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 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.