Gangkou Beach 港口海灘

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Gangkou Beach near Jialeshui Scenic Area in Kenting is one of the premier surfing beaches in Taiwan, with its most famous landmark being the Gangkou Suspension Bridge which leads to the Diaoqiao Wetland area. Popular activities here include surfing, kite surfing, swimming, and hiking. It is a must see on your trip to Kenting. Due to its location there are rarely crowds here even on weekends. 

Background:
The area around Gangkou was originally inhabited by the Paiwan Tribe. Afterward, Chinese settlers started moving in to farm the area, and it remains mainly a rural area to this day, with about one fourth of the population being indiginous people.
Gangkou suspension bridge is190 meters long and less than 10 meters high. The bridge was built to give passage to locals who in early times had to cross the Gangkou River during winter when it was cold and windy in order to leave town. 
Gangkou Beach is usually free of crowds due to its location, and there are multiple surf board rentals nearby. Strong winds year round mean there are always constant large waves coming into the bay. 

Hours:
7:30 AM to 6:00 PM

Price:
Gangkou Suspension Bridge: 20 NT 
Parking: Free

How to get there:
​By Bus: Take bus 8247 from Hengchun about half an hour to Gangkou Village.  
By Car/Scooter: Take Provincial highway 26 to its easternmost point to enter Gangkou Village. There is a parking lot near the suspension bridge with free parking. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been to Gangkou beach three times and I have always found it to be a nice stop on the way around Kenting. It's worth it to stop here and walk around, or if you are into surfing it is a private sufring paradise. 

Check out our drone video above for an overview of the area.

Or check out the 360 degree spherical panorama above. The photos don't match up completely but it gets the job done. 

I first came to Gangkou in 2016 after Typhoon Nepartak. The area looked pretty sad at the time. 

From the bridge we could see many trees got knocked down in the Typhoon. 

We came back again in 2019 and 2021. Here is a view of the beach from the road southward.

Closeup on the beach. Notice there is only one person there. 

The main entrance to the beach is on the south side near the grassy park. There is free parking on the side of the road. 

To get to the beach you have to walk down a small trail.

First view on the beach. 

The sand here is quite fine but not as white as on other beaches such as Baishawan etc. Therefore it's not the best beach to come sunbathe on especially in Kenting. 

The water here is usually not that clean because of the wind and the Gangkou River bringing silt in. 

The left side of the beach is totally rocky, leading to Jialeshui Scenic Area. 

​Check out more photos of the beach in the photo gallery above.

Gangkou Suspension Bridge 港口吊橋

The main feature of Gangkou Village is the suspension bridge here. 

There is a parking lot on the north side of the bridge and a few stalls that sell things on weekends. 

To walk on the bridge, you need to pay 20 NT per person. 

View of the bridge.

View of the parking lot from the bridge. 

Abandoned kayaks below. 

Abandoned rack of life vests in the grass.

View from the middle of the bridge. 

View of the bridge from the air. 

View of the ocean from the air. 

View up river from the bridge. 

View toward the ocean from the bridge. 

View of the bridge from the other side. 

On the other side is a boardwalk through the Diaoqiao Wetlands. 

Here are photos of some of the wildlife you might see here. 

The path also branches off to dirt trails. 

Basically the message is don't mess with the wildlife. 

View of Gangkou Bridge from the shore.

You can see more photos of the area in the gallery above. 

Soon the tourists came rolling in. 

There are many shops nearby in case you are interested. 

Also further down the road you can check out Jialeshui Scenic Area, a geological park with some interesting rock formations. For more about Jialeshui check out our blog here.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out more blogs on Kenting to come. 

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