Taiwan Tom Cheng · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,966 metres, to scale.
A slice through Taroko Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
1,966m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
306m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
14 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 32 °C on the floor, against 18 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from December to February. The wettest months are from May to June and from August to September.
- 22°7°Jan
- 24°9°Feb
- 26°12°Mar
- 29°14°Apr
- 31°16°May
- 32°17°Jun
- 32°18°Jul
- 32°17°Aug
- 31°16°Sep
- 28°14°Oct
- 26°12°Nov
- 22°8°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Taroko Gorge is a canyon in Taiwan. The relief model measures 1,966 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Xiulinnearest town · 12 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,460 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.5 km from the floor
- Hualien Chiashan Airport (HUN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 20 km in a straight lineCar hire in TaipeiDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From December to Februarybest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The the river runs highest in June and from August to September.
The the river carries about 19 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in June and from August to September. It is lowest from December to March.
- 8.8 m³/sJan
- 8.1 m³/sFeb
- 9.5 m³/sMar
- 11 m³/sApr
- 21 m³/sMay
- 28 m³/sJun
- 24 m³/sJul
- 31 m³/sAug
- 32 m³/sSep
- 21 m³/sOct
- 14 m³/sNov
- 9.7 m³/sDec
From about 8.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 32 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 445 km².
The Liwu River from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 13viewpoints within 5 km觀景平台, 展望點 and 11 more
- 9marked hiking routes within 4 km錐麓古道, 白楊步道, 綠水合流步道 and 6 more
- 11footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km錐麓古道, 普渡橋, 綠水吊橋 and 8 more
- 12car parks within 3 km
- 9information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 8bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 km合流營地, 乾水池營地, 三岔營地 and 6 more
- 6hotels and guesthouses within 8 km谷園山莊, 天祥青年活動中心, 大理石營地避難山屋 and 3 more
- 7restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Xiulin12 km in a straight line
- Hualien City24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Taroko Gorge.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas58 mountains within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 22 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 22 |
| Afternoon · rim | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 8 |
| Night · rim | -1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Rain (mm) | 75 | 69 | 99 | 114 | 261 | 295 | 210 | 327 | 287 | 130 | 106 | 72 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 2.8 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 7 | -1 | 75 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 24 | 9 | 0 | 69 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 26 | 12 | 2 | 99 | 2.5 |
| Apr | 29 | 14 | 5 | 114 | 2.7 |
| May | 31 | 16 | 8 | 261 | 3.5 |
| Jun | 32 | 17 | 10 | 295 | 4.9 |
| Jul | 32 | 18 | 10 | 210 | 7.0 |
| Aug | 32 | 17 | 10 | 327 | 5.9 |
| Sep | 31 | 16 | 9 | 287 | 4.9 |
| Oct | 28 | 14 | 6 | 130 | 4.4 |
| Nov | 26 | 12 | 4 | 106 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 22 | 8 | 0 | 72 | 2.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (306 m) and the rim (2,485 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 57% | 50% | 163% | 66% | 186% | 44% | 52% | 110% | 44% | 34% | 55% | 145% |
| 2021 | 33% | 75% | 46% | 33% | 59% | 180% | 121% | 177% | 39% | 174% | 58% | 80% |
| 2022 | 133% | 216% | 135% | 44% | 130% | 43% | 46% | 27% | 52% | 125% | 110% | 69% |
| 2023 | 47% | 45% | 38% | 81% | 46% | 58% | 52% | 76% | 64% | 69% | 13% | 71% |
| 2024 | 41% | 44% | 29% | 139% | 42% | 43% | 101% | 42% | 77% | 263% | 76% | 44% |
| 2025 | 57% | 127% | 209% | 182% | 117% | 79% | 356% | 57% | 44% | 200% | 207% | 175% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Taroko Gorge
Taiwan
- 1,966 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q101217786) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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