Wulai Public Hot Springs

Getting to Wulai involves taking the MRT to Xindian Station and then boarding the 849 bus, which snakes alongside the deep turquoise waters of the Nanshi River into the southern mountains of New Taipei City. The road hugs the cliffs, providing views of forested gorges and hanging bridges. As you walk into Wulai village across the bridge, the smell of roasting wild boar sausages seasoned with native maqaw pepper fills the air. The setting is dramatic, with traditional stilt houses clinging to the riverbanks and steep, jungle covered mountains rising on all sides. Wulai is famous for its crystal clear, completely odorless sodium bicarbonate springs, often called beauty soup because the alkaline water leaves your skin feeling incredibly smooth and moisturized. While the old free public riverfront pools have been removed for environmental safety, many excellent options remain, ranging from affordable public bathhouses to upscale riverside resorts. A day pass to a public open air pool typically costs between three hundred and six hundred TWD. In these resort pools, swimsuits are generally required for coed areas, while the gender segregated zones require total nudity. Tattoos are widely accepted in almost all Wulai establishments. The pools feature a variety of temperatures, usually ranging from a refreshing cold plunge of eighteen degrees to a deeply relaxing forty-two degrees Celsius. You should bring a towel, a water bottle, and your appetite. To escape the heavy weekend crowds of day trippers, visit on a rainy Tuesday or Wednesday morning. After your bath, take the historic Wulai Log Cart, a small vintage rail car that once transported timber, up to the base of the spectacular Wulai Waterfall, which drops eighty meters down a sheer rock face.