Taiwan's Taroko Gorge: Marble Cliffs and Turquoise Rivers

Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan protects 920 square kilometres of the Central Mountain Range, including the Taroko Gorge — a series of marble-walled canyons carved by the Liwu River over the past two million years. The marble was formed from limestone that was metamorphosed by the intense heat and pressure of the collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate — the same tectonic process that is still pushing the Central Mountain Range upward at a rate of several millimetres per year. The result is a landscape of extraordinary geological drama: sheer marble cliffs rising hundreds of metres from a river that runs jade-green from the minerals dissolved in its water.

The Taroko Gorge Road, built by veterans of the Chinese Civil War between 1956 and 1960 at a cost of 212 lives, winds through the gorge for 19 kilometres, passing through tunnels blasted from the marble and over bridges spanning the river gorge. The road is a feat of engineering that remains impressive today, and the views from its narrow ledge — down to the turquoise river and up to the marble cliffs — are among the most dramatic in Taiwan. The road is subject to closures after typhoons and earthquakes, which are frequent in this tectonically active region.

The Shakadang Trail, one of the most popular hikes in the park, follows the Shakadang River upstream through a narrow gorge of white and grey marble, with the river running in pools of extraordinary clarity over a bed of polished stones. The trail is cut into the cliff face and passes through several short tunnels, with the river always visible below. The marble walls are streaked with veins of black, grey, and white, and the reflections of the cliffs in the still pools create abstract compositions that change with every step.

The Baiyang Trail leads to the Water Curtain Cave, a tunnel through which a waterfall flows directly overhead — visitors walk through the curtain of water to reach a viewpoint over the gorge beyond. The trail passes through several tunnels and over suspension bridges, with views of waterfalls cascading down the marble cliffs on both sides. The Water Curtain Cave is particularly dramatic after heavy rain, when the waterfall becomes a torrent and the spray fills the tunnel with mist.

The Truku people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Taroko region, have lived in these mountains for centuries, hunting in the forests and farming the river valleys. Their traditional culture, including the distinctive facial tattoos that marked the status of warriors and weavers, was suppressed during the Japanese colonial period and the subsequent Nationalist Chinese administration, but has been experiencing a revival in recent decades. The Taroko National Park visitor centre includes an exhibition on Truku culture and history, and several villages in the park offer cultural experiences and homestays.

The Qingshui Cliffs, on the Pacific coast north of the gorge, are among the most dramatic coastal landscapes in Asia — marble cliffs rising 1,000 metres directly from the sea, with the Pacific Ocean crashing against their base. The Suhua Highway, which runs along the base of the cliffs, is one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the world, though it is subject to frequent closures due to rockfalls. The view from the highway, with the cliffs above and the deep blue Pacific below, is one of those landscapes that makes the difficulty of getting there entirely worthwhile.

The best time to visit Taroko is from October to April, during the dry season, when the risk of typhoon-related closures is lowest and the weather is cooler and more comfortable for hiking. The park receives over 4 million visitors a year, and the main gorge road can be crowded during Taiwanese public holidays. Arriving early in the morning, before the tour buses from Hualien, gives you the gorge largely to yourself — the light in the early morning, when it catches the marble walls at a low angle, is at its most beautiful.