Nantou Wild River Hot Springs - Elite Hot Springs Introduction
Today, we traveled via National Highway 6 to Nantou to visit the wild hot springs. After passing from Puli to Wushe, we turned onto the Taiwan Highway 14乙 towards Lushan. Along the way, we noticed a sign for Chunyang Hot Springs, and as we descended into the river valley, we saw the riverbed path where tourists had been stranded during the last heavy rain, as well as a construction site with a red steel bridge. According to local residents, the hot springs had been buried, but they mentioned that small springs were still flowing from the cliffside, with a pool dug by excavators nearby that was not very clean. We then retraced our route, passing the intersection towards Lushan Hot Springs, and continued driving. Not far past the sign for Xibao Village, as we entered the Jingying Village area, we spotted a small sign on the right. We followed a narrow cement road that could only accommodate a single small vehicle, and as we passed an indigenous-style house, we came across a red sign indicating that this community was a Type A regulated area and required an entry application. The road was in poor condition, and low-clearance vehicles would likely struggle. We encountered a construction truck coming up, but fortunately, we managed to backtrack to a bend to allow it to pass, and we proceeded down to the Lover's Suspension Bridge. We parked at the fork near the Lover's Suspension Bridge, where there was a small area that seemed to be under renovation for a scenic spot. After checking online later, I found out that there used to be someone collecting parking fees here, but since we visited on a non-holiday, there was no one around. Occasionally, construction vehicles passed by, and we realized it wasn't necessary to park in that area, as others had parked further up along the road. After parking, we walked upstream to the rocky area by the Lover's Suspension Bridge, where we discovered two stone-walled pools. One had hotter water, while the other could be mixed with stream water to adjust the temperature. The hot spring water was abundant, and with the beautiful surroundings, my friends immediately got in to soak, while I dipped my feet. I was curious why everyone thought Jingying Hot Springs had disappeared, and upon researching later, I learned that there used to be more pools along the stream, so the main hot spring pool might have been buried. However, for us, having such a picturesque wild hot spring pool was already satisfying. I also found some posts online indicating that people had recently visited Jingying Hot Springs, but they were at a pool located about six hundred meters further up, which we could explore next time.
