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Taroko, Cross Isl. Hwy and Qingjing
Taroko, Cross Isl. Hwy and Qingjing
The first half of the central island crossing from Hualien to Taichung. We've chartered a car and a driver, driving us through the challenging Central Cross-Island Hwy to Qingjing, with multiple scenic stops along the Taroko Gorge. It's a 7-hour drive with all the stops included. Multiple roadworks were in place where sections were only passable at certain times, further increasing the challenge. This is done in Jan 2024 but road conditions have been changing from time to time, particularly after the recent earthquake in Apr 2024.
A straight dual carriageway road leads out of Hualien up to Xincheng slightly north where Hwy No. 9 continues to Taipei and we take Hwy No. 8 to Taichung, also known as the Central Cross-Island Highway. The weather has been perfect, brushing off concerns of snow at the top as it's in the middle of winter.
This touristy lookout marks the start of the Taroko Gorge section of the highway. Across the bridge was a tourist office which we didn't go.
The difficult terrain begins where the highway runs around space carved up from rocks.
This continues till we pass the first tunnel on time. There's been roadworks on this particular tunnel and it's open to public only at specific times. It has limited travellers doing this itinerary to very strict timeslots during the day. At night without roadworks the entire road is open to passing traffic.
Our first lookout carved out from the cliff. Day tourists are given helmets due to rockfall risks. The lookout is built on disused sections of the highway.
"Look up and see the big taiwan!" our driver insists. The cliff lines are somehow shaped to resemble the shape of the island of Taiwan.
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