XiulinI See You local guides
River tracing in Hualien my first full day on the Sanzhan North River
Originally published by I See You Taiwan Hostel AllianceEditor's note: The author's experience and the packages available at the time of original publication are retained below. Confirm current prices, routes and availability with the operator. Plan water activities according to your fitness, conditions on the day and the instructor's assessment.
River tracing takes the walk into the water itself, moving through a river and its pools with a guide. For my first-ever trip, I went straight for a full day on Hualien’s Sanzhan North River. I was excited, but nervous too: a whole day, with no experience! Once we got going, I discovered how much fun it could be. With mountains and rivers like these, I never tire of exploring Hualien...
▼I joined friends from Hualien WOW Hostel on Wilds’ full-day Sanzhan North River trip, and I’m glad I did. The equipment they supplied reassured me as a first-timer, and the instructors took photographs all the way, so we could leave our cameras behind and enjoy the river. They also offered pickups from our accommodation in Hualien, with a time and place arranged in advance. A thoughtful touch.
▼You can bring a dry bag for your own things. With life jackets and the full set of equipment, non-swimmers were able to take part in our trip too. We just had to be ready to get soaked from head to toe.
▼Wilds also supplied waterproof backpacks. Think of this as active, water-based hiking: river tracing gives your whole body a workout. You use your hands and feet, test your balance and stretch in ways you might not expect, working your way through the stream and around its strange-shaped boulders with the instructors’ help.
▼Even some of the experienced river-tracers in our group wanted to lie down in the water halfway through and stop moving! The difficulty depends on the route the instructor chooses. Ours kept an eye on everyone and helped when we needed it, so we followed their lead and kept climbing.
▼After deep pools, rock hollows and little waterfalls, we reached our rest stop. On this full-day trip, the instructors carried food and cooking gear in their packs and made lunch in a clear spot nearby. Everything we brought in went into our own rubbish bags to carry back out. If you come river tracing, please leave the river as clean as you found it.
▼The water in the Sanzhan North River is wonderfully clear. Keeping these mountains and rivers this way takes care from everyone who visits. I hope we can do that.
▼Lunch over, we napped on the riverbed. The stream murmured; a breeze from the Pacific brushed the treetops into a lullaby. With insects and birds around us, we let ourselves become part of it.
▼Some jumped into the water, some swam, some slept. We took what we needed from the Sanzhan North River, then made our way back slowly, recharged. So this was river tracing! I’m already thinking about another trip. Hualien has so much more to explore beyond Taroko and Qixingtan...
- Hidden River Valley Adventures
- Half day: any one of Emerald Valley, Sanzhan South River or Shapodang River; NT$1,500 per person; 08:00-12:00 / 13:00-17:00
- Half day: Sanzhan North River; NT$1,650 per person; 08:00-13:00
- Full day: any one of Emerald Valley, Sanzhan North River or Sanzhan South River; NT$3,000 per person; 08:00-16:00
- River-tracing location: chosen according to the weather, the instructor’s assessment, participants’ fitness and other conditions on the day
- Itinerary: depart Hualien WOW → arrive at the river-tracing site → change clothes → pre-trip briefing and equipment introduction → set off → explore → tea-and-snack break (lunch for the full-day trip) → return → change clothes → return to Hualien WOW
- Included: river tracing; activity insurance from a life insurance company with NT$2 million in accident cover and NT$200,000 in medical cover; full equipment, including a 2 mm river-tracing wetsuit, CE-certified life jacket, high-top non-slip footwear and a CE-certified river-tracing helmet
- Free online downloads of activity photographs
- Instruction and plenty of refreshments; full-day trips include lunch in the mountains
- Round-trip transfers between Hualien City and the activity site
- *** Under the requirements for river-tracing operators to provide river-tracing guides or safety personnel, the ratio of guides or safety personnel to participants is 1:5. ***
- To book: call Hualien WOW Hostel at +88638330186
- Accommodation and other trip recommendations: Hualien WOW Hostel
