6 Great Ways To Enjoy Beitou Hot Springs & Thermal Valley
Did you know that Taiwan has the 2nd large concentration of hot springs in the world after Japan?
Taiwan also has one of the hottest natural hot springs in the world with water that can reach up to a scalding 100 degree Celsius! This natural phenomenon is known as Beitou Thermal Valley (地熱谷) or the Beitou hot springs.
Nicknamed “Hell Valley” (地獄谷), the Beitou hot springs are located in a volcanic crater filled with sulfuric water at the edge of Yangmingshan National Park in Beitou District (北投區), the northernmost district of Taipei City.
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About Beitou Hot Springs & Thermal Valley
Taiwan is located on the tectonic collision zone of the Yangtze Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. This unique allowed the island to develop a series of high-temperature hot springs with clear water that is often clean and drinkable.
You can visit and bathe in many of the hot springs around Taiwan, but the Beitou hot springs are the most famous and popular, being the only major hot spring resort in Taipei City that’s accessible by MRT (Taipei City metro network).
The history of the Beitou hot springs
Beitou first became popular in during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945) following the opening of several hot spring hotels and a public bathhouse reminiscent of the onsens in Japan.
The area flourished and became an upscale entertainment district for upper class Japanese and Taiwanese visitors. Beitou became known for prostitution after the end of the Japanese colonial era until it was eventually banned. Beitou was largely abandoned.
My mother grew up in Taiwan and says that when she was a child, the hot springs were unsupervised and surrounded by dense forests. People would cook eggs in the boiling water and there were multiple incidents of people falling into the springs and boiling to death! This earned Beitou Thermal Valley the nickname “Hell Valley.”
In the 1980s, my mother moved to America where I was born and has seldom visited Taiwan since. We went to the Beitou hot springs together in the 2010s and as we stepped off of the Taipei MRT at Beitou station and walked towards the springs, she was completely in awe at all of the developments that had risen up in the past decades!
Today, the Beitou hot springs have been renamed from “Hell Valley” (地獄谷) to the more pleasant-sounding name “Hot Ground Valley” (地熱谷) and has developed into a major a tourist destination with museums, parks, bathhouses, hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops.
How to Visit Beitou Hot Springs & Thermal Valley
There are a multitude of ways to visit and enjoy the Beitou hot springs and Beitou Thermal Valley. If you’re pressed for time, you can easily take a day trip to see the hot springs and soak at a bathhouse.
If you have more time to spare or are looking for a special occasion, you can book from a variety of Beitou hot spring resorts.
#1 Visit a Beitou Hot Spring Bathhouse
The first great way to enjoy the Beitou hot springs is of course to visit a bathhouse!
Even though it’s been almost a century since the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, Beitou bathhouses still maintain similar etiquette as onsens in Japan.
The bathhouses are fed with water from the nearby hot springs and there are a variety of different types of bathhouses catering to different budgets, from luxury bath houses attached to hotels and private bath houses to public bath houses.
Beitou public hot springs
Beitou public hot springs are the perfect option if you want to experience the hot springs on a budget. The most affordable public bathhouses are quite bare bones when it comes to amenities but if you’re willing to bring your own towel and toiletries, then you’re good to go!
The more luxurious public bathhouses come more more amenities and better cleanliness but are understandably more expensive to enter.
There are both gender-separated and co-ed Beitou public hot springs. For the gender-separated one, you are entirely nude while the co-ed ones require you to wear a conservative swim suit and sometimes a swimming cap.
Beitou private hot springs
Beitou private hot springs are for couples or families that prefer to enjoy the hot springs together in private and don’t mind paying more for the luxury.
Private hot springs are private rooms in Beitou bathhouses or resorts that provide all of the necessary amenities and are often booked per hour or 90 minutes.
If you have the time and budget, staying overnight at a Beitou hot spring hotel with private hot springs would be the perfect way to unwind.
Beitou Hot Spring Recommendations
Millennium Hot Spring
Millennium Hot Spring is one of the main Beitou public hot springs that opened during the Japanese occupation. Still well-maintained today, Millennium Hot Spring is the most popular and the cheapest hot spring in Beitou.
