Top Things to do in Hualien
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What to do and see in Hualien, Hualien: The Best Things to do Good for Big Groups
Most people come to Hualien to visit the Taroko Gorge. And with good reason—it's simply beautiful. With rope bridges over rivers, hiking trails with astounding views, and temples cut into the mountainsides, it's an unforgettable place. Feel the full power of the ocean at Shihtiping, a two-hour drive from Hualien, where the waves crash into the rocky shore.
Restaurants in Hualien
1. Meet My Guide Outdoor Adventures
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 354 reviews
MeetMyGuide is a boutique outdoor tour/experience provider based in Taiwan since 2013. Our business started in Hualien, and mainly focused on activities in Taroko National Park. We want to promote the beauty of east part of Taiwan (Taipei, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung) to all foreign travellers by outdoor activities.
2. Hualien Outdoors
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 121 reviews
Hualien Outdoors is a full service out tripping company specializing in trips to the more off the beaten path areas of Hualien and Taroko Gorge National Park in Taiwan. We offer small, high quality adventures that try to get guests into the most exciting, most beautiful and safest places in the Taroko Gorge area. Our guides are wilderness first aid certified and have years of experience in the outdoors of Hualien. We pride ourselves in offering the best river tracing, hiking, and Taroko Gorge tours in the Hualien area, bar none.
3. Taiwan Vista Day Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 353 reviews
Before Taiwan Vista Tour started off, we were simply Hualien locals that love the outdoors and enjoy keeping an active lifestyle. However, when exploring the adventures the beautiful county has to offer, we realized that while many tour options were offered for the most popular destinations, travelers could not fully enjoy the iconic sights of Hualien because the groups were either too large to allow flexibility, or there was a lack of an English guided tour. And so, with our knowledge, experiences and familiarity with Hualien and the breathtaking views it has to offer, we got ourselves certified as professional tour guides. Taiwan Vista Tour then started in 2014 with the goal of providing quality tour guide services for travelers to Taiwan. Since then, thousands of travelers have trusted us to show them the beauty Hualien has to offer. Planning a escapade to Hualien? Let us know what excites your soul, and leave the planning to us! Your adventure awaits, Taiwan Vista Team
4. Amazing Taiwan Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 99 reviews
We are a small, locally guide service based at Hualien. We specialize in Taroko National Park’s top destinations. We are adventurous folks with a true love for exploring the canyons and mountains right outside front doors. We know these areas very well, and we appreciate the opportunity to share our discoveries with our guests. We all have got comprehensive training in first aid, driving, fatigue management, environmental awareness, local history and geology, so you can expect a tour with us will be as enjoyable an experience as humanly possible. With us, you will have a fun, cool, and comfortable way of going around the popular places in Taiwan with no worries. Our dedication to provide tourists an unforgettable and extraordinary exploration or journey makes it above the usual.
5. Shihtiping
6. Taroko National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,385 reviews
Reviewed By gcincinnati - Tokyo, Japan
Definitely go. 100%. This park was the highlight of our 5-day trip and we are so glad we made the decision to spend 2 nights in nearby Xinchang in order to do it right. There are a few local buses that you can buy passes for to easily get around the park, with information desks or signs clearly explaining each place. It’s well managed and planned. Definitely go to Swallow Grotto before 9am if you can and walk the Baiyang trail to the spectacular falls. We’ll be back, absolutely!
