Hualien

Hualien is the main town on Taiwan's east coast and the base for Taroko Gorge, a marble canyon carved by the jade-green Liwu River. Know this before you plan: the gorge only partially reopened in early 2026 after the April 2024 earthquake, and most of its famous trails are still closed. The coast, cliffs and night market make the trip worthwhile on their own.

• Taroko Gorge — open sections include short trails such as Dekalun and the Xiangde Temple area; tours run the gorge road where it is safe
• Qingshui Cliffs, where green mountains drop 800 m straight into the Pacific
• Cycle the flat coastal path at Qixingtan pebble beach
• Dongdamen Night Market for aboriginal-style grilled boar and fresh seafood

A note on Taroko. Repairs are phased, and the list of open sections changes with rockfall risk and weather. Check the national park's official page shortly before you travel, and join a guided tour rather than self-driving — operators know which stops are open that day.

Take the express train from Taipei Main Station — about 2 hours down the coast, around NT$440 ($14) each way. Seats sell out on weekends and holidays, so book a few days ahead. The line passes through Yilan, which pairs well as a hot-spring stop on the same route.

Hualien works best as a 1-2 night side trip from Taipei: take an early train out, see the gorge or the cliffs on day one, then Qixingtan and the night market before an evening train back. Scenery-first travellers should keep it on the list even with the gorge partly closed. If the classic gorge trails are your only reason to come, wait for more reopenings — our Taiwan guide has alternatives such as Sun Moon Lake in Nantou.