Taroko National Park & the East Coast - Taiwan - page 338

Tours
All travel agencies in Hualien and Taipei can arrange full- or half-day tours of Taroko
Gorge. Taking a tour is a convenient way to see the gorge but it doesn't leave enough
time for exploring.
Taiwan Tour Bus BUS TOUR
( www.taiwantourbus.com.tw ; half-/full-day tours NT$650/988) Leaves from the visitor inform-
ation centre at Hualien train station. Staff at the centre can help with ticket purchases.
Festivals & Events
Taroko International Marathon MARATHON
The park has been the venue for this autumn event since 2000. Organisers like to stress
that it's the only canyon marathon in the world. The event attracts runners from all over
the world (there were 10,000 participants in 2009) and there are full and half marathons
as well as a 5km run. Contact the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association
( www.sportsnet.org.tw/en ) for more information.
Sleeping
With your own transport, you have many options for sleeping.
Arrive early if you wish to stake out a spot at the campgrounds at Holiu MAP (clean-
ing fee NT$200) and Lüshui MAP (camping free) . Both campgrounds sit in superb loca-
tions on flats above the river, and bathrooms with showers are available. You can also
erect a tent for free in the Baiyang Trail parking lot (about 700m up from Tienhsiang).
Tents can only be put up after 3pm and must be taken down before 10am each day. Toi-
lets and cold showers are available here.
Tienhsiang
Catholic Hostel HOSTEL $
(Tiānxiáng Tiānzhǔ Táng; 869 1122; dm NT$300, d without shower NT$700, d/tw with shower
NT$1100/1400) The Catholic Hostel has been the principal budget hotel in Tienhsiang for
50 years. The place is getting a bit long in the tooth but it still offers dorms at no-non-
sense prices.