Public hot spring only
- Price: NT$40 ($1.35 USD)
- Hours: 5:30–7:30am, 8–10am, 10:30am–1pm, 1:30–4pm, 4:30–7pm, 7:30–10pm
The public hot springs are outdoors and co-ed, so you’ll need to wear a swimsuit otherwise you won’t be allowed in (the ones sold on site are limited and expensive!)
I visited Millennium Hot Spring and paid a mere NT$40 ($1.35 USD) to soak for hours in a variety of pools with different temperatures. Lockers are available for another NT$20 ($0.65 USD).
Longnice Hot Spring
Longnice Hot Spring (瀧乃湯浴室) is the oldest bathhouse in Beitou still operating today. Originally built for Japanese soldiers, Longnice Hot Spring today offers a traditional but affordable bathhouse experience.
Public hot spring
- Price: NT$150 ($5 USD)
- Hours: 6:30-11am, 12-5pm, 6-9pm
The bathhouse is indoors, nude, and gender-separated. There are 2 pools for the men’s section and 2 pools for the women’s section. A locker is provided but make sure you bring your own towel and toiletries!
Private hot spring
- Price (small room): NT$400 ($13.50 USD)
- Price (large room): NT$600 ($20 USD)
- Hours: 12-6pm
Longnice Hot Spring offers some of the least expensive private bathing experiences in Beitou. The above prices are based on 2 people and there is the option to add up to 3 extra people at NT$50 ($1.75 USD) a person.
Spring City Resort
Image belongs to Spring City Resort
Spring City Resort is a 4-star hotel and resort that offers public hot spring facilities along with rooms, dining, and more.
Public hot spring option
- Price: NT$800 ($27 USD)
- Hours: 9am-10pm
While more expensive than the budget friend Millennium Hot Spring and Longnice Hot Spring, you get what you pay for with 2 people especially for kids, and 8 pools of varying temperatures for adults that include jacuzzi functions.
You’re also provided with a locker, Japanese bathrobe, towel, flip-flops, and toiletries. The public hot springs of Spring City Resort are co-ed, so you’ll need to bring a swimsuit.
Private hot spring option
- Price per hour (adult): NT$600 ($20 USD)
- Price per hour (child): NT$400 ($13.75 USD)
- Hours: 24 hours
Spring City Resort offers private bathing options along with public ones. The resort has 13 private hot spring rooms that are open 24 hours a day.
Spring City Resort: Book an overnight stay here.
Waterhouse Beitou
If you’re looking for an upscale public hot spring experience and don’t mind a higher admission price, visit the newly renovated and Japanese-inspired Waterhouse Beitou.
Public hot spring option
- Price (weekdays): NT$780 ($26.50 USD)
- Price (weekends): NT$1080 ($37 USD)
- Hours: 7am-11pm
The public bathhouse is mostly gender-separated, with several pools all using spring water with white sulfur. There is a semi-open outdoor area overlooking the lush greenery around Beitou. If you’re a hotel guest, you can access the public baths for free!
Private hot spring option
- Price per 90 minutes (weekdays): NT$1680 ($58 USD)
- Price per 90 minutes (weekends): NT$1980 ($68 USD)
- Hours: 7am-11pm
The private rooms at Waterhouse Beitou come with a view and include towels, toiletries, and water. The above prices are based on a room for 2 people and there is the option to pay NT$400 ($13.75 USD) per extra 30 minutes and NT$400 per extra person.
Waterhouse Beitou: Explore an overnight stay here.
Radium Kagaya Taipei
Image belongs to Radium Kagaya
A top-rated hot spring hotel brand in Japan, Kagaya brings Japanese hospitality and onsen culture to Taiwan. Radium Kagaya Taipei (日勝生加賀屋國際溫泉飯店) is a 4-star hot spring resort built where the first Japanese hot spring hotel in Taiwan once stood.
