The famous Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道) at Hualien's Taroko Gorge National Park will be closed to visitors for five weeks while it undergoes maintenance to improve drainage.
The Shakadang hiking trail, also known as the "Mysterious Valley Trail," will be closed to park visitors from Sept. 23 until Nov. 1. However, officials at Taroko National Park Headquarters announced on Tuesday (Sept. 17) that maintenance operations will be suspended for three days for Taiwan’s National Day celebration.
The trail will be accessible to the public from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13, though some parts of the trail may not be as picturesque as usual in the midst of the trail maintenance operations. Poor drainage has led to the steady erosion of some portions of the 4.1-km trail, a problem that the park staff has been hoping to address for some time, reports CNA.
The park authorities plan to construct a drainage ditch alongside some of the unstable areas of the trail to mitigate erosion. They hope that the project will lead to a greater appreciation of the beautiful scenery in the future.
The Shakadang Trail is one of the more popular attractions of Taroko National Park. It runs alongside a cliff edge and provides beautiful vistas of the verdant cliff walls, magnificent rock formations, and flowing streams and waterfalls below.
By Taiwan News
