Recent Info on some Taroko Trails? (Sep 2011)

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Has anybody been on one of the following trails near Tianxiang (Tiānxiáng, Tianhsiang, Tiansiang) in the Taroko Gorge recently?

  • the trail that runs sort of parallel to the road, between Heliu (Héliú, Heliou) and Liushui (Lǜshuǐ, Lyushuei), a few kilometers south of Tianxang
  • the trail that starts with a tunnel at the road less than 1km north of Tianxiang and leads through a few more tunnels and across a suspension bridge to a waterfall,
  • the trail that starts from the road above the parking lot (where, for example, the Catholic church is located) and leads to an abandoned village

I’d be interested in hearing about the condition of the trails.
:thanks:

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barkingdeernews.blogspot.com/201 … dates.html

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I think I did this one a couple of months ago, if it is the one you mean, although it was temporarily closed due to land slides when I did it. It also had the biggest wasp’s nest I have ever seen. Obviously, I am not recommending you do it when it is closed, but it wasn’t damaged to a great extent so it might be open again now.

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Thanks for the link! That page gives a good overview for prospective visitors.
(In this case, unfortuantely, the information there is even older than what i already have. :wink:)

I think I did this one a couple of months ago, if it is the one you mean, although it was temporarily closed due to land slides when I did it. It also had the biggest wasp’s nest I have ever seen. Obviously, I am not recommending you do it when it is closed, but it wasn’t damaged to a great extent so it might be open again now.[/quote]
OK, thanks for that report, as well!
Let’s see what else comes up…

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[quote=“yuli”]Has anybody been on one of the following trails near Tianxiang (Tiānxiáng, Tianhsiang, Tiansiang) in the Taroko Gorge recently?

  • the trail that runs sort of parallel to the road, between Heliu (Héliú, Heliou) and Liushui (Lǜshuǐ, Lyushuei), a few kilometers south of Tianxang[/quote]

By south I assume you mean west, the Lushui-Wenshan trail?

We did it in July and it was fine all the way. The only problem is that there are traffic restrictions on the road (where the huge landslide by the tunnel that used to mark the start of the Baiyang trail is) so you need to be aware that they will only let you past that point on the hour. Permits are required for this trail and can be applied for at the police station in Tianxiang.

The Baiyang Trail? You can still do it, but you need to start behind the church in Tianxiang, rather than at the tunnel. The start of the trail just takes you up and over the mountain and then you meet back up with the original trail at the other end of the tunnel. Conditions are okay, but it is a lot tougher than the Baiyang trail used to be. The second to last bridge is out (was in July anyway) so you can’t actually get to the waterfall, nor can you get to the Water Curtain Cave. You can just about get a view of the higher level of the falls though. Nice walk and cool caves anyway.

Do you mean the “Huoran Pavilion Trail”? If so, the website says that it is open, but it wasn’t when we were there in July.

You can check the conditions on the website here taroko.gov.tw/English/?mm=0&sm=0&page=3

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[quote=“Mugatu”][quote=“yuli”]Has anybody been on one of the following trails near Tianxiang (Tiānxiáng, Tianhsiang, Tiansiang) in the Taroko Gorge recently?

  • the trail that runs sort of parallel to the road, between Heliu (Héliú, Heliou) and Liushui (Lǜshuǐ, Lyushuei), a few kilometers south of Tianxang[/quote]
    By south I assume you mean west, the Lushui-Wenshan trail?[/quote]
    Actually i should have said “east” and not “south”, since when you leave Tianxiang to the south the road immediately turns east. :laughing:
    But searching around on the website you mentioned, i found this information about the trail:
    taroko.gov.tw/zhTW/Content.a … age=2&id=9
    It says there about the location (my translation): “eastern entrance/exit located at km 172 of the cross island highway, diagonally opposite (across from) the Heliu camp ground; western entrance/exit located at km 171.5 of the cross island highway”. The length is given as about 2km - just about right for the people who are coming along on the upcoming trip. And it sound that the trail is not so much “parallel” to the highway but more of a loop (folding back).
    At taroko.gov.tw/zhTW/Content.a … m=3&page=1 it is listed as open.
    (I’ll keep the Lushui-Wenshan trail in mind for another time, when i go there with people who can do a 5km long trail.)