Public hot spring option
- Price: NT$1500 ($52 USD)
- Hours: 7am-11pm
The public hot springs at Radium Kagaya Taipei are gender-separated and included indoor hot spring baths with white sulfur. The facilities are spotless and there is a sauna and steam room for guests to enjoy. Bookings are limited to 4 hours each.
Private hot spring option
- Price per 90 minutes: NT$2300 ($80 USD) – NT$3000 ($103 USD)
- Hours: 24 hours
Radium Kagaya Taipei offers 17 elegant private bath rooms built from natural materials for a tranquil and private bathing experience. There are several different types of rooms with a range of prices and you can add a third person can be added for an additional NT$800 ($27.50 USD).
Radium Kagaya Taipei: Explore an overnight stay here.
Marshal Zen Garden
Marshal Zen Garden (少帥禪園) was once an upscale hot spring hotel during the Japanese occupation, the last stop for kamikaze pilots before their final mission, and the home for the Chinese Marshal Zhang Xueliang during his house arrest.
Today, Marshal Zen Garden is a high-end restaurant and private hot spring spa that maintains its original Japanese-style structures and garden and offers great views of Beitou.
There is a NT$200 ($7 USD) charge to enter and see the grounds only. However, if you book a visit to the private baths or the onsite tea house, then your visit is complimentary.
Private hot spring option only
- Price per 90 minutes (small room): NT$2000 ($70 UDS)
- Price per 90 minutes (large room): NT$2500 ($86 USD)
The private bathing rooms are elegantly decorated and can be booked per 90 minutes for 2 people. A third person can be added for an extra NT$600 ($20.50 USD).
You can get a discount of NT$200 ($7 USD) for a private bath if you also book an afternoon tea set with a foot bath for NT$599 ($20.50 USD).
Villa 32
Image belongs to Villa 32
For a truly luxurious Beitou hot spring experience for guests over 16, Villa 32 provides an exclusive east-meets-west experience with the promise of completely undisturbed relaxation.
Public hot spring option
- Price (weekdays): NT$1980 ($68 USD)
- Price (weekends): NT$2580 ($88.75)
- Hours: 7am-11pm
The public hot springs are Villa 32 are separated by gender and offers the works when it comes to amenities. Guests are provided with bath products, an assortment of teas, fresh fruit waters, fresh fruits, newspapers, bathrobes, slippers, and more. Each visit is limited to 4 hours.
Private hot spring option
- Price per 90 minutes (weekdays): NT$2800 ($96 USD)
- Price per 90 minutes (weekends): NT$3600 ($124 USD)
The private hot springs at Villa 32 include a white sulfur spring a sofa bed along with Crabtree & Evelyn bath products, Evian water, fresh fruits, and fresh cookies for the ultimate luxurious experience.
Villa 32: Explore an overnight stay here.
Grand View Resort Beitou
Image belongs to Grandview Resort
A 5-star hot spring resort in Beitou, Grand View Resort (北投麗禧溫泉酒店) is located on a mountaintop next to the Beitou Museum. The hotel was designed to be a uniquely Taiwanese-style hot spring hotel that blends in with the natural environment and is both homely and luxurious.
Public hot springs
- Price (weekdays): NT$1600 ($55 USD)
- Price (weekends): NT$1800 ($62 USD)
- Hours: 7am to 11pm
The public hot springs at Grand View Resort Beitou are intricately designed and separated by gender. Facilities include springs of difference temperatures, a hot stone spa, a sauna, and a steam room. Guests are provided with mineral water, toiletries, drinks, and snacks.
Outdoor hot springs
- Price (adult): NT$600 ($20.50 USD)
- Price (children): NT$400 ($13.75 USD)
- Hours: 7am to 11pm
The outdoor hot springs at Grand View Resort Beitou are co-ed and have stunning views of the surrounding nature. These springs are open for hotel guest use during their stay.
Private hot springs
- Price per 2 hours: NT$2300 ($79 USD) – NT$3300 ($114 USD)
- Hours: 24 hours
There are several different types of private hot spring rooms at Grand View Resort Beitou, the most expensive one including a flat screen TV and refrigerator along with bathrobe and tea.
Grand View Resort Beitou: Book an overnight stay here.
