Taroko adventure on a bicycle

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I read online about this cute B&B very close to Taroko National Park, and they will also cater to people who wants to hike or bike inside the park. So we booked for two nights giddy with anticipation. Taroko is gorgeous, but hard to really appreciate the beauty doing a drive-by sightseeing but too far and too big to walk the whole thing.
The B&B is minimal but the hosts are warm and wonderful. But the bike ride.... not for the faint of heart! They drop you off at the end of the park, give you a map and a few pointers on what to see and how to find your way back to the B&B, then off you go. The first trail was Wenshan hot springs which was closed but you can sneak in (a lot of people did). My favorite was the Banyan trail, you go through a lot of dark tunnels and it’s about 30 minutes one way. The scenarios are just okay until bam! At the end there is this gorgeous waterfall and the river. The water was outrageously blue, flowing next to the marble carved out by the water, absolutely amazing and gorgeous.
Another recommendation is the Swallow Gorge. Again you’re set in a deep gorge carved out by thousands of years of water flowing through a mountain and the pictures do no justice to the sheer magnitude of this place.
Now the bike ride.... treacherous. But you do get used to it after half way down the park, you learn the art of negotiating among trucks buses and aggressive taxis how to share the road. Mostly downhil but man the 10% uphill paths were killers! Fun? Check. Heart-pumping thrills? Check. Gorgeous views? Check. Would I do it again? Ummmmm do I have to?

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