Chihben River Gorge retains its beauty

Some fishermen had even set up a type of net-dam in an effort to poach all of the aquatic creatures from the glassy river. Needless to say, I figured that by 2009, the Chihben (知本) Gorge in Taitung (台東) would have 'gone mainstream,' and that I'd find stinky tofu and other kind of vendors down by the river's shores.

How wrong I was. Since being removed from the Lonely Planet guidebook, the canyon seems to have become more natural and less accessible than years before; a phenomenon not often encountered in Asia, or anywhere else really, in today's world.

One of the factors that might be helping to seclude this area is the confusion brought about by a sign indicating “Valley Hot Springs” (08-510-722) in Chinese, at the head of the road leading to the trail that brings you down to the river. There are no hot springs over there whatsoever; many can be found on the main road that winds gorgeously through the developed region of the valley, but none there. Maybe it's a sort of 'hot spring of the mind' that the sign is referring to.

Another reason why this place is being forgotten by people and being reclaimed by the jungle is that the road leading to the trailhead passes through private property. In fact, this is not a problem; the gentleman who owns the plateau is an eco-friendly guy and he welcomes all visitors to park their car or their scooter on his property, free of charge, and to go down and explore the wild river and its waterfalls at their leisure. He doesn't actually live there in a house, but spends afternoons on his property under a shelter with his dogs.

If one turns up early, his gates will be locked. This too, is inconsequential; just park your vehicle on the side of the road so that you're not blocking traffic, walk around the gate, go down the road across his property and you will see the jeep trail leading straight down to the river.

A third reason why the valley remains a secret is that three (before it was two) angry dogs guard this property. Again, this is nothing to worry about. Walk straight towards the dogs showing no fear, and they will turn and beat a slow retreat, emitting a wimpy little yelp of protest from time to time.

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