There seems to be a fair bit of confusion online about Taroko National Park and whether or not it is open. The following information will try to provide answers to some of the questions I’ve seen people asking and is true of January 2025.

Is Taroko Gorge open now?

The simple answer is no. The trails and attractions that draw travellers to Taroko are closed and will likely remain closed for years to come.

The full answer is a little more complex. The road through the park (Provincial Highway 8, aka the Central Cross-Island Highway) is only open at specific times of the day and even then, only to self-drive vehicles. There are currently no bus services operating in and out of the national park. For the most up-to-date information on the road situation, you can check the traffic page of the Taroko National Park website.

Is it still worth visiting Taroko Gorge at the moment?

Probably not. As mentioned above, while it’s technically possible to enter the park, all of the biggest draws remain closed, and without those, you’d essentially just be driving along a risky stretch of land-slide-prone road.

Why is Taroko closed?

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Hualien at 7:58 AM on April 3, 2024. The earthquake caused several buildings in Hualien City to collapse, killed at least 18, and did extensive damage to the trail and road infrastructure in Taroko National Park.

When will Taroko be open again?

This is an impossible question to answer. Initially, park authorities had hoped to reopen a small area of the park before the end of 2024, but that was hindered by the typhoons that lashed Taiwan in September and October. Repair crews are still working to fix the roads and trails, but it’s likely to be a long while before most of the park is open again.

Are any of the trails in Taroko National Park open now?

Only a handful of trails have been reopened. At present, those trails are:

• Bilu-Yangtou Trail
• Xiaoqilai Trail
• Mount Hehuan
• Hehuan East Peak
• Hehuan North Peak
• Hehuan West Peak
• Mount Nanhu
• Mount Shimen
• Mount Pingfeng
• Mount Yangtou
• Tianluan Pond

All of these are grade 3, 4, or 5 trails and all but one or two require permits. Popular tourist trails like Shadakeng, Zhuilu, and the Dali-Datong Trek remain closed. You can see the current status of all the park’s trails here.

What should I do instead of visiting Taroko Gorge?

Obviously, Taroko is a one-of-a-kind type of landscape, but there are plenty of lovely natural places to visit outside of Taroko National Park and if hiking is your thing, you should find lots of inspiration on this site. Taipingshan and Alishan are two areas that cater to a similar kind of crowd, but there are also plenty more lesser-known beauty spots contained on these pages.