Beitou Hot Spring

Beitou Hot Spring sits in Beitou District, Taipei City, Taiwan Province—around 12 kilometers from downtown Taipei. Since it’s in the Datun Volcano Group area, it’s long been known as "Taiwan’s Top Hot Spring". Three types of hot spring water are found here: green sulfur, white sulfur and iron sulfur. People think these can help treat arthritis and skin diseases. It first developed from sulfur mining in the Qing Dynasty. During the Japanese colonial period, they built places like Beitou Hot Spring Public Bathhouse, and it slowly turned into a leisure spot for government officials and businessmen.

Highlights of Beitou Hot Spring

Beitou Hot Spring Museum

The Beitou Hot Spring Museum is a key landmark for understanding the 100-year history of Beitou Hot Spring. Its former identity was the Beitou Hot Spring Public Bathhouse, built in 1913, once the largest hot spring bathhouse in East Asia. In 1997, it was designated as a Level 3 Historic Site in Taiwan and renovated into a museum. It fully preserves retro elements like Roman arches and stained glass. The hot spring exhibition hall on the basement floor allows visitors to touch simulated hot spring rocks and smell sulfur. The tatami hall on the second floor recreates the scene of a Japanese-style hot spring house. Besides, the back door of the museum leads directly to the open-air hot spring in Beitou Park, where visitors can experience the natural green sulfur hot spring.

Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch

Nestled in Beitou Park’s dense shade, the Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch sits next to the Hot Spring Museum. It’s Taiwan’s first green-building library, and people praise it as "one of the world’s most beautiful libraries".This all-wooden building looks like a "knowledge ark" moored in the forest. Solar panels on its roof and a rainwater recycling system show the ecology concept well. The vertical wooden grid design gives shade and lets in light too, so the building blends with nature seamlessly.

Beitou Geothermal Valley

Geothermal Valley is the source of Beitou Hot Spring. Known as "Hell Valley" for the white steam and sulfur smell that fill the air all year round, it has now been turned into a well-equipped scenic park and a must-visit spot to experience the power of geothermal energy. After renovation, the park added facilities like a lakeside trail, mineral spring hand-washing areas and stone seats for rock bathing. Walking along the trail, you can see clear green sulfur springs flowing at the bottom of the valley. With water temperature over 80℃, the steam rising from the water drifts with the wind, creating a dreamy and mysterious atmosphere.

Xinbeitou Hot Spring Water Park

Xinbeitou Hot Spring Water Park is right next to Xinbeitou MRT Station. It’s the best place to experience the approachable charm of Beitou Hot Spring, and its free hot spring foot-soaking pools are especially popular with tourists and locals. The park is full of trees, and open wooden corridors surround several foot-soaking pools that can hold over 100 people at the same time. The pool water is sourced from natural hot springs—warm, comfortable and rich in minerals—making it perfect for relaxing after a tiring walk.

Educational Value

Beitou Hot Spring is Taiwan’s earliest systematically developed hot spring area with the deepest historical roots. As early as the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, it drew attention after aboriginal people discovered its geothermal resources. During the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), Japanese colonizers built Taiwan’s first public hot spring bathhouse here—the Beitou Hot Spring Public Bathhouse. They brought in Japanese "hot spring bathing" culture and ideas for healing with hot springs. At the same time, railways were laid and hot spring hotels built. This changed Beitou from a wild valley into a well-known "hot spring town" in East Asia. Even back then, it had the fame of "Atami in Tokyo, Beitou in Taiwan".

Activities to do at Beitou Hot Spring

Hot spring experience： There are many good hot spring resorts and hotels in Beitou. Sunny 32 Resort is one example—it acts as a "private guesthouse" and its design uses four elements: "spring, wood, tree, and stone." Guests can enjoy private hot spring rooms and massage services here, and at the same time take in the lush green views.