Yehliu Geopark Tour Guide

Our day tour meeting point was conveniently located just outside our hotel at Taipei Main Station. As the underground walkways were quite complicated to navigate, we decided to head up to ground level and look for the Taipei Main Station East 3 meeting point instead. It was an early start, as we had a long day ahead. I did find it quite challenging to locate the meeting point, as the station is massive. Nevertheless, I eventually found it, along with many other groups waiting in the same area.

We met our tour guide and waited for a while before making our way to the coach, departing shortly after 9am. Our first stop was Yehliu Geopark. It took roughly two hours to get there due to heavy traffic while leaving Taipei.

Yehliu Geopark, situated in Wanli District, is a 1,700-metre-long narrow promontory that juts out into the East China Sea along Taiwan’s northern coast. The interaction of erosion and weathering over millions of years has created numerous fascinating geological formations within the park.

The park is divided into three zones. Zone 1 features formations such as Carp Rock, Candle Rock, Ice Cream Rock, Dissolution Panels, Ginger Rock, Heart-Shaped Rock, Mushroom Rocks, Cute Princess Rock, Sea Urchin Fossils, and Giant’s Kettles. We only briefly walked through this area as it was quite crowded and difficult to navigate, and we were also short on time.

Zone 2 has the most rock formations, including Taiwan Rock, Mazu Cave, Elephant Rock, BBQ Drumstick Rock, Joint Rock, the famous Queen’s Head, Gorilla Rock, Dragon Head Rock, Pineapple Bun Rock, Fairy’s Shoe, Earth-Shaped Rock, and the Lin Tianzhen statue. There was a massive queue to see the Queen’s Head up close, so we decided to skip it. I was happy enough just taking a photo from the back.

Zone 3 includes Maling Bird Rock, Lover’s Cave, Cuesta, Honeycomb Rock, Honeycomb Weathering, Tofu Rock, Stingray Rock, the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, a lighthouse, an observation deck, and Thumb Rock. Access to Stingray Rock and the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars is restricted to visitors accompanied by a qualified docent, or those visiting the Queen’s Secret Garden (a shop area). As this zone is further away, we decided not to explore it.

Our tour guide also advised us not to spend time at the replica recreation area, as everything there is artificial. However, if you have more time, I would recommend exploring the park more thoroughly with good walking shoe.

There is a Yay! café next to the visitor centre, as well as restroom facilities. I grabbed a bubble tea and a Queen egg cake before we continued our journey to Jiufen, Shifen, and a pineapple cake-making experience.