Trip To Taiwan 台湾: New Taipei 新台北 - Yehliu Geopark 野柳地质公园
By Elin Chow - Thursday, January 07, 2016
Address: No. 167-1, Kantung Rd, Yehliu Village, Wanli District, New Taipei City 20744 新台北万里区野柳里港东路167-1号
Rise and shine! We started the eighth day of our 11D10N Taiwan trip early the next morning. After a filling breakfast, we checked out of Jiaoxi Quan Jia Hot Spring Hotel 礁溪泉嘉温泉会馆 in Yilan Country 宜兰县 and embarked on an hour long car journey to visit the Yehliu Geopark 野柳地质公园 in New Taipei 新台北.
Yehliu Geopark 野柳地质公园
Yehliu Geopark is a 1,700 long cape located in Yehliu Village of Wanli District, New Taipei, just an hour drive from Taipei City 台北市. Famed for its fascinating eroded rock formations, the park is one of the major attraction in Taiwan.
Yehliu Geopark is a larger version of Little Yeliu 小野柳 in Taitung 台中. With its sea-erosion landscape filled with unique shaped rocks, Yehliu Geopark is truly a natural wonder in the world.
Operating Hours
Yehliu Geopark is open daily from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. However, the hours of operation may be extended to 6.00 pm during the month of May to August.
Gift of Yehliu is a market offering some of the usual tourist souvenirs, local snacks and a rich variety of dried seafood with plenty of delicious samples available for tasting. Do not rush to buy from the first store you see as there are many other stores selling similar items. You can compare prices among different stores before making a purchase.
We were hoping to find unique items, but nothing caught our eyes. So we left the market empty-handed.
Admission Fee
Admission to the Geopark is not free. Price of the tickets are as below.
Types of Ticket
|
For Who
|
Price
|
Adult
|
General Public
|
TWD 80
|
Concessionary
|
- Student with a valid student ID
- Children Aged between 6 – 12 years
old
|
TWD 40
|
Group
|
- Group of 30 persons or above
|
TWD 64
|
Free
|
- Disabled
- Children of height under 115 cm
- Children below the age of 6
|
-
|
Exiting from Gift of Yehliu, we arrived at another large parking lot with plenty of spaces to accommodate all size vehicles. The parking lot is filled with of tour buses loaded with tourists.
Adjacent to the Yehliu Geopark is Yehliu Ocean World 野柳海洋世界, the first Oceanarium in Taiwan. The Ocean World boasts a 100 meters long underwater tunnel filled with 200 rare fish species and marine life.
Other than that, the Ocean World also features a huge open air theater with a seating capacity of 3,500. This is where visitors can enjoy amazing live performance by whales, dolphins and seals. We did not the chance to visit Yehliu Ocean World due to time constraint. However, it is a nice place to visit if you have extra time to spare.
Walking in, the first thing you will see at the park is a replica of the Cute Princess Rock (named the Cute Princess II). The replica is not made of natural rock, but with fiber-reinforced plastic.
Just like any other visitors with a camera, we took our typical tourist photo in front of the fiberglass replica before we went off to explore the rest of the area.
Due to weathering and erosion, the circumference of the neck is shrinking every year, making it harder to support the Queen's Head. Estimated to be 4,000 years old, the Queen's Head is expected to break off within the next 5 to 10 years. Any strong earthquakes or typhoon may cause the rock formation to topple instantly.
One has to queue to take photo with the Queen's Head Rock. We did not join in the long queue just to take picture with the iconic rock. It was not worth our time since most other rocks are as impressive as well.
A replica of the Queen's Head (named the Queen's Head II) was built so that the future generations could also appreciate the beauty of rock formation if it topple. The replicas have attracted a large number of tourists, who are eager to have their pictures taken with it.
Being a museum and scenic attraction, Yehliu Geopark offers extensive information on the natural geological process that created the various rock formations. Visitors will find information booths and some English signage around, providing information about the park.
Unlike Little Yeliu in Taitung ( which is a mini version of Yehliu Geopark), Yehliu Geopark is always overcrowded by both local and international tourists (mainly from Mainland China). Thus, I would suggest anyone to visit early on a weekday to avoid the enormous crowds.
Although it is crowded, the park is huge and spread out. so we did not feel like we were in a large crowd. We did not feel uncomfortable to walk around the park.
Be prepared to do lots of walking, so it will be best to equip yourself with a pair of comfortable walking shoes. Unfortunately, the park is not entirely wheelchair or stroller accessible, but vast majority of the place is. Thus, it is still possible for young children and people with reduced mobility to explore most of the park.
The park is surrounded by crystal clear water - just perfect for swimming and snorkeling. Its turquoise water are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end. It will be nice to go for a dip. But unfortunately. swimming is strictly prohibited due to strong currents.
