generally speaking, i’d wear a bloody helmet scooting through the gorge and on some trails. my car has been pounded twice by relatively small rocks that make very deep impressions. had it been my head, i reckon i’d make the apple daily. also had a near miss on the scoot once.
scooting by the baiyang trail (the one that got covered up) was surreal when i was there last month. they cleaned the road for ten minutes an hour and one had the impression that the whole face was going to fall at any time.
Sorry for digging up an old thread… I plan on going to Taroko National Park in April.
Is there any public transport, be it bus or taxi, plying the route from the park entrance to Tienhsiang and then back? (among other things I’m planning to do the Baiyang Trail).
I read somewhere there are buses from Hualien and Hsincheng to Tienhsiang but I’m not sure if they make any stops in between… maybe I should just resort to hitchhiking
[quote=“jayjay”]Is there any public transport, be it bus or taxi, plying the route from the park entrance to Tianxiang and then back? (among other things I’m planning to do the Baiyang Trail).
I read somewhere there are buses from Hualian and Xincheng to Tianxiang, but I’m not sure if they make any stops in between… maybe I should just resort to hitchhiking [/quote]
Thanks for the link. By the way do you know if any of the buses stop near the Tunnel of Nine Turns?
[quote=“Feiren”]Yeah it’s about the same. Just a few buses a day.
BUT, you can rent a decent bike right outside the Xincheng train station. Anyone who is moderately fit can ride up the Gorge to Tianxiang.
Leave early to miss some of the tour buses. Highly recommended. And there are taxis from the Xincheng train station.[/quote]
Cycling is my favourite sport so that’s a fantastic idea!
I plan to go in the middle of the week - is it safe sharing the narrow roads with all those buses and cars?
When you rent a bike does it come with a helmet, plus a chain and lock so you can leave it somewhere (while walking a trail) and have piece of mind it will be there when you return? Anyone know if you can you ride a bike on any of the trails?
No can’t ride a bike on the trails. Would only be possible in any case on bits of Shakadang.
If you want a better bike with locks and bags rent from the Giant shop in Hualian at the Parkview Hotel. If you really like riding don’t miss Highway 14 out by Liyu Lake. It’s not really a highway but a winding narrow road up the Mugua River corridor, which is like a wilder version of Taroko Gorge. Can rent Giant bikes at Liyu Lake or ride from Hualien to the lake on a marked path. Hardly any traffic on this road.
Also note that the Baiyang Trail is a lot longer and tougher than it used to be as the old tunnel entrance is gone.
MM is right. You can get a better bike in town. There is also another Giant rental station right at Hualien station on the left as you exit the station.
You can take bikes on local commuter trains (i.e Hualien->Xincheng)
I strongly suspect that the Xincheng scooter rental people will rent you a scooter without a license.
When did the Giant shop open next to the train station? That’s great. Wasn’t there a year ago. Do they have multi-day rentals there that you know of?
As for scooters, you can rent a scooter across the Hualian train station at Pony without a license. You can also simply go to the Taroko Vistor Centre and ask one of the English speaking staff to help you. They will call a scooter shop to deliver a scooter to the centre. Again, no license needed.
I tried to show them (whichever random shop I entered) my license but they weren’t interested. Although this could be hit and miss.
The giant shop was there when I went in September and was good for killing 30 minutes while waiting for the train.
Are you planning on staying in Hualien or Tiansiang (or camping)? tbh the cycling might be great but not if you have to carry your gear around. I would recommend either staying in the gorge (I prefer camping) and getting a scooter or renting a bike and hauling it on the bus to Tiansiang (if possible). imo you are going to want some sort of personal transport once you are in Tiansiang to get to where you want to go. And a lot of the places like tunnel of nine turns (closed when I went because of recent rockfall) are only 1-2 hour hikes at most. And then you might spend an indefinite amount of time waiting for the next public transport.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]
Can rent Giant bikes at Liyu Lake or ride from Hualian to the lake on a marked path. Hardly any traffic on this road. [/quote]
I think this Giant store closed in October of last year. Also, I heard that it is getting really difficult to get the police permit to get up to Mugumuyu (慕谷慕魚) unless you get there in the mornings. I was there in September, it was about 11 a.m. when we arrived and they had already reached the limit for the day.
