Is Taroko Gorge Open? What to Know for Visiting in 2026

At 7:58 AM on April 3, 2024, a massive earthquake struck Hualien county in Taiwan. Taroko Gorge suffered immense destruction, with many bridges, roads, and attractions damaged or covered in landslides. There were at least 19 casualties.

Furthermore, in October 2025, a landslide caused a barrier lake in Taroko Gorge which flooded Highway 8, threatening to overflow and cause flooding similar to the disaster in Guangfu county only one month before. Luckily, the lake was successfully drained without any major damage or casualties.

Travelers are constantly wondering whether it’s still possible to visit Taroko Gorge, and if not, how long it will take for it to reopen. It is one of the most common questions posed in my Taiwan Travel Planning group.

The answers to these questions are complicated, which is why I’ve prepared a whole article to answer them.

I’ll give you the short answer first, then go into all the details below it, including how to drive Highway 8 through the gorge and Highway 9 up the coast, which attractions might reopen when, and several alternative routes with similar scenery to Taroko Gorge.

You can also see my more general guide to visiting Taroko Gorge, Taiwan’s other national parks, and my running list of places in Taiwan that are currently closed.

Taroko Gorge’s Current Opening Situation

Taroko Gorge is currently open to vehicles, but only at certain times every day (click here and check Highway 8 – note that the info is updated about once per month).

Currently, these times are (1) 06:30 – 08:00, (2) 10:00 – 10:05, (3) 12:00 – 13:00, (4) 15:00 – 15:05, (5) 17:00 – 17:30.

The road block is roughly from here (near the Taroko entrance, just past the Visitor’s Center) to here just before Lushui Recreation Area (here), so you’ll need to plan to be at either of those points for one of the above opening times.

For the short (5-minute) ones, make sure to get there early, as they will only let the line of cars (and bikes, if you plan to cycle) pass through.

Once they let you through, you simply drive through the gorge to the other end, which takes about 30 minutes. There are a few spots while driving through where you can park at the side of the road to take photos, but there are no trails in this section. Once you enter the gorge, there’s no limit to when you have to reach the other end.

Bus 310 from Hualien to Taroko Gorge is running 10 times per day, but it only goes to Taroko Gorge Visitor’s Center at the entrance of the gorge, where there is one hike (Dekalun Trail, 1.5 hours return, many stairs).

While much of Taroko Gorge is now open again, a few of the trails and scenic spots remained closed. IslandLife Taiwan is running the Taroko Gorge Reopening Tour, which visits all stops which are currently open to visit, plus the Qingshui Cliffs and Qixingtan Beach outside the gorge.

In early 2025, a few spots in the gorge reopened, and a few more came in summer 2025 and early 2026. A few more of the big ones are supposed to reopen in coming months. However, a few will take several years to reopen and one or two may never reopen.

Taroko Gorge Before the Earthquake

Taroko Gorge is roughly the first 19 kilometers of Highway 8 (the “Central Cross Island Highway”) in eastern Taiwan. This entire highway is extremely prone to landslides, so parts of it have been closed or under major repairs for many years.

Even before the big earthquake, Highway 8 had several road repair spots before it connects to Highway 14甲, for reaching popular attractions like Hehuanshan, Cingjing Farm, Sun Moon Lake, and/or Taichung. (Note the western portion of the Central Cross Island Highway has been closed for many years).

For example, on October 1, 2023, I made this post in my Facebook group introducing the locations of the road repair spots and their daily opening times.

When the big earthquake hit in 2024, those road repairs were still ongoing and were already disrupting visits to the gorge. Buses from Hualien city to Taroko gorge were on a reduced schedule, and tours/private cars had to plan around the road opening times.

Is It Possible to Visit Taroko Gorge Now?

Yes, you can visit Taroko Gorge on your own by car, scooter, or even bicycle, but you’ll only be allowed to pass through at the times listed here for Highway 8.

Visitors could also visit on IslandLife’s Taroko Reopening Tour, which just started running at the beginning of 2025 and is the only one I know of so far.

However, for those who joined these tours, they found that the region looked very different than before the earthquake (but still very beautiful!) And many of the famous places in the gorge were still closed, so they mostly watched the scenery from the vehicle.

Which Attractions in Taroko Gorge are Currently Open/Closed?

2024 was an awful year for natural disasters in Taiwan. After the big earthquake, Typhoon Gaemi caused further damage in July.