The Baiyang Trail? You can still do it, but you need to start behind the church in Tianxiang, rather than at the tunnel. The start of the trail just takes you up and over the mountain and then you meet back up with the original trail at the other end of the tunnel.[/quote]
I see. So the entrance through tunnel is not open yet. As they confirm here:
taroko.gov.tw/zhTW/Content.a … ge=2&id=10

“A lot tougher” sounds like i may have to pass this time. In fact, on the website they mention steep places with chains to hang on to on the detour section that you mentioned, and basically the trip takes a whole day now, so this, too will have to wait for another time. :slight_smile:

Do you mean the “Huoran Pavilion Trail”?[/quote]
I am not sure - it could be that the old village i am thinking off is along the southeastern portion of that trail or on an offshoot of it. There is some information about the trail here:
taroko.gov.tw/zhTW/Content.a … ge=2&id=17
They write that the trail is rather steep and that the bridge half a kilometer in from the upper entrance/exit is gone, but since the place i am thinking of would be closer to the lower end of that trail (if it is this trail), so the situation with the bridge would not concern us.
Thanks for the report and the link - that site looks like it has the most up-to-date information about the Taroko trails…
A good starting link in Chinese is here:
taroko.gov.tw/zhTW/Content.a … &page=1#up

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I guided around there at the weekend and pretty sure this is an accurate description of conditions at the moment (Sept 14th 2011).

Note the link below to Wenshan Hot Spring photos…OFFICIALLY OPEN!

Starting from Tienxiang, instead of Baiyang, or Baiyang Alternative, I would recommend the local temple and Lyushui-Heliou for easy hikes. For tougher, but superb, hiking consider Wenshan Hot Springs then Wenshan-Lyushui.

Tienxiang is generally a great place to stay. But recently I have seen advantages of staying just outside the gorge - consider having a bike rental guy drive you and a bicycle up the gorge (to Tienxiang or Huitouwan), hike one of the significant trails, and then come back to your bike locked at the trailhead/other trail exit. This way you have the freedom to explore the gorge at your own pace, with very little pedaling. Bike + shuttle around $700. picasaweb.google.com/barkingdee … directlink

Dekalun Trail (得卡倫步道). Up the hill behind the National Park headquarters. Open. Less than 1 hour’s strolling, tougher, longer hiking options.

Dali-Datong Trail (大禮大同步道) Long, scenic single-day, or couple days. Chingshui 3 days. All trail options open.

Shakadang (砂卡礑步道). A very pleasant must-do hike, starts after tunnel not far from National Park HQ. Open. Was closed start of last week further in, open now.

Eternal Spring Shrine Trail (Changchun, 長春祠步道). Do the 40-minute loop hike up above the shrine exiting at the nearby Changuang Temple. Few people get beyond the car park. Open.

Buluowan Trail (布洛灣－燕子口步道). A good steep path to use down to the main highway - especially if staying at the Leader Hotel. Open.

Swallow’s Grotto Trail (Yanzihkou, 布洛灣－燕子口步道). A very easy stroll that should NOT on any account be missed. Usually open, occasionally closed due to loose falling rocks. If riding down the gorge on bicycle consider riding against the traffic/Chinese tourists.

Jhuilu (Vertigo) Trail (錐麓古道) is now open its entire length. Unbeatable! See pictures. Needs both kinds of permits.

Tunnel of Nine Turns Trail（Jiuqudong, 九曲洞步道). A stunning, easy stroll. Currently closed. Really closed.

Lyushui-Heliou Trail (綠水步道). A very pleasant less than 1-hour loop. The nest are usually for ants not wasps. Open.

Lyushui - Wenshan Trail (綠水文山步道) A recently reopened trail. Moderately tough - at start and end some scrambling, and requires/deserves 4 to 5 hours. Permit required but easy to obtain from the the NP police (warden) station at the park headquarters or at Tienxiang (the station on the left going up the hill towards the protestant church…across the street from the regular police station!). Best done starting from Wenshan. Open.

Baiyang Trail (白楊步道). A very, very nice trail, CLOSED due to damage to mountainside at entrance next to highway. Tunnel entrance seems to be REALLY closed. Usually no traffic restrictions here - construction work going on at the moment does not require it. If restrictions, as mentioned, open on the hour for 10 minutes. Holidays and outside work hours is open.

Tianxiang - Baiyang Trail (天祥─白楊步道). Recently reopened access to the Baiyang Trail. Toughish and potentially risky in places. Trail starts from the protestant church in Tienxiang village. Now well signposted “Baiyang Alternative Route” Please get a permit (easy) from the nearby police station. Easy walking once you get to the original trail that ends at the fun ‘Water Curtain tunnel’. If possible bring a flashlight for the tunnels. Allow 5-6 hours. Open, bit a previous poster mentioned the last bridge (will be rebuilt within a year) is out and you can’t view the waterfall. Skip it for the moment.

Huoran Pavilion Trail. Closed

Wenshan Hot Springs (文山溫泉). OPEN. OPEN. OPEN see photos and comments at picasaweb.google.com/barkingdee … directlink

Meiyuan Jhucun Trail (梅園竹村). Great 6-hour, fairly-flat path. Officially closed due to landslide damage after the turn of for Lianhua Pond. Usually passable.

