Zhuilu Old Road 錐麓古道, Taroko National Park, Hualien, Taiwan
iseasywith.me Public Service Announcement
Due to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 3 April 2024, all levels of trails and facilities within the Taroko National Park jurisdiction have been damaged and are closed at the time of writing this article. Do check out the National Park Service website for the reopening dates.
iseasywith.me Friendly Reminder
If you intend to do Zhuilu Old Road, you need to apply for a park entry permit at Hike Smart Taiwan Service website. There is a quota of 96 persons (156 persons on Fridays, weekends and public holidays) allowed on the trail each day thus I would recommend to apply early when you have firmed up your itinerary.
Do prepare a decent pair of trekking shoes for the trails. Try walking around in it before your trip to 'run in' the shoes and see if there are any adjustments required e.g. insole, thicker socks, etc. I would discourage walking/running shoes as those soles are quite flat and may not provide sufficient grip during the hike.
Taroko Gorge, located within Taroko National Park, is well known for its breathtaking marble cliffs, deep valleys and the winding Liwu River. Visitors can explore its dramatic landscapes through hiking trails and scenic viewpoints.
There are 31 trials and they are graded from 0 to 5. Zhuilu Old Road is a grade 3 trial with an altitude of 765 metres.
On the morning of my visit to Taroko Gorge, it rained cats and dogs. I checked my phone and it showed 6 degrees Celsius with rainy conditions all day at Taroko National Park 😣. I was ok with the temperature but not the rain.
It became a drizzle at my scheduled departure time from the accommodation and I decided to proceed with my plan as I have only a day in Hualien.
bus 310 route, Hualien Bus Station, bus 310, bus schedule display and view from my favourite seat. 😬
I took bus 310 from Hualien Bus Station and the journey was about an hour.
Yanzikou (Swallow Grotto) Trail bus stop with the ticket counter/trail entrance/exit right in front
If you are going to Zhuilu Old Road, alight at the Swallow Cave stop and the ticket counter/trail entrance/exit would be just in front.
After you show your permit and identification document and buy the entry ticket (NT $200), the staff would lead you to the gate for you to start your hike.
Even before I started my hike, the scenery at the entrance was already gorgeous and I started clicking my cameras. If you need more time to take photos, videos, selfies, etc., before you start, just let the staff know and that you would inform them when you are ready to enter and they would be glad to do so.
The start and end point is the same i.e. you hike to the end of the trail and take the same way back.
iseasywith.me Friendly Reminder
As advised by Taroko's website, this trail is rugged along much of its length and the cliff section is very narrow. Do not attempt it if you lack fitness, scared of heights or suffering from heart disease.
Trail entry is restricted from 0700 to 1000 hours daily.
The website also mentioned 'There are often venomous snakes and insects on the trail, so hikers should be extremely careful.' but I did not see any. 😔
As mentioned, some parts of the mountain paths are very narrow. I reckon they were less than a metre wide and beyond that was all the way down to the gorge so do be very careful when you are taking your photos, videos and selfies. We do not need to shoot a Superman scene there.
Zhuilu Old Road is part of the Cross-Hehuan Mountain Old Road, an important connection between Truku villages in the early days. It is the only culture/historic area in Taroko National Park.
When I was there, only the east 3.1 km of the trail is open to hikers. The rest of trail remains closed due to the rockfalls damages. Starting from Zhuilu Suspension Bridge, the trail leads to the Cliff Outpost, where hikers must turn back to the trail entrance in order to exit.
starting point, Zhuilu Suspension Bridge, the terrains along the trail, distance marker
As it was still drizzling when I started the hike, I put on my cap and kept my jacket on but as I moved on, it became quite warm and I removed my jacket.
passing by the door posts of Badagang Police Station, No. 2 Badagang Suspension Bridge
As I hiked on, the skies opened up, started to rain and I had to put on my raincoat. I had a challenging time juggling between my camera and phone (for selfies) along the way as they were below the raincoat but managed to overcome it.
bridge with railing only on 1 side, passing through holes in the rocks, last photo showed the height from the edge to the bottom of the gorge
The hike was amazing and upon reaching the mountain paths, the views were just out of the world!
end of trail! and site of outpost during the Japanese colonial period and the final distance marker
It rained for the remaining of the way until I reached the end the trail.
foggy mountains
On my way back, the rain stopped but the fog stepped in. The mountain views were covered but fortunately, I took quite a few shots on the way up.
As the ground was wet from the rain and it was a downhill path, I had to be careful with my steps.
I took my time taking many shots on the way up thus it took me about 4 hours to complete the trail. The timeline mentioned on Taroko's website was 3 to 5.5 hours.
Klook.comAlthough plans for Taroko National Park have to be shelved for now, there are many other places in Taiwan to explore.
Do read through the rest of my Taiwan adventures for more inspirations as planning for your Taiwan adventure iseasywith.me.
Taipei 臺北
Taichung 臺中
Chiayi 嘉義
Tainan 臺南
Kaohsiung 高雄
Hualien 花蓮