TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Hotels in the Tianxiang area of Hualien County’s scenic Taroko National Park will reopen next month for the first time since the deadly April 3 earthquake, reports said Friday (Sept. 27).
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake caused massive damage to the national park, triggering rockslides, destroying roads and bridges, and disrupting communication systems. Repairing the park to its previous condition is expected to take until 2031.
As work continues to fix roads in the area, hotels in Tianxiang nevertheless said they would go ahead with a plan to allow tourists in five days a week, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays as the exceptions, beginning next month, per CNA. According to hotel operators, bookings have already started with the help of government subsidy programs.
Shortly after the quake, 600 travelers and staff were stuck inside hotels, unable to leave the area and return home. The only major road near Taroko, the Central Cross-Island Highway, was being repaired, with restricted traffic possible.
The weather and the geological situation around Tianxiang had stabilized sufficiently to allow tourists back in, local authorities said. Parking lots, public restrooms, and three parks had reopened, though the Tianxiang travel information center was still closed and local guides had not resumed work.