A visit to Taroko National Park reveals a wonder of the world. Taiwan lies on a fault line between two tectonic plates and the high mountain ridge down the length of the islands is cut by the Taroka Gorge which cuts through the marble hillsides.


Taroko National Park Entrance on the East Coast of Taiwan, north of Hualien.

Abe, Sue, David, Grace (Abe’s wife).

The Temple of the Eternal Spring.

A close up of the temple and the spring that flows beneath it.

Buying postcards ...
... with a little bit of help from our friends.

The Gorge with recent repairs to the roadway.

The foot of the cliff on the picture on the right, with the 'indian head' formation at the foot of the right-hand cliff submerged up to the mouth in the water.

Swallow Grotto, facing back from the previous picture. Many swallows live here in holes in the cliffs created by the erosion due to water flows.

Looking down to the river below Swallow Grotto.

Grace on the road back to look at the Grotto ...

... through gaps in the wall of the tunnel.

Returning once again back down the road.

Another view of the same gorge.

The Mother of Devotion Bridge across the gorge.
The Buddhist temple next to the bridge.

The Tien Hsiang Bridge with the temple of Tien Hsiang above it.

A closer view of the temple.

Wild Papaya grows by the roadside.

... and caterpillars take their toll of the leaves.

Outside the Shi-Bao Primary School in the Gorge where Grace taught for three years. (Shi-Bao means ‘western treasure’, being the special place to the west in the Gorge.)

There is much construction in Shi-Bao village.

Green peppers being cultivated by the school.

A close-up view of the peppers.
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