More From Taiwan: The Taroko Gorge

When Portuguese explorers discovered Taiwan in the 16th century, they called it "Ilha Formosa," which means "Beautiful Island."  If you visit the Taroko Gorge on Taiwan's east coast, you can easily see why.

The gorge was formed over millions of years as ocean sediments hardened into limestone, then metamorphosed into marble due to tectonic compression, then were eroded by the Liwu River.  The result is a unique geological masterpiece.  Jagged canyon walls plunge thousands of feet into the icy blue river, which narrowly snakes its way through the lush green landscape.  One of the highlights of the gorge is a more recent addition:  the Shrine of the Eternal Spring, which was built about 50 years ago to commemorate those who died building the roadway through the gorge.  The Shrine is built on the steep rocky slopes of the gorge, right over a rushing waterfall.  The place is especially dramatic in wet weather, when the wind carries thick mists past the Shrine and over the high cliffs.  It's no surprise that the gorge is one of Taiwan's premier tourist attractions. 

I don't have any more to say about it - instead, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Shrine of the Eternal Spring

Statue of some dude near the entrance to the national park

Window shopping near the gorge

Eating dumplings near the gorge

More From Taiwan: Keelung & The Northeast

At the Miaokou Night Market in Keelung

Keelung, Taiwan's second largest seaport, has a pretty harbor and a scenic hilltop park with a colorful playground and a 22-meter high statue of Guanyin, the Buddhist emanation of compassion and peace.  But the real attraction is the Miaokou Night Market, which started when some food vendors set up shop in front of the Dianji Temple during the Japanese occupation.  It is Taiwan's oldest night market and people come from all over the country just to eat here.  The market has dozens of food vendors lined up neatly on both sides of the street (which is closed off to vehicular traffic), selling some of the best street food I've tasted anywhere.  The Japanese influence is evident in the various sushi stalls at the market, but there are also plenty of Chinese standards like pan fried handmade noodles, big juicy pork buns, and fishball soup.  Jeremy and I came here three times (each night we were in town) to feast on delicious seafood and fruit.  The only disappointment was that Jeremy desperately wanted to win a prize playing one of the arcade games, but unlike in Taipei where he succeeded in winning a cool flashlight-pen, in Keelung his efforts led only to anguish.  (I think the games were fixed so that no one could possibly win!)

Jeremy reads his kindle at a teahouse in Jiufen

The dramatic green landscape of the region surrounding Keelung is another reason to travel to northeastern Taiwan. Wedged in between the mountains and the sea, the quaint villages of Jiufen and Jinguashi were both centers of gold mining during the Japanese era.  In the 1930s, Jiufen was so prosperous that it was known as "Little Shanghai."  When the sources of gold dried up, the villages were for the most part abandoned - until they were revived as tourist attractions over the last couple of decades.  With their wooden teahouses, traditional Japanese houses, narrow lanes, quirky shops, panoramic views, and splendid hiking opportunities, it's easy to fill an entire day in Jiufen and Jinguashi - before heading back to the Miaokou Night Market in Keelung for more sushi, noodles, and fresh passion fruit juice!

Shifen's main drag

You could easily fill yet another full day exploring the towns and waterfalls along the Pingxi branch rail line.  A lovely hour-long hike from the tiny town of Sandiaoling takes you to three different waterfalls and the trail includes a couple of rope bridges and a ladder made of logs to ascend straight up a small cliff.  You can also climb up on a narrow rock ledge behind one of the waterfalls.  Jeremy said it was one of his favorite hikes "of all time!"  Shifen is another small town, where the train passes picturesquely right through the middle of the town without a whole lot of space to spare.  A short walk from the bustling little train station brings you to the Shifen Waterfall, which at 40 meters wide is Taiwan's broadest. There are a number of other little towns and sights of interest along the rail line, but we ran out of time - since we had to get back to the Keelung Night Market one last time before taking an evening train down Taiwan's east coast to the Taroko Gorge. See you there!

Jeremy in Keelung harbor

Zhongzheng Park

More from Zhongzheng Park

Zhongzheng Park continued

View from Zhongzheng Park

Funky playground at Zhongzheng Park

Can you find Jeremy's head?

More from the playground

Buddhist temple in Keelung

Inside the temple

Another temple in Keelung

Miaokou Night Market in Keelung

Dianji Temple, Miaokou Night Market

View of Keelung harbor from our hotel

View from Jiufen

Outside a teahouse in Jiufen

Inside a teahouse in Jiufen

Pretty storefront in Jiufen

Quirky storefront in Jiufen

Temple in Jiufen

Hiking in Jinguashi (it's hazy, but that's the sea in the background)

Japanese colonial architecture in Jinguashi

Part of a colonial-era Japanese Shinto Shrine, Jinguashi

More Japanese colonial architecture in Jinguashi

And some more

One last shot from scenic Jinguashi

Hiking in Sandiaoling

Downtown Shifen

Waiting at Shifen's picturesque train station

Dumpling man checks his cell phone in Shifen

Jeremy devours dumplings in Shifen

Hear my train a-coming

Shifen Waterfall

Our last hour in Keelung - time to hit the night market one more time!