Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei.
To go there take the MRT red line (Tamsui-Xinyi Line) and get off at Beitou or Xinbeitou station.
Just next to the MRT station you can find the only preserved old train station in Taipei (In 1916 built during Japanese era). Xinbeitou Station was the final stop of the Beitou branch of TRA’s Tamsui Line.
Hot springs can be found all around Taiwan and Beitou is one of the most famous spots and best place to explore Taiwan’s hot spring culture.
You can walk along the Thermal valley. It’s not long but the pedestrian way consists in a nice wooden path. You are not allowed to go into beitou stream (there is just one little spot in front of the Library where you can dip your toes).
The second time I came to Xinbeitou, I had to cross the stream by necessity. The glasses of my mom had felt into it by accident and I didn’t want to leave without trying to find them. So I climbed the fence (it was not that easy), made my way through the water to the spot the glasses should be, and after 5min found them ! But it’s not allowed of course, it was an urgency 🙂
Along the path you will find Taiwan’s first “green” library. Built of wood and steel, solar panels, rainwater collection to water plants and flush toilets, eco-friendly paint..
You can enter there, it’s pretty nice. And if you want to take pictures from the inside you have to first fill in a formular.
While I was on the first floor of the Library, outside on the balcony, just above the Beitou stream, I saw this beautiful butterfly.
Just after the Librabry, there is the Beitou Hot Spring Museum that was closed when we went there. I don’t know how it looks inside, but from the outiside it’s beautiful. Built in 1911 during the Japanese era, it used to be the largest bathhouse in east Asia, then closed and abandoned for some years and after restoration became in 1998 Beitou Hot Spring Museum. From what I read it’s split into two areas : hot springs history on one floor and exhibition areas, multimedia room, recreational area on the other.
The site provides also a lot of other attractions, like the Plum Garden or Beitou museum.
The Beitou Museum is one of the attractions I went to see. To go there you need around 30 minutes walking from the Beitou MRT station.
It’s the perfect place to learn more about Beitou’s history, indigenous culture, and the Japanese colonial era.
We’ve been visiting the Thermal Valley, also called Hell Valley, one of the most famous tourist attractions of Beitou. The Thermal Valley is the source of hot spring water in the surroundings.
My sister in law told be that when she was a kid her parents took her there to boil eggs and corn. So at one time it was actually possible to cook some food there, but since then more and more tourists came to Beitou, several accidents occured and it was forbidden, for more safety.
But you still can buy boiled eggs. There are some shops just in front of the place. I actually tried one, but couldn’t make any difference as to the taste.
You still can have a walk all around the « ghost lake ».
The water in Thermal Valley is constantly at 80 – 100 degrees Celsius. That’s also why it is steaming a lot in the whole area.
I hope you »re not too sensitive about smells because it has a really strong rotten egg smell, due to the sulfur.
