If there is ever an occasion to rent a convertible in Taiwan, splurge for the East Coast drive. After our overnight stay at the southern end of the East Rift Valley, we woke up for the drive up the ocean. The morning began at Xiao Yehliu (Little Yehliu); no famous Queen’s Head here, but there is dramatic ocean landscape, on a smaller scale. The drive with mountains on one side and ocean on the other is peppered with tourist stops and...

Here is the primary catalyst for our road trip down the east coast: Liushidan Shan (Sixty Stone Mountain). During the months of August and September, the entire mountain explodes with bright orange-yellow daylilies that holler back at the sun. Several platforms are strategically placed along the road for views out into the rift valley as well as up, across, and down the mountain. Just like Taroko Gorge, there is only one narrow road for entry...

After our time in Taroko Gorge, we rented a car to drive through scenic East Taiwan. The traffic here is much lighter than the big cities and clear of scooters zooming in and out of lanes. We drove from Hualien down through the East Rift Valley and spent the night at Chihsang before coming back to Hualien up the East Coast. The valley drive splits two mountain ranges, and the plains are flooded with emerald green rice paddies in the...

august 29 – fukuoka

august 28 – taipei

august 27 – taipei

august 26 – taipei

We actually had the chance to visit Taroko Gorge three separate times while we were in Taiwan, so hopefully our experience can benefit anyone else looking to tour this wonder. Where to sleep? The most popular option is to stay in Hualien, a large city about forty minutes outside the park. Here, there’s lots of hotels, hostels, and B&Bs as well as plenty of restaurants. Closer to the park, you could sleep at Xincheng (closest Taiwan...

Taroko Gorge National Park has a fairly straightforward layout; everyone drives on the same road in and out. And we mean everyone: full size buses, shuttle buses, taxis, passenger cars, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians. Many times the road narrows to single lanes and hairpin turns, and all these vehicles negotiate with each other next to a puny railing that guards a two to three hundred foot drop. The road through the gorge helped us...

august 25 – maokong