David on Formosa

With the weather having been so hot recently I decided to abandon my usual plans for a Saturday morning hike. I still headed for the mountains though, but with the intention of swimming and bathing in the hot springs. I took the MRT to Xindian Station and then caught a bus up to Wulai. The bus wound its way up a narrow river valley. There were quite a few cyclists on the road for their Saturday morning ride.

River and mountains in Wulai

The village of Wulai is fairly small and if you only see the small street crammed with hot springs hotels and overpriced restaurants you will probably be disappointed. Rather than paying money to sit in a hot bath in a boring concrete room, I headed over the bridge and down to the riverside.

Hot springs and cool water: a perfect combination

Here you can find a few small concrete baths for bathing and a cool river beside them for swimming. These hot springs are the real deal. The hot water bubbles out of the rocks right next to the river. Although there are some concrete works the area maintains a simple and natural feel.

Hot springs on the bank of the Wulai River

Even though it was a Saturday morning there weren't that many people there. And I think I must have been the only one under the age of 50! I spent an hour or so alternating between bathing in the hot springs and cooling off by going for a swim in the river.

No swimming sign

I spotted this sign with its curious English translation while wandering around.

It had been more than a year since I last visited Wulai. I discovered a new museum that opened in September last year. The Wulai Atayal Museum (烏來泰雅博物館) shows the culture and history of the Atayal people. They are the aboriginal tribe that live in Wulai and the mountains of Northern Taiwan.

The museum is very well organised with everything clearly labelled in Chinese and English. There are models of the traditional bamboo buildings that the Atayal lived in. I was told that there are no longer any of these buildings in existence. There were also traditional musical instruments and knives on display. I am glad that they built this museum because it shows that there is a lot more to Aboriginal culture in Taiwan than the tacky souvenirs on sale elsewhere in Wulai.