Live like a local guy for one day in Beitou

I've lived in Taipei for over ten years. Since the first time I went to Beitou, I got in love with its beautiful surroundings and the historical stories in the old buildings. Whenever it gets cooler, I would go to Beitou to enjoy the hot spring for one or two days. It is very convenient for backpack travelers cuz you can just take MRT to reach there, and almost everything fun is walkable.

The smoke in Thermal Valley

 In the ancient language in Taiwan, Beitou means the wizard because it usually covered by white smoke. Although it is crowded by hotels and many buildings now, you can still go to the Thermal Valley to experience the reason why the ancient people thought that smoke was made by the wizard. Nowadays Beitou is no longer a mysterious place but a famous travel spot in Taipei. You can not only get into the hot spring with white sulfur or green sulfur, but also enjoy many many delicious local foods that have been the verified by the local people for decades.

I typically spend 30% of my time visiting the attractions, 30% for foods, 30% for hanging out with other people, and 10% for randomness. I usually stay in On My Way Hostel because its location is really awesome that you can get almost everything worth your time within 30 mins walk. Also the staffs there are always patient and friendly to every guest. They did lots of things to make you feel cozy there, and they also made useful information like hand-drawed maps for tourists. If you like wooden beds like me, go to check out the 8 people mix dorm. I think you will love them as well.

Now I'm going to show you how to organize your local one day trip!

Morning

• Qiao-Wei Hamburger
• Beitou public library
• Beitou Thermal Valley(Hell Valley)

Breakfast at Qiao-Wei hamburger

In the morning, you can either enjoy the breakfast provided in the hostel or go to the local people's love, Qiao-Wei hamburger to have pasta, big combo branch or mocha latte in the store. After breakfast, it's a great time for walking tour. You will feel refreshed if you go to Beitou public library in the morning. It's famous for the green architecture design which make it normally do not need AC in summer. Then you can go to the hot spring museum and the Thermal Valley.

Noon

• Han-Chi Rou Geng(Han-Chi Pork Broth)

Han-Chi Rou Geng is only 3 mins walk from Beitou station. You can come back to take a rest after the journey of the smoke. Just bring the pork broth back to the place you stay and enjoy it.

Afternoon

• SheMe House
• Chuan Tong Zhi Zui Dou Hua Tang
• Fagushan Nongchan Temple

up: NongChan Temple
down left: SheMe house
down right: tofu pudding

Afternoon is the best time for desserts. You can go to SheMe house to enjoy the hand-made coffee and their cakes. Raw chocolate is also good, and you can even find IPA here if you like to have some alcohol. When you on the way back to MRT, you may pass by a tiny stand that is crowded with local people. That should be the most famous tofu pudding in Beitou.

After the afternoon tea, you can take MRT to Qiyan. The Nongchan temple is so beautiful and relaxing that you should not miss. It is designed by a famous architecture Kris Yao. This temple is not merely a good place to people to seek peaceful mind, but also a good modern art that melt with local traditions. You can spend around 1 hour there and wait for the sunset. The temple will be golden at the time that is astonishing. 

Night

• Man Ke Wu Ramen
• QingHuang Ming Tang(Green sulfur hot spring)　

up left: hot spring tofu
up right 1: hot spring fish
up right 2: the private room
down: Seaweed Choshu ramen 

In a cool night, having ramen is the best action before going to the hot spring. Man Ke Wu is one of the oldest restaurant in Beitou. The ramen is good, while the pork chops, hot spring eggs, hot spring tofu are awesome. Typically you have to wait 10 to 20 mins to enter there. Just be patient. After dinner just taking a rest and then bring up your towers. Qing Huang Min Tang is one out of the only three place that provides green sulfur water. It's said to be very healthy to human body, but it is kind of string acid actually. There you can choose to be naked with many local people in the public pool, or order the private room on second floor. If you choose the private room, they will give you the chance to experience the "hot spring fish" that will bite your feet to clean the dead skins for you. It's quite interesting that you can compete with your friend and see who can bear for longer time.


In summary, Beitou is a nice place in Taipei that you should consider to spend one or more days to explore if you like natural and traveling like a local guy. Hopefully you will like it!