Taroko

Taroko National Park covers about 920 km2 across Hualien County, Nantou County and Taichung City and is centred on the Taroko Gorge cut by the Liwu River^[1]. It holds 27 peaks above 3,000 m in and around the Qilai and Nanhu ranges^[1].

The Central Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Highway 8) climbs through habitat zones from tropical lowland to high-mountain conifer forest, and wildlife changes with that altitude^[1]. Rivers such as the Shakadang and the Liwu run through the park^[1].

Along Highway 8 the vegetation passes from tropical deciduous forest to pine and cedar forest at high elevation^[1].

Taroko Gorge is one of only three river-carved gorges in the world cut entirely through marble, the others being Bhedaghat in India and Trigrad in Bulgaria^[1]. Uplift from the collision of tectonic plates and heavy subtropical rain drive continuing erosion and steep, narrow canyons^[1].

Heavy subtropical rainfall feeds constant erosion of the gorge. The April 2024 Hualien earthquake (magnitude 7) set off landslides that blocked Highway 8 and reshaped parts of the gorge^[1].

The name comes from the Truku people, officially recognised in 2004, who migrated from the upper Zhuoshui River region east through Mount Qilai to the Liwu River^[1].

An earlier Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park was created in 1937 under Japanese rule and abolished by the Republic of China in 1945; the present park was established on 28 November 1986^[1]. It was named a potential World Heritage Site in 2002^[1].

Highlights include the Tunnel of Nine Turns, the Eternal Spring Shrine, the Swallow Grotto (Yenzikou) Trail, Cimu Bridge, Zhuilu Cliff, Qingshui Cliffs, the Shakadang Trail, Changuang Temple and the Baiyang Trail with its waterfalls^[1].

Visitors usually travel from Hualien City; the nearest train station, Xincheng, is about 7 km from the park headquarters, so tour buses and taxis are the usual way in^[1]. After the 2024 earthquake and later floods much of the park remained closed as of 2025^[1].

Park authorities have carried out slope stabilisation and structural reinforcement since the 2024 earthquake^[1]. The park is managed by the Taroko National Park Headquarters under the National Park Service^[1].