Gaia Hotel Beitou
The award-winning Gaia Hotel Beitou (大地北投奇岩溫泉酒店) adds an elegant and minimal European vibe to the hot spring scene in Beitou. Perhaps its most unique feature is, interestingly, a 4-story library consisting of over 5 thousand books from around the world.
Public hot springs
- Price: NT$1800 ($62 USD)
- Hours: 7am-11pm
Free for hotel guests and only allowing visitors over 12, the serene and upscale public hot springs are gender segregated and include pools of varying temperatures, a sauna, a steam room, and outdoor hot springs.
Private hot springs
- Price for 90 minutes: NT$2300 ($79.50)
- Hours (spring & summer): 9am to midnight
- Hours (fall & winter): 24 hours
The private hot springs at Gaia Hotel Beitou are scented with Chinese juniper aromatherapy and come complete with day bed, towels, water, luxury bath products, coffee, and tea.
Gaia Hotel Beitou: Explore and overnight stay here.
Fuxing Park foot bath
Public hot spring option only
If you’re not prepared or don’t have time for the full Beitou hot springs bathhouse experience, there are 3 free (yes, FREE!) foot-soaking pools in Beitou. These are located in Fuxing Park, Quanyuan Park, and Sulfur Springs Valley.
#2 Stay at a Beitou Hot Spring Resort
There is a wide variety of hotel spring resorts and hotels in Beitou, all at different price points and offering different types of amenities.
[A full Beitou hot spring resorts and hotels page coming soon.]
Until then, here are my top recommendations for Beitou hot spring resorts and hotels.
- Spring City Resort
- Waterhouse Beitou
- Radium Kagaya Taipei
- Villa 32
- Grand View Resort Beitou
- Gaia Hotel Beitou
#3 See Beitou Thermal Valley
- Price: Free
- Hours: 9am to 5pm (closed on Mondays & public holidays)
When visiting Beitou, make sure to stop by the Beitou Thermal Valley (北投地熱谷) to see firsthand where sulfur-rich spring waters that feed the Beitou bath houses comes from. The park is relatively small and has well-maintained pathways that overlook the natural hot spring waters.
Beitou Thermal Valley is also known as “Hell Valley” for its near-boiling waters. Tourists used to be able allowed to cook eggs in the water but the practice is now banned for safety reasons.
Beitou Thermal Valley is a short 10 minute walk from Xinbeitou MRT Station (新北投捷運站) and within proximity of the Beitou hot springs. If there is one thing that you do in Beitou, it should be to visit the Thermal Valley Park.
As you walk into the observation area, the smell of sulfur permeates the air which rises in warmth and humidity until it surrounds you like a cloud. Your visibility drops considerably. Every time a gust of wind blows through, steam is swept about the valley in a dramatic display of mist.
#4 Visit the Beitou Hot Spring Museum
- Price: Free
- Hours: 9am to 5pm (closed on Mondays & public holidays)
The Beitou Hot Spring Museum (北投溫泉博物館) was originally a public bath house during the Japanese occupation and was built with a fusion Japanese and European style. It was the largest bathhouse in East Asia at the time of its construction.
Today, the museum has exhibits about the history of Beitou and its hot springs, complete with old photos. On the first floor, you can see the original Roman-style baths complete with stained glass windows. On the second floor, there is a tatami lounging area where bath house guests could rest and enjoy a cup of tea.
#5 Visit the Beitou Museum
- Price (adult): NT$120
- Price: (students & 65+): NT$50
- Hours: 9am to 6pm (closed on Mondays & public holidays)
The Beitou Museum (北投文物館, not to be confused with the Beitou Hot Spring Museum) is the only remaining 2-story wooden Japanese-style building in Taiwan. The building was once an elegant Beitou hot spring hotel that housed Japanese soldiers and kamikaze pilots during World War II.
There are various Japanese and aboriginal Taiwanese artifacts on display, cultural performances, a restaurant serving a beautifully displayed multi-course kaiseki meal, and a tea house with a tatami room and a terrace with views of Beitou.
Though a slightly longer uphill walk, the Beitou Museum is well worth the visit for the culture and the views.
