Taiwan Day 2 at Taroko National Park

Note: This trip was made n December 2018.

We woke up early for an early breakfast and check out from Eslite Hotel to head to our next destination. We took the MRT from Taipei Station to Hualien Station where we waited for the hotel’s mini-bus to pick us up to the Silk Place, the hotel where we put up for two nights. The journey to the hotel took us an hour and it was a comfortable ride.

The Silk Hotel is located right in the heart of the Taroko (太魯閣) National Park, highly recommended by the local colleagues. The weather was good with temperatures ranging between 18 to 23 degrees Celcius.

After getting all the administration work done, we collected our keys, and the hotel staff brought us to our room. The hotel room has an amazing view of the gorge. Wow! This is my first time living in the middle of the Taroko National Park, not just being closed to nature but right with nature.

After we freshened up, we took a walk to explore the surroundings. We stroll around Tianxiang, the largest recreation spot on the eastern section of the Central Cross-Island Highway. There are a few eateries, visitors services, temples and scenic spots. After exploring the area a little, we walked towards the hotel to the Zhihui Bridge. We then cross the Pudu Bridge to visit the Xiangde Temple.

Xiangde Temple is an antique temple bell tower surrounded by hills, well-known for having the tallest Bodhisattva in Taiwan. The trail from the hotel to the Xiangde Temple is just half a kilometre.

I climbed up the flights of stairs to visit the temple and was welcomed by the White Robed Guanyin.

Next, to the Guanyin is a pagoda which I thought I could climb up the pagoda to have a view from the top, unfortunately, it is out of bound.

After walking around for about three hours, we headed back to the hotel to relax and get some rest. The sky turned dark rather quickly, we decided to go for early dinner since we did not have a proper lunch. Dinner was sumptuous with a good spread of appetiser, dishes, soup and dessert.

While enjoying our dinner, we were invited by the restaurant manager to join the rest of the hotel guests at the rooftop area for a performance by the indigenous people. Knowing that there was not much we could do in the evening as the hotel is located right in the middle of the National Park, the hotel staff organised performances by the indigenous people that we may get to learn about the culture of Taroko and their origins.

At the rooftop, a campfire was lit to keep us warm as the air was getting rather chilly. The hotel staff also served us with ginger tea and gave us blankets to keep us warm. The performance was by an indigenous couple. They have great vocals, they sang very well.

After watching the performance, we called it a day and went back to the hotel room for an early rest. It was a relaxing day. We did not plan for anything, no itinerary just went with the flow, that’s how a holiday should be. Life is good!

The Lowdown

Address: Silks Place at Taroko National Park. No 18 Tianxiang Road, Xiulin Township. Hualien Country 972, Taiwan (ROC)

For more information on Taroko National Park, check out here .

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Living for Experiences!

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