Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Green Island's windswept northeast corner was completely out of bounds for much of the 20th century, occupied by a large prison camp. Here, political…
Must-see attractions in Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
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Hualien
Built in 2000, this gigantic temple-cum-performance venue has a simple yet striking, white-and-grey exterior. At its tallest point, the building is…
Taroko National Park
This 18km marble-walled gorge is Taroko National Park's crown jewel. It's a must-see attraction whether you're hiking its trails, peering at its…
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Taroko National Park
Nearing completion at the time of research, a breathtaking new suspension footbridge at Bulowan will soon cross the gorge, dizzyingly high above the river…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The area known as the Gaotai is a hill which rises fairly abruptly above Luye, surveying the surrounding green mountain ridges in all directions. For most…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
At 952m, Sixty Stone Mountain offers one of the east coast's most mesmerising landscapes. Zigzag up eight kilometres through subtropical foliage to the…
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Fuyuan Forest Recreational Area
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Fuyuan takes an area of serene natural beauty and tames it just enough to make accessible the abundant birdlife and multitudinous butterflies that flit…
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Taroko National Park
Very steep rock-and-forest mountainsides north of Taroko descend directly into the sea from several hundred metres' altitude. That means that roads and…
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Hualien
Qixingtan (Chihsingtan) is a former fishing hamlet whose few remaining, old, tin-roofed shacks are outnumbered by a gaggle of small but fanciful hotels…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
An attractively set 'cultural village' and tour bus magnet, Lintianshan was founded in 1918 as a Japanese-era logging village. At its 1960 peak, it housed…
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Taroko National Park
Picturesque for its setting, backed by toweringly steep mountainsides, this small shrine sits above a gushing spring that pours out onto the rocks below,…
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Taitung
A spur line once brought trains to the centre of Taitung. That line was decommissioned in 2001 and has since been turned into an excellent cycle path. The…
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Taroko National Park
This half-kilometre slice of gorge-side old road twists and turns between rock-cut pillars and minitunnels, reminding visitors of how the Taroko route…
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Chihpen Forest Recreation Area
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The core of this forest park is a 45-minute walk to a bamboo grove past a botanic garden, herb garden and a 'forest fun' area for children. Longer trails…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
One of the most beautiful viewpoints on Green Island is reached by walking a 300m path along a precipitous high promontory called Little Great Wall. This…
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Hualien
Designed like an antique Chinese palace, this colourfully gabled 1980s complex is set amid lush foliage on a small rise overlooking Hualien's single most…
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Taitung
This hi-tech and engaging if occasionally disorientating museum charts Taiwan’s geological birth and human prehistory as well as introducing the island's…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This dramatic rock formation resembling two lions lying face to face rises from the coral beach at the northeastern tip of the island. At high tide it…
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Taroko National Park
Falling a total of around 200m, this waterfall is in fact a pair of cascades, only parts of which are visible from the viewing bridge. To get there, you…
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Hualien
Climb through a dragon's mouth into one of two spiral staircases that front this gigantic Matsu temple – the biggest in Hualien. There is particularly…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This roadside rock formation has gone through various Chinese names over the years – Virgin Rock, Maiden Rock, Couple Rock, Torch Rock – all reflecting…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This is a series of large roadside caves. Visitors can walk through one U-shaped interconnected pair with a white cross at one end. Other entrances are…
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Taroko National Park
Driving beyond Tianxiang, the zigzagging road climbs steadily up through the forested mountainsides, with many appealing vistas. One of the best that also…
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Hualien
An ambitious little gallery that showcases edgy and experimental works by Taiwanese, Asian and Western artists. Fogstand also has an artists-as-resident…
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Taitung
If you've got your own wheels, Taimali offers a pleasantly low-key alternative to Taitung as a travel base with long beaches, flower-patched mountains,…
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Taitung
A pleasant place to smell the sea air, this park's signature feature is known immodestly as the Taitung International Landmark (台東國際地標; Táidōng Guójì…
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Taitung
The seafront rocks within this coastal park are geological curiosities, many forming cuesta structures: angled geological sandwiches with alternating soft…
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Temple to the Lords of the Three Mountains
Hualien
This temple may look quite ordinary, but it is the hub of Hakka religious life in Hualien. When the Hakkas migrated to Taiwan in the Qing dynasty, they…
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Taitung
If you've got an hour to wait for a train, a fine way to spend it is strolling through this landscaped park. It features a significant Neolithic site, but…
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Hualien
Set in a graceful garden that's all a-twitter with birdsong, this 1940s concrete building was used by the Japanese military to wine and pleasure their…
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Taitung
Set on a big courtyard of ornate gateways lit with massed clusters of lanterns, this is Taitung's largest temple. It's a beautifully proportioned,…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
If you're taking the cross-island lane it's possible to make a short detour half-way along that leads up and up to a weather station at 324m altitude. The…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Viewed from the south, this rock supposedly resembles the profile of a whiskered Chinese dragon roaring at the sky.
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This remote forest experience centre at 2320m, around 60km west of Chishang, introduces regional wildlife and doubles as the application point for permits…
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Taitung
For sweeping views across Taitung to the ocean and, on clear days Green Island, climb to the viewing platform in this steep, wooded park. It's just ten…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This cultural foundation has a museum-like section with costumed mannequins and, in the yard, an example of a Tao underground house. You can generally…
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Hualien
Worth a five-minute look, this area's main sight is a 1932 wooden courtyard building containing a fairly basic history of the East Coast Railway since…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Signposted down paved switchbacks off the east coast road, Youzihu is a ghost village whose overgrown ruins sit on a cove set behind a dramatic array of…
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Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Worth a one-minute stop when driving the lovely east coast route, this little cave-shrine features a stalagmite wrapped with a red cape. The stalagmite is…
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Taitung
In stark contrast to the orchards and lush subtropical forest all around, this small 'geopark' is an area where gulleys and cliff sides of loose,…
