Qingshui cliffs

I expected the seven kilometre hike from Chongde Station to be an up hill battle, but the train had already gently risen before reaching the village and the hike was relatively flat. What made it difficult, was the final tunnel. It was a hair-raising hike through a one and a half kilometre dark tunnel with no sidewalk where trucks roared past and their noisy engines echoed off the tunnel ceiling.

A hike by Cingshuei Cliffs

I was on my way to Qingshui Cliffs in Taroko National Park, but there was no public transport right to this site. Instead, I caught a train from Hualien to Chongde then had another seven kilometres to hike along coastal Suao-Hualien Highway.

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Xiangde temple

I had half an hour before a bus arrived to take me back to Hualien, and Tianfeng pagoda beckoned on the other side of a bridge. Xiangde temple belonged to the Lin Ji Zong Buddhist sect and was only built in the 1960s because of the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. Later, the white Guanyin statue was added.

A trail to a waterfall

I reached Tianxiang within Taroko National Park, and headed out of the tiny village towards the Baiyang Trail. In spite of being in a mountainous region, the trail was flat and only a little over two kilometres one way. The challenge was its eight unlit tunnels, one in particular that was difficult unless you had a flashlight.

Tunnel of Nine Turns

Taroko National Park’s Jiuqudong Trail or Tunnel of Nine Turns was a close up view of the Liwu River and Taroko Gorge. The gorge was formed over 200 million years ago by the earth’s crust rising and the river eroding to form a gorge. Limestone was formed, but from high temperatures and pressure, it metamorphosed into marble.

First stop in Taroko National Park

Just north of Hualien on Taiwan’s east coast was a mountainous region with fast flowing rivers, waterfalls, steep gorges and lush forests.