While many private school English teachers had the pleasure of working on Christmas day, thankfully it wasn’t much longer of a wait until Chinese New Year. This year, the year of the rat, the much-awaited holiday came early. So from late January-early February, I had 11 days to roam this beautiful island. Since it’s a 5-6 hour drive to get to the east coast, I hadn’t yet had much opportunity to go there. Because of the mountains slicing their way through the center of the island, it takes a surprising amount of time to go from the West to the East coast of Taiwan; an island of only 390 kilometers in length and about 140 kilometers in width. However, it is this mountainous geography which lends itself to such an abundance of natural wonders, and allows us to have so many adventures to plan. So, no complaining here. Ting, my girlfriend, agreed that after a quick beach-fix on the South coast, it’d be a fun idea to head over for some camping and hot spring hunting.

Beach Fix, Acquired

“Look natural”

Beautiful Baishawan/White Sand Beach, South Taiwan

After getting our fill of sunshine and sand, we continued on from Kenting in the direction of Taitung. The east coast of Taiwan is a Utopian wonderland where soaring mountains serve as the backdrop for the cobalt blue sea; where the air is crisp and clean, and small town vibes pervade. It is a camper and adventurer’s dreamland. We pulled up the campground map and started browsing random campgrounds near the hot springs we wanted to check out; Lisong and Hongye hot springs, in particular. We ended up staying at an amazing campsite on an aboriginal tribe reserve which appeared to be quite close to Hongye Hot Spring. Pairing the mapped waterfalls and hot springs from www.followxiaofei.com, together with the downloadable map of Taiwan and all its campgrounds https://www.taiwancamping.net/p/camping-map.html, you’ve got cheap accommodation covered as well as a long list of things to see.

The campground where we stayed, near Hongye Hot Spring

After checking into the campground and getting set up, Ting and I decided Hongye was close enough to try to see before the sun went down. It turned out to be less than 10 minutes away, about 2 kilometers up the road! As you arrive at the hot spring’s location, there is parking available at the top of the hill, and also 5-6 spots further down, closer to the river bed. If your car is an ole’ girl like XiaoLan then you may prefer parking at the top of the hill like I did. After about a 10 minute walk down the hill, we started to see the campers and parked cars, and the anticipation of visiting our very first hot spring really started to set in. We followed a path down to the river bed and wandered a short distance before seeing a small group of locals just ahead, sitting in a bath of steaming water. We greeted our fellow pleasure-seekers as though they were old friends and, almost disbelievingly, lowered ourselves into the hot water of Hongye Hot Spring. The joy of sitting and soaking in a hot bath is wonderful on its own, but when you add being outside, surrounded by mountains, during the golden hour, it becomes pure bliss. Ting and I snapped some pictures and then sat and enjoyed. In hindsight, that was a precious moment. Relaxed yet revitalized, we made our way back to the campground, excited to tackle our next hot spring the following day: Lisong Hot Spring.

Getting my Hot Spring Stripes at Hongye Hot Spring

After a restful sleep, Ting and I were ready for our next adventure. After a couple cups of extra-satisfying morning Joe (there is something exceedingly comforting about campground coffee), I threw in the coordinates for Lisong Hot Spring and we hopped in the car. Although the drive to Lisong Hot Spring is not a short drive no matter where you’re coming from, it is a beautiful one. Coming from the East and driving West towards the center of Taiwan, the mountains soar higher and higher. Winding roads will take you up and up and, if it’s a clear day, the views are spectacular.

Views on the drive towards Lisong Hot Spring

After about a 2 hour drive, we made it to the parking area. However, for Lisong Hot Spring, the drive is the easy part. To get down to the river, it is about a 1 hour hike down the mountain, on a trail through the forest. The trail is steep and slightly challenging, but also fun and adventurous. We made our way down to the riverbed to find ourselves at the bottom of a deep valley in front of a rushing turquoise river. Across the river and to our left was a trail of people scaling their way along the sheer canyon walls. The adventure continued as we waded through the cold river waters and followed their lead. After climbing along the river wall for only a hundred meters or so, we had almost made it and could see the hot spring. We looked ahead, transfixed by the canyon walls which transformed from their usual dull grey to a mesmerizing neon green mixed with orange, black and white.

Lisong Hot Spring is absolutely stunning to behold, and it is a magical place to absorb the joy of your own adventure, along with the tangible feelings of excitement and pleasure of others around you. There are multiple baths, as well as places to stand and take a natural shower, along the imposing, colourful canyon walls. Ting and I soaked in the water and the experience, and finally, reluctantly, we got ready to make our way back.

The hike back up to the parking area from the hot spring takes about twice as long as the trip to the hot spring. So, on tired legs but fresh spirits, we plodded our way along and finally made it back to the car. Our first-ever hot springs were now behind us, and we didn’t know it yet, but a fire had been lit.