Lianhua Pond (Lotus, 蓮花池步道). A very nice 3-hour round hike starting and ending at Huitouwan (6km beyond Tienxiang Village. Don’t get too distracted by the views and walk of the edge. Open. Consider tough scrambling extension up to Zhulun Mountain.

Richard. HikeTaiwan@gmail.com

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Hi Richard - much appreciated! This time the program will be very easy hikes only from among the ones that are open, such as the Swallow’s Grotto Trail and the Lyushui-Heliou Trail (綠水步道). We will start in Xincheng at 8am (and not on the weekend), so we should be able to make it to Tianxiang before any of the large buses clog up the road.

About the hotspring:
picasaweb.google.com/barkingdee … directlink
Good news, of course. :slight_smile: And the photos will be surely be helpful to many visitors…
A bit unfortunate that they didn’t put at least one of the old pools back into service to allow for a slightly cooler dip, say at around 42C - the cave pool is damn hot: someone went not long ago to check the place out and measured 48C. Last time i went there i climbed down near where the water runs out of the cave pool and sat where the outflowing spring water and river were mixing. :wink: But some people seem happy enough being cooked there. :laughing:

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[quote=“yuli”]
A bit unfortunate that they didn’t put at least one of the old pools back into service to allow for a slightly cooler dip, say at around 42C - the cave pool is damn hot: someone went not long ago to check the place out and measured 48C. Last time I went there i climbed down near where the water runs out of the cave pool and sat where the outflowing spring water and river were mixing. :wink: But some people seem happy enough being cooked there. :laughing:[/quote]

I suspect, before too long, private individuals will will excavate and replumb one or both of the big pools. This way the national park have done their bit safely, and anything else is not their responsibility. As the the river get lower in the next few weeks (after this latest typhoon/wet mess) I expect good pools will be fashioned down next to the riverbed. Either way - take care.
There weren’t too many people at it 9/10 am on Sunday. Be prepared for numbers to increase. Current bathing space is very limited.

Even the busiest places in the gorge are not too offensive - even at weekends. Swallow’s Grotto get quite a few Chinese tour groups mid afternoon; Eternal Spring (the main car park/viewing area) is very bad late afternoon - walking 2 minutes and you are dealing with less than 20 people, walk 15 and you probably will be alone.
This recent holiday weekend we met 2 (two) people on the Dali-Datong Trail; 1 (one) person on Wenshan-Lyushui; 4 (four) on Lotus Pond/Zhulun Mt. A friend on the Jhuilu/Vertigo Trail reported less than 20 - must have been a lot of people not using their permits.

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We did the whole tour, as planned, and stayed overnight in Tianxian.

We went to both places in the morning and by noon were well ahead and out of reach of the tour buses with Chinese tourists. :laughing: And we stayed in Tianxian, where there weren’t many visitors (only two buses were parked there) and where we ate well. The only thing that seemed really out of place was the sound of amplified voices and music from the stage of an evening party that took place on the roof of the hotel, but from midnight on it was very quiet, except for various insects that were keeping themselves busy all throughout the night - very relaxing…
Again a nice trip - this time i also managed to see all of the big temple and pagoda complex that is on a spearate little hill across the river from the hotel area (to minimize sweating we went there early in the morning on the second day, just as it got light and we were back just as the sun came up over the mountains). I noticed that there is plenty of level space, on various hills, around Tianxiang, and i can see how the natives would have been able to have settlements in that area and keep gardens. At about 500m elevation it is a bit cooler than the lowland but i doubt it will be uncomfortably cold there even in winter.

[quote]As the the river get lower in the next few weeks (after this latest typhoon/wet mess) I expect good pools will be fashioned down next to the riverbed. Either way - take care.
There weren’t too many people at it 9/10 am on Sunday. Be prepared for numbers to increase. Current bathing space is very limited.[/quote]
There was about a dozen people at the pool, with us included. No space for more, really… and the river was still strong but left us space to improvise some rock pools where the water comes down from the hot pool.
More on the hotspring here: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=101254&start=9

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This was Closed yesterday, suspect rock-falls from recent rains. Don’t know how serious.

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Did this Baiyang Alternative this week - there are surely a couple of heady places where the old railings are heading into the abyss, and the well-trodden path is only a foot or so wide. Not for beginners, but I suspect a lot of people try it as the Baiyang Trail itself is prominent in all the guidebooks. Baiyang itself was also closed half-way along due to rock-falls (well before getting to that penultimate collapsed bridge). Had a peek though and they’re almost cleared up. No sign of bridge construction yet. Awesome natural power to bring that structure down, it always seemed as solid as concrete. Well, it was concrete :whistle:.

Didn’t see any signs about needing a permit, so didn’t.