Lotus Pond Introduction
Lotus Pond is the only natural alpine lake located within Taroko National Park. It is situated on the opposite bank of the hairpin turn along the Central Cross-Island Highway at the tail ridge of Mount Chaodun. The pond can be accessed by following the Taoshan Creek valley northward and is at an elevation of 1,180 meters, with a diameter of over 500 meters. During the Japanese occupation, the Truku people referred to it as 'Tian Pond' because it was filled with lotus flowers at that time, and it was later renamed Lotus Pond. However, after veterans released fish into the pond, the lotus flowers gradually withered away; in addition, severe leakage diminished the pond to a small waterhole. As the elderly veterans moved away over time, the farmland around Lotus Pond became increasingly abandoned and gradually returned to a natural state, turning Lotus Pond into a rich ecological paradise where birds, butterflies, and fish coexist, with wildlife frequently visiting.