[quote=“Mugatu”][quote=“Muzha Man”]
Can rent Giant bikes at Liyu Lake or ride from Hualian to the lake on a marked path. Hardly any traffic on this road. [/quote]
I think this Giant store closed in October of last year. Also, I heard that it is getting really difficult to get the police permit to get up to Mugumuyu unless you get there in the mornings. I was there in September, it was about 11am when we arrived and they had already reached the limit for the day.[/quote]
Goddammit. Can’t anything in this country stay open long enough to see its name in print? The Liyu shop probably closed as there is a bike path now from Hualien to the lake.
But yes, during the summer, and nice days in general you need to be there by 6am I have been told.
A couple comments on recent discussions, and Taroko trail conditions, covered in a recent blog post.
DO wear a helmet while scootering the gorge. As well as for the normal legal/road crash reasons, rocks do come down from on high. I’m paying to have the side of a rental van repaired at the moment… At a couple places brave national park workers are removing loose rocks from cliffs, allowing traffic below to pass morning, evening, and on the hour during the daytime. Do not loiter in these areas - where the road and barriers are mangled.
The alternative route to the Baiyang Trail is very worth hiking. It takes an hour and a half from the Protestant (Presbyterian) Church in Tianxiang to get to where the original tunnel (from the highway, near Tianxiang) comes out. Emergency cell phone coverage OK. Get a permit from the National Park ranger station just to be safe.
Never visit the Eternal Spring Shrine late in the day (3-6pm) the numbers of Chinese tour buses is amazing.
See my suggestion in the blog post regarding bicycle rental/van shuttle to Tianxiang from Taroko/Xincheng/Sincheng Train Station.
All other great advice/wisdom can be gleaned from the great Bradt, and Lonely Planet (new 2011 edition) guides.
I’m wondering if you could clarify something for me: regarding Rihang and his bicycle rental and shuttle to Tianxiang, is that only open to people staying with him?
Also are there only specific times when he does the shuttle? Does he wait until he has a enough people, or is it simply on demand?
[quote=“Mugatu”][quote=“Muzha Man”]
Can rent Giant bikes at Liyu Lake or ride from Hualian to the lake on a marked path. Hardly any traffic on this road. [/quote]
I think this Giant store closed in October of last year. Also, I heard that it is getting really difficult to get the police permit to get up to Mugumuyu unless you get there in the mornings. I was there in September, it was about 11am when we arrived and they had already reached the limit for the day.[/quote]
it’s a PITA to get in there (Mugumuyu aka Tongmen). The permits seem to get handed out in advance to (mostly) minibus groups. You really need to go to Tongmen the day before and get your police permit in advance too. Great biking (bicycle or motor) road though, and especially after the big red bridge, as most people don’t bother going beyond there.
I’m wondering if you could clarify something for me: regarding Rihang and his bicycle rental and shuttle to Tienxiang, is that only open to people staying with him?
Also are there only specific times when he does the shuttle? Does he wait until he has a enough people, or is it simply on demand?[/quote]
He will do the run to Tianxiang anytime, for any number of people, staying at his place or not. All things being considered (I’ve stayed just about everywhere in/near the gorge) his place is a decent place to stay. His bicycles are not top Giants or Meridas but seem to be in good shape – his brother is a bike dealer in Taipei, I think.
I’ve done a number of tours there… including river tracing though I’m not sure they’ll allow that anymore in Taroko Gorge but you can in many other rivers in the area. Here’s a vid I posted showing a huge landslide in Taroko and our high speed tour, let me know what you think.
Thanks for any feedback. https://youtu.be/lZ-Gh3-FUzI
The Liyu shop probably closed as there is a bike path now from Hualien to the lake.