Antong Hot Springs

Antong was developed as a hot spring in 1904 and the timber bathhouse built for it survives, one of very few Japanese-era wooden bathhouses in Taiwan still in use, with its original layout of stone-lined tubs under a wooden roof. The water is clear sodium bicarbonate at around sixty-six degrees at source. The hamlet is small, set among betel palms in the rift valley, and quieter than any of the better-known spring towns.

What you'll find

• The wooden bathhouse - a 1904 timber building with its original stone tubs.
• The clear water - sodium bicarbonate at around sixty-six degrees at source.
• The rift valley setting - betel and rice country between the two ranges.
• The quiet - a spring hamlet without the resort development of the north.

When to go

October to April is the hot-spring season. Summer is warm and quiet. Weekends bring visitors from Hualien.

Things to know

The old bathhouse is simple and the facilities are basic. Accommodation is limited to a couple of places. The hamlet has almost no food options.

Nearby

Yuli is west, and the Walami trailhead is southwest.

Key facts