Remember when you saw the murky grey waters at one part of Tarako Gorge where coal is mined ? Well this part of Taroko Gorge is preserved as part of the nature reserve an thus, the waters are refreshingly clean. In fact they are in an almost too perfect shade of blue!
We took a little hike down Shakadang Trail 砂卡砀步道, also known as Mysterious Valley Trail 神秘谷. The trail starts from a bridge with lots of marble lions. I couldn’t find a nice photo to show you but all the marble lions have varying expressions. If you are wondering why marble was used, it’s because Taroko Gorge 太鲁阁 nickname is “The Marble Gorge”. Other than marble, there is also jade harvested from this gorge.
Here I am taking a shot of the bridge from the bottom.
The gorge itself was carved into the marble by the erosive power of the Liwu River. I suspect the compelling blue of the water has got something to do with the limestone properties of the marble rocks.
Mum and Dad rested by a bench with the river view while I took a short hike down the trail. Some small waterfalls can be seen but nothing spectacular. Still it would have been a nice place to do a hike if time permitted.
I hurried back to the bridge to meet my parents so they wouldn’t get to worried and took some last shots before heading back to he car for our next destination.
