To make visits to the park safer Taroko National Park Headquarters will make safety hats available for visitors to borrow free of charge at Taroko National Park Visitor Center and Buluowan, Tianxiang, Mt.Hehuan and other service stations until December 31. The hats can be borrowed from one park service station and returned to another. Visitors are welcome to borrow the safety hats when they visit Taroko Gorge.

The spectacular high mountain and gorge scenery of Taroko National Park attract numerous visitors from Taiwan and overseas, however, amidst the breathtaking natural beauty there lurks danger in the shape of rock falls, with, in particular, the steep walls of Taroko Gorge making it a high risk area for rock falls. To strengthen visitor safety, from early May Taroko National Park Headquarters began offering safety helmets to visitors for use free of charge on Jiuqudong Trail, a move that met with an enthusiastic public response. Up to the present time six private bodies and enterprises have donated 2100 safety hats to the park. The park headquarters has allocated its own supply of safety hats and the donated ones to the park’s various service stations for the free use of visitors to make their Taroko visit safer.

A park spokesperson said that most of the rocks in Taroko Gorge rock falls are small rocks that safety hats offer real protection against so it is recommended that every visitor to the gorge wears a safety hat. Even if a safety hat is worn, visitors to Taroko Gorge still need to take care, follow the signs on the trails and pay attention to safety at all times. The park headquarters hopes visitors take good care of the hats. In particular, if the strap is not fastened a hat can be easily blown off by the wind. Visitors are also requested to return the safety hats on time and, if a hat is lost, visitors will be expected to pay the cost of replacing it.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：Taroko National Park Headquarters