Then, the unusually late-season Typhoon Kong-Rey caused even more damage at the end of October and start of November of 2024. In September 2025, Typhoon Ragasa caused a barrier lake to overflow and flood Guangfu township south of Hualien city, but there was no major damage in Taroko Gorge.

However, on October 17, a landslide caused a similar barrier lake inside the gorge, which threatened to do the same, but luckily it was safely unblocked.

The below table lists all the main attractions in Taroko Gorge in the order you will visit them and which ones are currently open for visiting.

Attraction	Status	Notes
Taroko Gorge Entrance Arch	Open	You drive pass it when entering the gorge. In the past you drove under it. Now, you’ll see it, but you’ll turn right and cross the bridge instead.
Taroko National Park Visitor’s Center and Taroko Terrace (viewpoint in front of center)	Open	After you cross the bridge, you reach the center. Step inside to the see the interesting displays.
Dekalun Trail	Open	1.5 return hike behind Visitor’s Center, steep with many stairs
Closure Point		When going in, pass here during one of the five time slots.
Shakadang Trail	Closed	Will need many years to recover.
Eternal Spring Shrine	Closed but you can see it from afar when driving out from the gorge.	Expected reopening soon. Currently, view it from here (looking back towards entrance)
Buluowan Terrace, Suspension Bridge, and Taroko Village Hotel	Closed	Possible reopening of terrace and suspension bridge in 2026, but hotel may never reopen.
Yanzikou (Swallow’s Grotto)	Closed	Will need many years to recover.
Zhuilu Old Road (trail)	Closed	Will need many years to recover (possibly never)
Tunnel of Nine Turns	Closed	Possible reopening in 2026
Closure Point		When going down, pass here during one of the five time slots.
Lushui Trail	Partially open	Mostly forested easy trail around Lushui Campground to a small suspension bridge, 30 minutes return.
Lushui-Wenshan Trail	Partially open	Starting near the above, first 450 meters open, steep, one hour return
Tianxiang Recreation Area	Open	Most of Tianxiang area is now open, including the short Tabido Trail
Xiangde Temple Trail	Open	Beautiful walk from Tianxiang across Pudu Bridge and up Xiangde Temple
Silks Place Hotel (Booking / Agoda) and Tienhsiang Youth Activity Center (Booking / Agoda)	Open	These two hotels in the gorge are taking bookings in 2026. Silks offers a shuttle but you’d need to drive yourself to the other.
Wenshan Hot Spring	Officially closed but people still visit it	See my guide for the details.
Baiyang Trail and Water Curtain Cave	Closed	Current status is uncertain.
Outside the Gorge:
Qixingtan Beach	Open	Wasn’t affected by earthquake.
Chongde Recreation Area (Qingshui Cliffs viewpoint)	Open	Reopened July 1, 2025

Why Did I Hear that Some Hikes in Taroko Are Open?

Not long after the Hualien earthquake, some hikes in Taroko National Park reopened. But these hikes were all in Hehuanshan area of the national park, NOT in Taroko Gorge. The national park is quite large, and Taroko Gorge is only one small part of it.

In other words, Hehuanshan is technically in Taroko National Park, but it is a long way from Taroko Gorge. Most people reach Hehuanshan from Taichung or Cingjing Farm, NOT from Hualien, although it is now possible to drive there from the Hualien side again.

Taroko National Park has made some recent news posts this one about more trails opening in the national park. Social media posts falsely claiming that “Taroko is open again” are misleading because it’s more complicated than that, and these trails were not popular tourists ones.

So far, only a couple trails inside Taroko Gorge have reopened: Dekalun Trail, Taibido Trail, and Xiangde Temple Trail. The first is at the Visitor’s Center at the entrance of the gorge, while the second two are at Tianxiang at the top of the gorge.

None of the really famous Taroko Gorge hikes, like Shakadang Trail or Zhuilu Old Road, have reopened, and they aren’t expected to anytime soon.

Here’s my list of the best hikes in Taiwan that are currently open.

What about Qixingtan and the Qingshui Cliffs?

Before the earthquake, most tours to Taroko Gorge also included stops at Qixingtan (a stunning pebble beach between Hualien city and Taroko Gorge) and the Qingshui Cliffs (a series of dramatic coastal bluffs along Highway 9 north of Taroko Gorge.

Qixingtan was unaffected by the earthquake and is open. You can ride a bike from Hualien City to it and back, or take a bus or taxi to it and rent a bike at the beach for a shorter ride. it is also included on Island Life’s Taroko Reopening Tour.