The cape is composed of thick sandstone that contains mud, clay and iron. Due to wave erosion and weathering, the rocks has turned light brown, thus creating the spectacular and unique landscape of Yehliu.
However, different types of rocks erode at different rates. This is because some layer of rocks contain calcium, which resists weathering, thus they does not erode easily. As a result, the shapes of the rocks vary widely from one another, making each of them unique.
However, please note that touching or climbing on any of the rock formations is strictly prohibited. This is because touching or climbing on the rocks will wipe away some sands from the formations, which will accelerate the process of erosion.
There are plenty of guards stationed around the area to stop anyone from touching the formations. The guards will not hesitate to blow their whistles at anyone who lay a finger on the treasured rocks
Yehliu Geopark welcome a million of visitors every year. Can you imagine what will happen if every visitor touches the rocks? I believe the unique landscape will vanish within a matter of decades
Every individual landscape in Yehliu Geopark has an unique appearance. Each one is irreplaceable and once damaged, it will disappear forever. So, do not touch or climb on the rocks formations for photo. All of us have the obligation to help preserve these natural wonders so that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful scenes. Once gone, it will be gone forever.
The rocky, uneven ground makes it difficult and tiring to walk on. Wheelchair users or people will mobility problems will find this part of the park almost impossible to access.
It was blazing hot day and the sun was shining mercilessly in the clear blue sky, scorching us. There was no shelters or trees anywhere to provide shade from the sun. We can feel the scorching summer heat burning our skin.
Spending a long period of time in the sun will lead to dehydration as well as sunburn. In order to avoid dangers of the sun, please remember to apply sufficient amount of sun screen. You might want to wear a hat or carry an umbrella to shade yourself from the sun. But most importantly, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
Surprisingly, it was extremely windy too. The wind was so strong in the area that it picked up sand and drove it against our skin.
One famous feature of the park is the Mushroom rocks 蕈状岩. Mushroom Rocks are globe-shaped rocks that take thousands of years of erosion to form. There are a total of 180 mushroom rocks in different state of erosion in the park. The Queen's Head is the most famous Mushroom Rock in Yehliu Geopark.
Besides Mushroom Rocks, other notable formations also include the Honeycomb Rocks 蜂窝岩. Honeycomb Rocks are rocks that are covered with holes of different sizes. Apparently, these rocks got its name due to its resemblance to honeycombs.
There are red lines drawn near the coast to indicate the "safe area", which visitors are reminded not to cross for safety reasons.
The guards are very strict on not crossing the red border line. Please do not cross the red-line area in the park, or else the guards will yell or blow their whistles at you.
The picturesque natural landscape offers plenty opportunities for breathtaking photography. Photo enthusiastic will instantly fall in love with the scenery and enjoy most of their day taking tons of photos at this place.
Although overwhelmed with tourists, the entire park is very clean and litter-free. To keep the park clean for others, please do not leave any of your trashes behind.
As the park is an educational premise, smoking is strictly prohibited. Please do not smoke and remind others not to if you see someone smoking.
We walked up an observation deck to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the rugged landscape. A truly breathtaking sight!
The picturesque natural landscape offers plenty opportunities for breathtaking photography. Surprisingly, it was not crowded around that area. We enjoyed moments of uninterrupted photo-taking time without having to wait for other visitors to walk pass before proceeding.
Be sure to look out for the individually named rocks, some of which may be difficult to spot. However, the fun part about visiting Yehliu Geopark was to guess what each rock formation looks like.
There is nothing much to do except walk around, enjoy the natural scenery and snap some keepsake photos. To sufficiently explore Yehliu Geopark. I would suggest that you allocate at least 2 to 3 hours for this visit.
We spent about 3 hours exploring and snapping tons of photos around the park. It was more than enough time to see everything.
We stood silently on the observation deck, admiring the view while the strong wind blows our hair wildly in every direction.
Located near the exit, we have found a replica of The Leopard 金钱豹 rock formation.While most people know about the iconic Queen's Head rock formation, there are actually fewer people who know about The Leopard.
This is because The Leopard rock formation was rarely seen. Due to tidal cycles and land form changes, this unique shaped rock formation was only visible for 18 days in a year. The Leopard could only be seen on the first three days and also 15th to 17th of the third, fourth and fifth lunar months. So, you can considered yourself very lucky if you are able to catch a glimpse of The Leopard.
Yehliu Geopark is absolutely well worth a visit, especially if you are a nature lover. For us, this is definitely a must-visit destination in Taipei. Much of the park remains largely undeveloped, making it a delight to explore. However, I actually prefer the Little Yeliu to Yehliu Geopark as it was much less crowded and thus, a more peaceful place to spend time at.
If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 11D10N round island tour itinerary for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 11 days in Taiwan. Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 11 days adventures in Taiwan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.
