Comments on: The Golden Grotto (黃金峽谷)

By: Neil Wade

Neil Wade — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:32:09 +0000

Hi Dominic, I can't think of any cave like this around Taipei, but there are a few rivers that are good for river tracing. The most popular one is on the road from Xindian to Wulai. It's called Jiajiuliao and can be gotten to by public transportation. (Although, I'd wait for the weather to get warmer!!!) Cheers.

By: dominic

dominic — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:30:40 +0000

any places similar to this that are closer to taipei?

By: Neil Wade

Neil Wade — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:05:46 +0000

Glad to hear you liked it! It must have been cold!

By: kirsty

kirsty — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:58:22 +0000

I did this hike last week (and stayed at Pratan for a couple of nights) was an amazing place. Also did a second shorter trek up the South river. Pictures can never do this place justice – though I think it should be kept a secret :)

I am most definitely not a regular at treking but it wasn’t too hard. We had a guide from the visitors center who was a massive help at getting up the final bit. Currents were pretty strong when we were there due to the recent rain.

By: Neil Wade

Neil Wade — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:13:37 +0000

Hi Rex,
Pratan (AKA Sanzhan 三棧) is a small village in between Hualian and the entrance to Taroko Gorge. The coordinates are: 24° 6’7.99″N, 121°36’20.36″E (copy that into Google Earth or Google Maps). The grotto itself is up the small river to the left, behind the village (Trust me, the river is easy to find). Walk up the river for 2-3 hours and the grotto will be on the right after the river banks turn into near cliff walls. ( 24° 5’35.81″N, 121°34’17.90″E). As far as whether I recommend you going or not… Probably if you have to ask, the answer is no, you’re probably not ready. (Please don’t take that too harshly) If you are the kind of person who is always out hiking, climbing, swimming and generally doing dangerous things, then it shouldn’t be too hard. The walk up the river to the grotto is easy enough, but as soon as you get there, you will have to climb some dangerous, slippery cliffs.
A good idea for you might be to join our facebook group. We often run hikes and we might go back the The Golden Grotto sometime.
Cheers,
-Neil

By: Rex

Rex — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:57:18 +0000

hey man! I’m heading to Taiwan real soon and this seems awesome!

I have a few questions though. Where exactly is pratan? And are there maps at the visitors centre that will lead me to the golden grotto?

lastly, is this cliff advisable for amateurs like myself? It does seem pretty tough to climb to the top.

Thanks a lot man!

By: Neil Wade

Neil Wade — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 06:07:39 +0000

Hi Alex. If you’re going to the Golden Grotto, there is a small village called Pratan at the start with a visitors center. All the gear you need can be rented there.

By: alex

alex — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 04:31:16 +0000

Hi Neil
any ideas where can i rent river tracing gears? booties etc…
i’ll be heading there next month =)

By: lu shan

lu shan — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:22:23 +0000

Hi Niel
Really beautiful place, and lots of fun. Thank you for sharing it. I plan to go back too.

Lu Shan 祿山

By: Neil Wade

Neil Wade — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:52:57 +0000

Thanks Jason.