#6 Visit the Beitou Public Library
The Beitou Public Library (北投圖書館) was the first certified “Green Building” in Taiwan. The building was designed to consume less water and electricity, has a roof with solar panels, and a system that collects rainwater for flushing toilets. The building is painted with eco-friendly paint, and the wooden balcony railings are designed to reduce the amount of heat-generating sun rays.
The library offers both Chinese and English books and is located next door to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum.
Taiwan Beitou Hot Springs FAQ
How do I get to the Beitou hot springs & Thermal Valley?
To get to the Beitou hot springs and Beitou Thermal Valley, the easiest way is to take red line of the MRT (Taipei metro network): the Tamsui-Xinyi Line. Get off at Beitou MRT Station and change to the Xinbeitou line. Get off at Xinbeitou MRT Station and walk along Zhongshan Road (中山路) or Guangming Road (中山路) to reach all of the hot springs, hotels, museums, and Beitou Thermal Valley.
Note that Beitou MRT Station is not the correct stop! Beitou MRT Station takes you to the center of Beitou District but not the Beitou hot springs. Xinbeitou (New Beitou) MRT Station is the correct right.
How much does it cost to visit the Beitou hot springs?
It’s FREE to see the source of the hot springs at Beitou Thermal Valley!
If you want to bathe in the Beitou hot springs, then you can do so on either a bare minimum budget of NT$40 ($1.35 USD) for the public baths at Millennium Hot Spring all the way up to NT$3000 ($103 USD) or more for the private hot springs at upscale Beitou resorts.
See all of my recommended public and private Beitou hot springs in the section Beitou Hot Spring Recommendations including prices and opening hours.
What are the Beitou hot spring opening hours?
Beitou Thermal Valley, which is the source of the Beitou hot springs, is open from 9am to 5pm daily and closed on Mondays and national holidays.
If you want to bathe in a Beitou hot spring, public hot springs are typically open between 7am and 11pm while private hot springs can be open 24 hours. Check the section Beitou Hot Spring Recommendations for detailed opening hours.
What is the dress code for the Beitou hot springs?
The Beitou hot springs have similar etiquette to Japanese onsen culture. In co-ed public baths, you’re required to wear a swimsuit. Some places require you to wear a one-piece swimsuit. In public baths separated by gender, you’re required to be entire nude.
If you’re uncomfortable with being completely nude in a bath, you can always opt for a private bath, which starts at NT$400 ($13.50 USD) for a small private room at Longnice Hot Spring.
What is the entrance fee for Beitou Thermal Valley?
You’ll be very happy to learn that entrance to Beitou Thermal Valley is FREE!
All you need to do is remember to go between 9am and 5pm, and that Beitou Thermal Valley is closed on Mondays and public holidays.
What is the best hot spring in Beitou?
Everyone will have a different opinion of what the best hot spring in Beitou is. Thankfully, there are hot springs for every taste and budget in Beitou. Check out all of my recommendations in the Beitou Hot Spring Recommendations section.
What is it with the smell at Beitou Thermal Valley?
It smells funny at Beitou Thermal Valley, doesn’t it? That rotten egg smell is from the natural sulfur in the hot spring waters. Geothermal waters dissolve minerals underground and binds with oxygen when it reaches the earth’s surface to create the sulfuric compounds found in hot spring water. This gives spring water its strong odor.
How long should I spend in Beitou Thermal Valley?
How long you spend in Beitou Thermal Valley depends entirely on the amount of time that you have to spare. While it’s certainly possible to see all of the main sights and take a dip in the hot springs in one day, Beitou is also worth staying overnight in if you have the time.
I’ve been back to Beitou several times with friends and have found new experiences every time. The cafes and bathhouses particularly enjoyable. The distinctively Japanese flair makes Beitou seem quaint and almost storybook-like!
I hope you have a very relaxing time in Beitou and feel rejuvenated after your visit!
If you liked this guide, you may also like what I share on Instagram @gracegonewandering.
I’m originally from Taiwan and am always sharing travel tips and inspiration.
