Taroko Gorge. Day 4: Taiwan East Rift Valley

Taroko Gorge is Taiwan's breathtaking 19km marble canyon, carved by the Liwu River. To get to the gorge you take Provincial Highway 8, a historic engineering marvel hand-chiseled out of sheer cliffs by 10,000 veterans between 1956 and 1960, costing 212 lives. A catastrophic 7.2-magnitude earthquake heavily altered this landscape, destroying major trails like Swallow Grotto. Today, the canyon is in a quiet era of recovery. Pedaling past dramatic scars and through strict, scheduled road-control windows to reach the hotel area offers an unforgettable, raw look at nature's immense power.