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. You can book tickets to Pingtung via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 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. Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search here. Accommodation: I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Kenting, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com, or Expedia for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan. You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here. Tours and Activities in Kenting: There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 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.
There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. Check out our full guide to Kenting here. You can also check out our full guide to Pingtung here, and can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.
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Author 作家I am an American expat who has extensive experience living, working, and traveling in Taiwan. In my day, I had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But I have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. This blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. I am just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Categories
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