7. Taroko Gorge
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,630 reviews
Reviewed By Worldofg
Having a full day to kill due to a long connection in Taipei my wife and I decided to rush down to Taroko Gorge rather than staying in the city. What a great decision!! We caught train 202 from the main station at 6am, arriving at Hualien at 08:15 ($400 TWD return- $22 AUD). Based on other trip advisor posts we booked a taxi driver ( Jason Huang) for a day for a very reasonable $3500 for the car rather than per person (Taiwan; about $160.00 Australian). I hate being carted around on coaches and in large groups, you tend to see very little and it can be quite rushed, so a private hire was a perfect option considering tours were charging around $3500 pp. Our driver, Jason met us at the station as arranged, waving my name on his board, (note head towards West exit of the station and not the east). Jason is a happy chap with excellent English, as it turned out Jason was the perfect guide with very informative commentary on rock formation, the national park and wildlife so I started to feel quite smug about my choice. Our first stop was the Qingshui cliffs, absolutely beautiful known for its plunging cliffs and rugged seascapes, certainly a worthwhile stop. Look carefully in the trees on the walk up to the viewing platform and you will probably see the Formosan rock monkey, which are endemic to Taiwan. There were a number of them feeding in the trees, it was surprising that other visitors walked right passed without noticing them. Our day continued with drive up the mountain range with its spectacular marble walls arising from the Gorge’s base. Our tour stretched from the entrance Taroko National Park up to the incredible Baiyang waterfall trail, taking in the Changchun Shrine, Swallow Grotto, Shakadang Trail and Taroko Archway along the way . Jason was very good at hoping in front of the bus groups so we saw most of the main sites in peace and open to changing the itinerary to meet our requirements, rather than just following the tourist trail, as such we saw what we wanted to see and stayed at a particular spot for as long as we wished. The Shakadang Trail is a road one way shared with pedestrians and traffic but very well managed. The walk is around 2 km from one end to the other but is flat and easy with plenty of places to stop for a breather. Jason dropped us off at one end of the trail and met us at the opposite end. This is a must, there are so many impressive panoramas following the winding Gorge on foot that it’s impossible to stop taking photos- the marble cliff walls are a breathtaking sight and that’s an understatement. Probably second only the Grand Canyon, without question this was the highlight of our holiday. At the entrance to the trail stop and pick up a helmet, which are provided free by the Nation Park Authority, just in case of falling rocks or stones Our next stop was the Baiyang waterfall trail. The trial is a 4.2k round trip, and characterised by a number of tunnels, so take a small touch (Jason provided ours). The hike is very easy and for the mostly flat, the path is well maintained with informative signage on the way. The marble here has incredible the layers and patterns in the gorge walls, there is also large 5-10 metre wide marble boulders sitting in the blue river, sensational. There are great views of waterfalls, plunging cliff faces in the background, along with some colourful bird life, look out for a red tail wagtail, I’m not sure of its name but there we plenty of them and they are very pretty. At the end of the trail you can have an exceedingly cold shower if you wish to visit the Curtain Waterfall Cave (very refreshing I thought), I would highly recommend the cave, it can be a tight squeeze but worth it. My wife had a poncho and stayed dry as a bone. The walk back was as good taking in a different prospective of the scenery. The Taroko National Park is a wonder and should not be missed if you visit Taiwan. The scenery is unparalleled with captivating sights and relaxing sounds of the gorge. It is one trail that you must not missed when at the gorge . We had a fantastic day we were so happy we made the effort, Jason was brilliant and I would highly recommend him rather than a busy tour bus, which I may add looked crowded and very rushed. The ability to stop anywhere in your own time is certainly the way to go. Again, Jason was the perfect guide with very informative commentary on rock formation and wildlife. Jason's details are whatsapp 886963-800617 or [email protected]
8. Mukumugi Valley
9. Zhuilu Old Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 227 reviews
Reviewed By EricJ503 - San Francisco, United States
This is a fabulous short hike with spectacular view of the gorges It is only 3.1 kilometers one way for this out and back trail You need to apply for the permit in advance though The initial steep inclines will reward you with views you haven’t seen before, maybe you have Anyway, it is quite excellent
10. Sixty Rock Mountain
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 177 reviews
Reviewed By DavidASU - Union City, United States
The visit of Sixty Rock Mountain for the Orange Daylily (aka Golden Needle) flower sea is one of main goal of this trip. We missed the flower season two years ago, so it’s definitely very important for all of us. Lucky us to have a sunny day with a lot of flowers. Basically, farmers would save some field for sight seeing to let the flowers widely open to form the flower sea to attract people. Other remote (not by the roadsides) field would harvest to dry or sell freshly which you won’t see any flowers. One of famous dish is golden needle flower spare rib soup. Actually, it’s fine to eat the dried one as snack. We stopped by a small coffee shop by the roadside to have a cup of coffee. We ended up to buy a lot of dried golden needle flower from the store once we know she is also a Hakka. I bought some golden fruit for my mom as well.