The Qingshui Cliffs run along coastal Highway 9 north of Taroko Gorge, which was damaged by landslides in the earthquake.

After a period of time with only three openings to traffic per day, Highway 9 is now totally open again. This is subject to change at any time – check the monthly updates here (click Highway 9).

As for the Qingshui Cliffs, the main rest stop for viewing the, called Chongde Recreation Area (here), finally reopened on July 1, 2025. Another one, called Huide Rest Stop (here), is under major reconstruction and closed.

You can also see the cliffs from Chongde Beach (around here) or by trying this paddle boarding activity instead.

The coast also looks beautiful when viewed from Qixingtan Beach just north of Hualien city, but that’s quite a ways from the cliffs.

How to Drive through Taroko Gorge and Highway 8?

If you want to drive to Taroko Gorge just to “check it out”, there is nothing stopping you from doing this.

If you click this link from my Facebook group (you’ll need to join first) and see the comments, some members shared photos and videos driving through the gorge in late 2024, before the road was repaved.

A few months later, they finished repaving the road through the gorge, so it looks much better and safer now.

Some travelers want to drive through Taroko Gorge and Highway 8 for the purpose of connecting to/from destinations like Hehuanshan, Cingjing Farm, Sun Moon Lake, and Taichung, rather than driving all the way back to Taipei then down the other coast.

This is fine to do, but you just need to be very careful for all of Highway 8, as there are still several spots (both inside Taroko Gorge but also past it) which are still very fragile or under ongoing repairs. I also would not recommend doing the drive during or after heavy rain, as there is ongoing risk of further landslides.

Expect some possible delays or waiting at construction spots, and expect the drive to take 1 or 2 hours longer than GoogleMaps says it will take.

The official opening/closing times of different repair spots are listed here, but there could be more that are are not listed.

If you just want to do a scenic drive across the Central Mountain Range with no road closures, then I’ll recommend some alternative routes which are easier to drive below.

Read more about renting a car and driving in Taiwan here.

Is Hualien Still Worth Visiting?

For months after the earthquake, most tourists changed their plans and stopped visiting Hualien.

Indeed, many of travelers were skipping the east coast of Taiwan altogether, instead focusing on the cities and attractions which are accessed via the west of coast (such as Sun Moon Lake and Alishan). Those two places have become even more crowded than usual as a result.

The tourist and service industry in Hualien has suffered tremendously. The government even offered cash incentives to visit Hualien in 2024, but stopped them in 2025.

It isn’t surprising, since Taroko Gorge is the area’s top attraction and was mostly closed. However, I did visit Hualien less than two months after the earthquake and found there were many reasons to still visit Hualien.

However, now that the Taroko National Park is allowing tours to start up again (like this one), this is a sign that they consider it safe enough and are ready to start receiving tourists again.

In my opinion, visitors should never have stopped visiting Hualien.

So What Can I Still Do in Hualien?

I visited Hualien post-earthquake to write this article introducing the many things to do in Hualien besides Taroko Gorge.

Attractions are rather limited in Hualien city center, but there are still some, including the chance to try Taiwanese Indigenous foods at Dongdamenn Night Market and renting a bike to cycle to Qixingtan Beach and back.

Not far from the city, there are countless possible activities, including cycling or hiking around Liyu Lake, ATVing on the beach, paddle boarding below the Qingshui Cliffs, whale watching (best in late spring to summer), or river tracing in local streams.

There are also three of Taiwan’s coolest Starbucks in Hualien – an Indigenous-themed one north of the city, a container ship one south of the city, and Starbucks Promiseland, also south of the city.

Further south in Hualien county, you can go white water rafting, hiking, and soak in hot springs around Ruisui or go hiking and cycling around Yuli. Walami Trail near Yuli has scenery similar to Taroko Gorge (see image below).

Doing a road trip (by rental car or organized tour) down the east coast is also popular – IslandLife Taiwan specializes at this region of Taiwan. See my Taiwan east coast road trip guide to plan your route.

Continue by car or train to Taitung, where you can go cycling at Chishang, visit tea farms around Luye (here’s a tour option), or base yourself in Taitung city to do day trips up the coast to Sanxiantai Dragon Arch Bridge.

What are Some Alternatives to Taroko Gorge with Similar Scenery?

