Tunnel of Nine Turns

The Tunnel of Nine Turns (Jiuqudong) is a 2-kilometre walking trail that winds through the narrowest and most dramatic inner section of Taroko Gorge. The trail alternates between open cliff-edge paths and tunnels blasted through marble spurs where the gorge walls left no room for an outside route. At the tightest points, the canyon is barely a few metres wide, the walls are sheer marble rising hundreds of metres, and the sound of the river below echoes back from both sides.

This is the most rewarding single trail in the gorge for the effort involved — relatively flat, about 2 kilometres, and delivering the full experience of the enclosed marble canyon. Visiting early in the morning (before 8am) allows you to walk it with few or no other people. Cars are prohibited; shuttle buses run from nearby parking areas. The trail is closed periodically after typhoons for safety checks; verify it is open before heading there.

things to do sight
A story
The Tunnel of Nine Turns was one of the hardest sections to build during the Cross-Island Highway construction in the late 1950s. The marble here was too fractured to drill through in a single bore; the route had to zigzag through the cliff face, following the sound rock and avoiding the faulted sections. The result — nine turns through the mountain — was unplanned but became the gorge's most famous feature.

Other places in Things to Do