Lushan Hot Spring Village

We stumbled upon the Lushan Hot Springs reputed to be the best in Taiwan on the internet, booked our accommodation online and finally arrived there on the fourth day of our Taiwan trip. Getting there on our own was not difficult as we booked a Guoguang bus that was safe and comfortable that took us from Taipei to the town of Puli at the foot of the mountains (3 hours plus). There, transferred to a Nantou bus that got us to Lushan village in an hour and a half. We got to gasp at the breathtaking mountain scenery that we had come for as the bus climbed higher altitudes .

When we arrived at the village in Lushan we thought we had made a mistake in our travel plan because the place was like an abandoned town. We learned that on weekdays and during off-peak holiday periods, this was the expected atmosphere. Fortunately, the hotel had stationed its van not far from the bus stop to take us to our hotel across the river in a round-about way and we got there in about 5 minutes.

On foot you could easily cross over to where the hot spring hotels are using this suspension bridge. Lushan was badly battled by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and is slowly rebuilding. The hordes of tourists have yet to arrive and locals were surprised that we made it there on our own.

On a free-and-easy trip, there was time for coffee.

In the afternoon the shops opened for business as people drive up in the evenings to enjoy the hot springs and to have a meal in the restaurants.

The small road leading to our hotel was lined with shops selling stuff that locals and tourists would be interested in.

Flowers along the way.

 

The Lushan Hotspring area was developed by the Japanese and that explains the presence of the Japanese style buildings we saw.

 

This building is a public toilet. 

Sculpture of an Aboriginal girl.

Take a photo here to show that you have been to Lushan.

This is the recreational club of the Police. There is a hot spring bath in there that is surrounded by Cherry Blossom trees and you can imagine how beautiful it must be to be soaking in the open pool beneath the blooming cherry blossom trees.

Further up and a short walking trail away, you will see the source of the hotspring waters of Lushan.