Thermal Valley

A steaming volcanic hollow in the Beitou hot-spring district where sulphurous groundwater surfaces at scalding temperatures, wreathing the pool in dense white vapour. Sometimes called Hell Valley for its heat and pungent air, it feeds the many bathhouses downstream and once supplied a rare radioactive mineral studied by early geologists. A short walking path skirts the jade-green water and encrusted rock, though bathing is forbidden because of the extreme heat. Autumn maples and shifting mist draw photographers.