Day two at Taroko Gorge has been spectacular. We had an amazing breakfast at the hotel - both western and Chinese cuisine so with my croissant I also had steamed chestnuts and fish soup - and set off for a day of hiking. There's only one road and a rushing river you can either see or hear from just about everywhere, so there's no worry about getting lost.

We found a trail that paralleled the road but at a higher elevation.

The trail signs said to watch out for poisonous snakes and giant wasps but all we saw were lots of butterflies and incredible views. It's hard to tell from this photo but the trail is about halfway up the cliff between the road and the top of picture. It hugs the edge of the cliff and looks straight down about a thousand feet to the river below. A nerve-wracking experience but well worth it.

The trail also had a little tunnel, just like the roadway has all along the gorge. But most of the time it looked just like this:

Along the way we also saw a suspension bridge. Lee ventured partway across but you're supposed to get a park permit to hike that particular trail so I was spared having to follow him. I did, however, take his picture.

We also took each other's pictures at the lions guarding one of the roadway bridges.

We only visited a short section of the park and plan to come back as often as possible. It's simply beautiful.