花蓮 & 太魯閣國家公園 (Huālián & Tàilǔgé Guójiā Gōngyuán)

We visited probably one of the most beautiful, scenic places we have ever seen, 1/3-5/2013.  The location is the 太魯閣國家公園 (Tàilǔgé Guójiā Gōngyuán/Taroke National Park-Gorge) which is in or near the city of 花蓮 (Huālián).  In the past when I would hear the words "Stunning" or "Breathtaking" I often thought "YA-YAWN". But, seriously this place is Stunning, Breathtaking, & Awe-inspiring:-)

It is the beginning of January and there are trees budding with lovely flowers.

We finally got to take a dip in one of the natural hot springs! The water had different temperatures depending on if you sat very close to the source or a little away from it.We met an older Chinese couple, they live in the area, who told us they come down to this particular hot spring every day. When we felt our skin the next day it felt like a baby's bottom.  I wish I could come here every day.

We walked through a few of these carved out tunnels along one of the trails.  We could hear the bats chirping at us, particularly when we spoke.  So, needless to say we decided not to say much on the way back...hahaha

The water gets it color from all the minerals.  Also, the massive stones you see are solid marble with various shades of color from dark to light.

I don't now if you can see them well, but there are two waterfalls pouring out of the mountains. The mountains are so large we couldn't even see where the two began; this was my favorite spot.  Although, I was not about to cross the suspension bridge for a closer peek.  We had to cross one, earlier in the day, to get down to the natural hot spring.  It was so high and narrow and I was so scared; one suspension bridge is enough for my lifetime!