Taroko National Park
🇹🇼 Taiwan
East Asia, Taiwan 769 spp. recorded
Taroko National Park lies on Taiwan’s rugged east coast, a deep‑cut canyon framed by tropical rainforest and towering marble walls. The park’s network of river‑side trails weaves through moss‑laden cliffs, bamboo thickets and fern‑rich valleys, offering a vivid glimpse of Taiwan’s wild heart.
24.245° N 121.405° E
🦜 Nature
270 Species sighted
56,168 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 584 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Taroko National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Taroko National Park
Morning soundscape6:43
Taiwan · 2021
© Jerome Chie-Jen Ko · XC649385 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
62Jan
67Feb
73Mar
77Apr
83May
80Jun
75Jul
59Aug
58Sep
55Oct
61Nov
55Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Wuling Farm
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Taiwan Common Toad~90%+40%
Formosan Rock Macaque~80%+20%
Reeves's Muntjac~70%+50%
Maritime Striped Squirrel~70%+50%
Swinhoe's frog~70%+40%
Sauter's Brown Frog~70%+40%
Red-banded Snake~60%+40%
Taiwan Yuhina~60%-10%
White-eared Sibia~50%-20%
Steere's Liocichla~50%≈
Pallas's Squirrel~50%+40%
Green-backed Tit~40%-10%
-
Buluowan
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Visitor centre
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Common House Gecko~90%+40%
Taiwan Japalure~90%+40%
Ota's stream tree frog~70%+30%- Formosan Rock Macaque~60%≈
Large-billed Crow~60%-10%
Moltrecht's Green Tree Frog~50%+30%
Hokou Gecko~50%+30%
White Wagtail~40%-10%
Five-striped Blue-tailed Skink~40%+20%- Swinhoe's frog~30%≈
Chinese Green Tree Viper~30%+10%- White-eared Sibia~30%-40%
-
Hehuan Mt. Dark Sky Park/Yuanfeng Parking Lot
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Siberian Weasel~90%+70%
White-whiskered Laughingthrush~70%+30%
Yellow-throated Marten~70%+50%
Perny's Long-nosed Squirrel~70%+60%
Taiwan Salamander~70%+60%- Taiwan Yuhina~60%-10%
Taiwan Giant Flying Squirrel~50%+40%
Taiwan Alpine Skink~50%+40%- Sauter's Brown Frog~50%+20%
- Large-billed Crow~20%-50%
- Steere's Liocichla~20%-30%
-
Hehuan Lodge Area
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Hsuehshan Grass Lizard>90%+60%- White-whiskered Laughingthrush~90%+40%
- Taiwan Alpine Skink~60%+50%
- Formosan Rock Macaque~50%-10%
- Siberian Weasel~50%+40%
Kikuchi Habu~50%+40%- Taiwan Salamander~40%+30%
Asian House Martin~30%-20%- Perny's Long-nosed Squirrel~20%+20%
- Taiwan Giant Flying Squirrel~20%+10%
Short-legged Japalure~20%+10%- 🐸Sonan's Hynobiid~20%+20%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Free
Tourism
High
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Hard
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.3
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 488
🐒 Mammals 125
🦎 Reptiles 124
🐸 Amphibians 32
769 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
56 Threatened 5 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
2.8
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
55% 📊
Coverage (136 species at ≥5% of 769 in the inventory)
18% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 reptile, 1 mammal, 1 amphibian)
69% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
81 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
6 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
14 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
2.8
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Free High
Tourism High Low
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
After missing a bus and almost having to wait an hour for another bus we made it to Swallow’s Grotto, one of the most famous must-see spots in Taroko Gorge.
We only spent one night/morning at the lower elevations and on our last day we only had one bird left to see: Alpine Accentor.
Our guided Taroko Gorge tour was the trick because of the vast changes in elevation as well as the distance from Huilin, the small town where we bedded down.
Taroko Gorge’s depictions in the National Museum raised our expectations; the knowledge that it had been devastated by an earthquake in 2024 tempered them.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Taroko National Park?
769 species
Taroko National Park has 769 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Large-billed Crow (about 70%), Taiwan Yuhina (about 70%), Formosan Rock Macaque (about 70%), White-eared Sibia (about 70%) and Green-backed Tit (about 50%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Taiwan Japalure (about 50%); among amphibians, Taiwan Common Toad (about 50%).
When is the best time to visit Taroko National Park for wildlife?
May–June and September–October
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day, against about 50% in July–August and November–April.
Can you see a Formosan Rock Macaque in Taroko National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Formosan Rock Macaque sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 181 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and November–December (about 80%).
Can you see a Taiwan Japalure in Taroko National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Japalure sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 108 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June and August (about 70%).
Can you see a Taiwan Common Toad in Taroko National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Taiwan Common Toad sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 148 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April to August (about 60%).
Can you see a Large-billed Crow in Taroko National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Large-billed Crow sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 2,086 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–March, May and October–November (about 80%).
Where in Taroko National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Wuling Farm
The richest sighting zone is around Wuling Farm, followed by Buluowan and Visitor centre, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Taroko National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.3 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Taroko National Park rates 3.3/5: 248th of 316 parks worldwide and 27th in Asia. 22 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
