of the gorge. On seeing the magnificent scene, he cried "Taroko!". And so it became the name of the place.

My family

Our min-bus

Iconic Tarako Entrance

The next stop is the Taroko National Park Visitor Centre.

Taroko National Park visitor centre

The visitor centre is also a good place to collect all the maps of the location.

At all railway stations, bus stops, visitor centre there is always a stamp or chop area for adults and children to stamp or chop iconic symbol onto paper or book which they brought along.  My youngest son happened to bring along a small book and by the end of the trip it was filled with iconic symbol of Taiwan and places that we visited. 

Taroko Dam

The bus driver stops here to collect safety helmets for us to prevent falling rocks from hurting us.  The safety helments are provided free of charge to all visitors to the park.  You will see one of the workers disinfecting the helment, cleaning the helmet and another packing into the pink bags for distribution.

2nd stop area - Pulowan Recreation Centre....my son busy stamping on this book.  Lots of stamps.

It was a beautiful and sunny day...3rd Stop - Swallow Grotto Trail.   There are 2 Swallow Grotto Trails - Big and Small.  The bus driver stoped at the Big Swallow Grotto Trail.   The trail is named such because there are many swallows living and flying around.     We had to wear helmets incase of falling rocks.  

We were fortunate because the Taroko National Park was just opened only 2 days ago because of landslide and falling rocks.   Falling rocks have claimed many lives over the years.  

 http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/hualien/2011/10/09/319252/Falling-rocks.htm