Does anybody know whether the gorge is currently accessible or whether there are any restrictions due to typhoon damage such as rock/mud-slides etc.?? Thanks a lot, Xpet.
I was there last week. There was some typhoon damage, but nothing like in Nantou. There is an official list of open and closed trails, but I don’t have time to translate for you.
Most importantly, the Baiyang trail and the Wenshan hot springs are officially closed. However, you can actually walk the Baiyang trail to about the 3 km mark where a landslide closes the trail.
The third pool in the hot spring (the one in the cave) was cleaned out when I was there and we bathed in it but got chased out by the park rangers, who yelled at the workers for letting foreigners in. They allowed the Taiwanese folks to continue bathing though. You should probably go at night. Make sure you bring a torch and exercise common sense.
Why would they restrict only foreign nationals from using the pool?
Feiren, thanks for the link, no translation necessary for me … 
Xpet.
Why would they restrict only foreign nationals from using the pool?[/quote]
They didn’t. It’s closed to everyone. We went anyway and met several Taiwanese bathing in third pool and workers cleaning out the other two pools. We joined the other bathers and soaked for about 30 minutes. Then a highly agitated park ranger came and yelled and screamed at the workers for letting foreigners into the closed area. Then he asked us to leave. The Taiwanese bathers stayed.
I supposed it’s possible the Taiwanese bathers were from the area and knew the ranger. Or that the rangers are extra-sensitive about foreigners since the Fred Frontier incident. In any event, we had had our soak and I didn’t want to ruin a beautiful day with an argument so we left.
It might be wise to stay away for a while as although the damage is not as bad, rock slides have been known to happen AFTER the typhoon. Plus, another typhoon might be coming around these few days.
I would second that comment. While I think the park authorities were being overly-cautious it was clear that lots of rock had fallen recently and that things were unstable. Caution is definitely recommended.
Thanks for the warning, guys! We weren’t thinking of going immediately, got some visitors coming in August who expressed an interest to go, we’ll see how it goes until then, what with the new tropical depression headed for Taiwan and all … friends of ours were once trapped in a tunnel there by minor rock-slides front and back that were cleared away soon enough, still a rather uncomfortable experience that I don’t care to make!! :no-no:
I was also in Taroko four days ago, doing a mountain trip by scooter. Pictures can be seen here:
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … &start=180
In the last week, I’ve traveled almost all the major roads in the national parks/major scenic areas in the northern half of Taiwan.
- Taroko was just fine to TianXiang.
- Traveling up to HeHuan moutain from TianXiang, needing caution, but OK. Pleasant ride.
- Traveling to Sunmoon Lake, a pain in the rear.
- Traveling through Yushan National Park to Alishan, forget it. I did it, but it was quasi-dangerous. That is one disaster zone I don’t see getting fixed soon.
- Road from JiaYi to Alishan, needing caution, but OK.
Thanks for your update on the road situation in the mountains.
About #4 on your list. I assume you mean the #21 highway from Tongpu to Alishan by way of Tatajia. Open but dangerous? Is that right? That road has never been in great shape, but it leads to some of the best scenery.
thanks
[quote=“timogan”]Thanks for your update on the road situation in the mountains.
About #4 on your list. I assume you mean the #21 highway from Tongpu to Alishan by way of Tatajia. Open but dangerous? Is that right? That road has never been in great shape, but it leads to some of the best scenery.
thanks[/quote]
Yes, exactly. It gets real nasty around the turnoff to ShenMu. Now, granted, I have no idea what is earthquake damage and what is the recent typhoon. All I know is that I didn’t get traction on my Vespa at some places and had to walk my scooter up hills while giving it gas, sometimes with the wheel still spinning in loose dirt, rocks or mud. I was the only non-construction vehicle on that road you speak of for the several hours I was on it. The ride down the hill from the TaTaJia station to Alishan is much much better.
That picture you see of that boulder several times the size of a car was on the accent to TaTaJia, although that was not a real obstrction, just a good picture.