Yeliu 野柳, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

We have heard and seen so much about Yeliu Geological Park that it feels like a holiday would not be complete without at least a visit to this place.

The heavens decided to smile upon us, with sunny weather today.
(What we didn't anticipate was busloads upon busloads of tourists. It was pretty scary. )

There's an entrance fee of NT $80.

Yeliu is famous for the unique limestone rock formations that were shaped by the sea and the strong winds.

There was a small park after the entrance with some cute mascots and replicas of the famous rock shapes. On busy days the queue to take photos could be quite long and it has resulted in some unhappiness in the past, so the replicas were created for those who wished to skip the queue!

The place is divided into 3 sections. The first section has rocks like Queen's Head, Fairy's Shoe and Candle. The second section has rocks like Bean Curd, Dragon Head. The third section has sea-eroded caves, seal shaped rock, etc.

Words cannot describe the awesomeness of Yeliu! I'll let pictures do the talking.

 

Saw a large group of tourists stopping in the middle of the pathway so we edged closed for a look. It's a natural rock formation that happens to look like Taiwan! See the map for comparison - picture from RiverTracing.com.

And of course, the famous Queen's Head. Don't know what's so great about it, as there are so many more amazing sights. People were queuing up just to take photos with it. Of course we had to do it.

Our experience was somewhat marred by some less polite tourists who cannot stand to queue, and yelled something in Chinese along the lines of "Hurry up!" bla bla bla...

Side note: Kudos to the park management for keeping this attraction well cordoned off - no one can touch it. There's a park ranger posted there under the heat to keep unruly tourists in check and help take photos - with an unflagging smile on his face!
Now that's what I appreciate about Taiwanese and their famed hospitality. I hope this will remain unspoilt.

We spent more than 2 hours exploring the area. There were some stalls selling fruits, and a complex selling souvenirs, snacks and seafood produce near the exit.

After buying some snacks we proceeded to our next destination. It's lunch time!

How to go to Yeliu:
Go to Taipei West Bus Station Terminal A, take Guo Guang (国光客运) bus. The bus fare is around NT$96.
Tip: Yeliu is not the final stop so ask the driver to inform you if you can't read the signs (usually written in Chinese)

Previous: Shimendong | Next: Lunch at Fuji Harbour

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.