Return to Taroko Gorge

One of the final things Heather and I wanted to do before leaving Taiwan was to return to Taroko Gorge, our favorite place in Taiwan, one last time to hike the Old Zhuilu Trail.  This trail was originally termed a "road" by the Japanese occupiers who built it along with a network of similar high mountain trails.  The Japanese built the trails originally to fight against the aboriginal people in the decades leading up to World War II.  The roads were used to transport large amounts of troops and even canons, which is pretty incredible once you see the pictures of the size of the trail below.

We had to hire a guide who could arrange for special permits allowing us to hike the trail.  So Heather and I took a short 30min flight from Taipei to Hualien on Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning we were hiking the trail.

The trail was 3 kilometers to the highlight of the trail, which is the largest cliff face in the park.  In about two hours, we climbed over 1,500 feet along 2.3 kilometers of trail.  At the top, the trail is actually carved out of the cliff face and provides amazing views of the gorge.

Here's a picture capturing the dizzying heights of the trail on the cliff face.  Down below is the road that  goes through the gorge, over 1,500 feet below.

Our guide, Matt, was great.  He knew quite a bit about the local plants, and showed up old plum and orange trees along the trail.  Our favorite was when he pointed out a cinnamon tree.  We chewed the leaves like bubble gum and then he made cinnamon leaf herbal tea when we got to the top; very tasty.  On the way down, he grabbed some soapberries.  

 Here's a picture of the cliff face from the road below.  The trail is just under the cloud line in the picture.

After we made it back down to the gorge floor, we took a little drive to a natural hot spring and soaked our tired legs for a while.  We even used the soapberries to clean ourselves off.  The soapberries actually made great, foamy soap when you peel them open and add some water.  All natural, too.  I had never heard of these things until this hike.  Nature sure does have some amazing things.

This was truly a world-class hike, and we were glad we had the chance to visit the gorge one last time.