Covered in Stardust: Taipei Day 6: Beitou Hot Springs (北投溫泉)

Monday, November 21, 2011

Taipei Day 6: Beitou Hot Springs (北投溫泉)

To get to the Beitou Hot Springs area, take the subway to Beitou station and change trains to Xinbeitou station, which is just one stop away. The journey from Taipei Main Station will take 20 minutes and cost less then NT30.

The main attractions of the Beitou Hot Springs area are along the longest green patch to the right, as seen on the map below. The place is rather small, and if you do not spend time soaking in either the public or private hot springs, it will take you under two hours to make a full leisurely round.

This is the view as you exit XinBeitou station. I wonder if that is Yangmingshan in the distance. It is a good idea to pay a visit to Yangmingshan on the same day, since there are buses heading to the mountain from the Beitou/Xinbeitou area.

As you exit the station, cross the road and keep walking straight ahead. You will find yourself on this path. To the right of the path would be the Ketagalan Cultural Center, Beitou library, Beitou Hot Spring Museum, Beitou Outdoor Public Bath, and various hotels.

Interesting expressive faces outside the Ketagalan Cultural Center (凱達格蘭文化館). You can find displays of Taiwanese Aboriginal culture and art in the building from 9am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Sundays.

Beitou Library (北投圖書館), which was designed to be eco-friendly with its use of solar power and natural light.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum (北投溫泉博物館) , where you have to take your shoes off and either tread about in your socks or put on the pair of house slippers provided.

Beitou Park Outdoor Hot Spring ( 北投公园露天溫泉).

There are multiple time slots from 5:30-10pm, and a queue will begin to form at the entrance before each scheduled time slot. Admission rate is a mere NT40.

Or you could just soak your feet in the waters of this stream which comes from the Thermal Valley.

If you prefer your hot spring soak to be a private affair, you could book yourself into one the many hotels in the area.

Once you're past the museum and public hot springs, keep a lookout for a fork in the road to your left. That would be the entrance to the Thermal Valley.

The valley was much smaller than I had expected. It only covers an area of 3500 square feet, but unlike the Hell Valley in Noboribetsu which was dry, this was a bubbling spring of water with temperatures above 90 degrees celsius and a PH value of between 1.2 and 1.6.

Water mixed with volcanic gases form a green sulfur spring containing traces of radium. Over a long period of time, sedimentation forms rare Hokutolite pebbles in the cracks of the rocks.

You can find a piece of Hokutolite as well as sulfur deposits from a pipe, displayed in the museum just outside the Thermal Valley.

It wasn't crowded at all the Thursday I was at the Valley, and I managed to spend some time warming myself whilst enjoying the peace and tranquility before taking a leisurely stroll back to the station.