Tunnel of Nine Turns — China Travel

Carved in the 1950s during Taiwan's post-war infrastructure boom, this stretch of the Central Cross-Island Highway was gouged by laborers wielding only hand tools through marble cliffs over 400 million years old. The ambition rivals Europe's great Alpine tunnels such as Switzerland's Gotthard Pass route, yet here every meter gained was paid for in human sweat—workers toiled above a churning river where one slip meant oblivion. The name "Nine Curves" evokes the serpentine, intestine-like path rather than nine actual caves. The U-shaped trail cuts through marble so dense and luminous it recalls Italy's Carrara quarries favored by Michelangelo, though here the stone forms towering, striated cliffs laced with dramatic joints and fissures. Tunnels punctuated by carved side windows frame vertiginous "slice-of-sky" views down to the Liwu's furious white water. Remnants of Japanese colonial-era construction and early roadwork inscriptions remain embedded in the rock, silent witnesses to the highway's perilous birth and the geological forces that shaped this canyon over eons. The gorge lies within the traditional homeland of Taiwan's indigenous Truku people, part of the broader Atayal cultural sphere. Memorials along the route honor the workers who perished during construction, transforming the trail into a poignant monument to human determination pitted against geological might. For Western visitors accustomed to cathedrals built across centuries, this canyon offers a different kind of sacred space—one carved in a single generation, where every chisel mark tells a story of perseverance, sacrifice, and the audacious reshaping of an island's spine. The trail is free and accessible via the Hualien Bus "Taroko Line" from Hualien city—alight at the Jiukudong stop. Self-driving visitors must park in designated lots outside the closed road section. Mandatory safety helmets are issued free at the entrance station and must be worn throughout. Allow 40 minutes to one hour for the one-way walk. Always check the Taroko National Park Headquarters website or call ahead, as rockslide closures and safety assessments following the 2025 Hualien earthquake remain ongoing. Early mornings are best for avoiding crowds, midday heat, and tour buses. Sturdy non-slip footwear and at least a liter of water are essential, and narrow cliffside sections make the trail unsuitable for visitors with mobility challenges, expectant mothers, or those with a fear of heights—evacuate immediately in heavy rain. Pair Jiukudong with the adjacent Swallow Grotto trail, plus Tianxiang village and Boluan Terrace, for a half- or full-day adventure. Should Jiukudong be closed, the Changchun Shrine overlook, Qingshui Cliffs, and Taroko Visitor Center deliver equally breathtaking canyon and Pacific coastal vistas.