I wrote the following back when it was still not considered safe to drive in Taroko Gorge. However, I’ll keep it up in case anyone still wants these ideas.

Two-thirds of Taiwan is covered in high mountains, with many gorgeous, deep valleys not unlike Taroko Gorge.

Of course you aren’t going to find anywhere which has the same tourist infrastructure as Taroko Gorge did before the earthquake (like buses, tours, easy hikes, hotels, and so on), so you may need to rent a car to access them.

Here are some of my top recommendations:

Lisong Hot Spring and the Southern Cross Island Highway

Taiwan’s Southern Cross-Island Highway (Highway 20) offers some of the most similar scenery to Taroko Gorge that I’ve seen in Taiwan.

One great way to experience it is to rent a scooter in Chishang (IDP + A stamp will be needed) and spend a day driving to Lisong Hot Spring and back. Read all about it in my guide to Lisong Hot Spring.

When I did this drive, I saw some spots that looks almost exactly like Taroko Gorge scenery, but there are no tourist pavilions or anything – I just had to enjoy them from the side of the road.

Note that the hike to the hot springs is very difficult and can only be done in the dry season (November to April), otherwise it is underwater.

Also note that this drive also has some earthquake damage and sometimes rocks do fall on the road, so it also comes with some small risk. There are some repair spots where you may have to wait for a bit.

Another option would be to rent a car (in Hualien city or Taitung city) and drive Highway 20 from Chishang all the way across to Kaohsiung.

This would be a full day of driving (and really full if you want to squeeze in the hike to Lisong Hot Spring too). But it has epic scenery the whole way.

Note that the highway is only open 7 AM to 5 PM and one section is closed (after Lisong Hot Spring) on Tuesdays/Thursdays – so avoid those two days if driving all the way to Kaohsiung.   

Yilan’s Highway 7甲 to Nantou/Taichung

This is a stunning drive which takes in some of Taiwan’s finest high mountain scenery. Two days is ideal, but you could do it in one (very long) day.

Rent a car in Yilan city or Luodong and drive up Highway 7 (which then becomes 7甲) to the Central Mountains. Make a detour to Water Geothermal Square or Jiuzhize Hot Springs (which is on the highway up to Taipingshan) to cook eggs or soak in the hot spring water.

You’ll connect to Highway 8 briefly (but no road repairs to be concerned about) then get on the 14甲.

Stop at Wuling Farm for flower viewing and Fushoushan for fruit picking. Spend the night around Lishan/Fushoushan or continue on to Songsyue Lodge in Hehuanshan area (if you can manage to get a booking there). I’ll introduce Hehuanshan more below.

Cross Wuling Pass (Taiwan’s highest), stop at these scenic spots, then descend the other side to Cingjing Farm, Sun Moon Lake, or Taichung.

The North Cross Island Highway

Taiwan’s North Cross-Island Highway goes from Daxi district of Taoyuan across the mountains to Yilan.

Just like the others above, it is a slow and very winding drive with stunning high mountain scenery.

Stops can include Daxi Old Street (for Hakka foods), Xiao Wulai Skywalk (a glass walkway over a large waterfall), detour to Lalashan (for cherry blossoms in February), and Mingchi National Forest Recreation Area (a beautiful forest pond).

Close to Yilan, you could also make a possible detour to Jiuzhize Hot Spring (for cooking eggs or soaking) or Water Geothermal Square (for cooking eggs only).

There are some wild hot springs along this drive too. Sileng Hot Spring requires a tough hike, while Peng Peng Hot Spring does not.

For all three of these drives, you could of course do it from the opposite direction that I describe, too.

Taichung to Hehuanshan and Back

Hehuanshan is one of the most easily accessible high mountain hiking areas of Taiwan.

Although it doesn’t have exactly the same kind of scenery as Taroko Gorge, it has epic scenery nonetheless – think high grassy peaks and incredible sunrises with seas of clouds, rather than deep marble valleys.

And the best part is that you can even visit Hehuanshan by bus (although a car or scooter will make it easier).

Even though it’s technically part of Taroko National Park and closer to the east coast than the west, it will be much easier for you to reach it from Taichung on the west coast.

Most visitors stay at one of the many guesthouses in Cingjing Farm then do a sunrise tour to Hehuanshan, but you can also bus or drive there for hiking then come back.

Alternatively, try to get a spot at Songsyue Lodge, which is right next to the famous sunrise viewing platform and is the only hotel at Hehuanshan.