Yang Ming Shan and Beitou Hot Springs

- Are you wondering if you can visit Yangmingshan and Beitou Hot Springs in a day? I tried to and this is what happened. - Take the red line to Beitou and transfer to the extended line of Xinbeitou - Take bus 230 from Daye Road on the half hour. It’s up a sloped hill. - You’ll pass Beitou National Museum along the way if you want to stop there. - Arrived at the final stop for Yangmingshan and walked up towards the visitor centre. The staff recommended against going up any further due to the typhoon and the place was empty except for a couple trying to retrieve a phone. - I went back towards the stop I was at and walked around the nearby park and saw some men relaxing at a hot spring. - There was a trail up to Mt. Shamao for 1.2km. It was steep and a little slippery due to the rain. - The view at the top was nice but I couldn’t see everything due to the clouds. It reminded me of a wet and windy day back in Ireland. - There is another trail for 1km downwards and this is where the trip on your shoes will be tested. I wore normal Nike runners and slipped a few times. - Once I got back to the main road, I got the bus back down to the town centre of Beitou. - I had to walk back a little bit for about 800m but I got to see the plum garden, thermal valley and I entered Beitou Public Hot Spring for 30NTD. I got this rate because I was able to prove that I was a teacher. There is also Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch which structurally looks very cool but I didn’t enter inside. - You need to wear a specific bathing suit and a cap for entering the colder pools. - There’s a locker for 20NTD that you can rent but it’s small so any big bag you have won’t fit. - The hottest spring is between 40-45 degrees. My body wasn’t used to the temperatures so I rotated around them all for two loops. - Once I cleaned myself up and left, I got the subway back downtown and got beef noodles in YongKang Street. - It may not seem like much but I’ll it all added up throughout the day. You can definitely see Yangmingshan and Beitou yourself for far less than what some tours cost, but you have to plan it out well (I didn’t) and be up early. I headed there at about 11am and it was almost 7pm by the time I was leaving to go back downtown. - Hope this helps and thanks for reading! #yangmingshan #beitouhotsprings #taipei