If you try to reduce a country to just a couple of famous images Taiwan has the Taipei 101 skyscraper and probably the Queen Nefertiti’s Rock in Yehliu. In short, it’s a rock formation in Yehliu Geopark, known also as Yehliu Promontory, a part of Daliao Miocene Formation of rocks that stretches over 1700 meters into the Pacific ocean.
Queen Nefertiti’s rock is just one of the many mushroom like rock formations there, but if you watch it from the correct angle, as indicated by the park administration, it looks a lot like Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti, hence its name.
As you can imagine this natural wonder is an attraction for geologists, but it’s also a must see tourist destination for those visiting Taiwan, as you only have to travel an hour or so from Taipei City to reach Yehliu (which you can also find referenced as Yeliou).
As with pretty much all tourist attractions in Taiwan, entrance is free at Yehliu Geopark for foreign tourists. I was amazed by the way the park was enhanced to facilitate the best travel experience: an elevated pathway was built as a ‘highway’ between the rocks, guiding you to the most important points to visit. Signs were placed from place to place and even instructed tourists where to stay, which direction to face in order to take the best pictures (instructions for both the subject and the photographer). That’s what I call making sure tourists have the best experience.
And one more thing you have to keep in mind: under no circumstance touch any of the rocks. Most of them are very fragile, including the main attraction, as the wind that blows from the ocean thinned out the ‘neck’ of the queen throughout the years. Experts are struggling to find solutions, but none of the proposed ones are able to keep the natural aspect of the rock, so right now there’s no viable plan to preserve the queen and not affect its looks.
I’m happy I got the chance to see Queen Nefertiti’s Rock back in 2004, and I sincerely hope it will be there for the years to come. It’s somewhat unreal to see a natural formation that mimics organic life to a point you can mistake it with a man made sculpture. My picture at the beginning of this post doesn’t make justice to the beauty of queen, but I do hope if helps illustrate nature’s ability to amaze us.
I really miss Taiwan. I hope to get there again soon.