Day 3 was sunny and beautiful, and a serious improvement highlights-wise over the previous two days. We started with a visit to the famous Taroko Gorge, and ended with the most beautiful hot springs hotel I may ever experience in my life.

Taroko National Park is huge, but most people really only visit the marble gorge. First stop was the Eternal Spring Shrine, the famous postcard shot of Taroko. The lovely red shrine sits atop a small waterfall, and is dedicated to the 450 men (mostly from mainland China) who died building the Central Cross-Island Highway into the gorge. Due to a landslide burying the original, this shrine is actually a re-creation.

Next we visited Swallows Grotto. Considering it's a major part of any visit to Taroko, it was weird that I felt like I actually had to request the driver stop...but it's possible he was just looking for a better place to stop. There is a pedestrian section but at parts you have to walk alongside cars. Swallows Grotto is gorgeous—a wall of red-streaked eroded marble, with birds darting in and out of the cave-like dwellings.

The only chance we had to really do any walking was the Tunnels of Nine Turns...again I think this is a function of being on a tour that doesn't cater to outdoorsy Westerners. Our guide dropped us off and met as at the other end of the tunnel. This road used to be open to cars but now a new road was built so pedestrians can use the tunnels in peace. The scenery was beautiful throughout—small waterfalls, rocks in the shape of leaping fish, and of course the echoey tunnels themselves.

Swallows Grove

Tunnels of Nine Turns

I felt there was much more to see in Taroko but again, the tour must go on. We stopped in the lovely Grand Formosa Taroko for lunch, in the Tien-Hsian Chinese restaurant. The extensive menu focused on local specialities—including, yes, sunfish. Luckily, we weren't subjected to that one again...we had a scrumptious set meal that included wild pig and chicken, sautéed gingko beans and yam, shrimp balls and fish soup, and plenty of fresh fruit.

Traffic jam trying to leave Taroko

We were supposed to stop at an impressive cliff after lunch, but being stuck in an interminable traffic jam on another cliff put Chen Chih-How off the idea of making additional stops in the area—especially considering daylight doesn't last long in Taiwan.

Instead, we drove to port city Ilan to visit a beautiful temple to the sea goddess Mazu. Notable because it faces the sea, this temple is visited from people all over Taiwan to pray for the safety of fishermen. There was a large jade statue of the goddess on the second floor and a gold one on the third. On the first floor, where people could obtain paper scrolls of prayers, there was also a mysterious pile of juice boxes. Sacred, undoubtedly.

Jade statue of the sea goddess Mazu in Ilan

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