We spend Friday night in Hualien 花蓮 to catch an early morning train to Chishang 池上 where we rent scooters for the ride up the South Cross Island Highway 南橫公路, aka Highway 20.
Lulu hot springs is probably the largest hot spring area on Taiwan but is not often visited since it is moderately difficult to access. Climb the farm road between 下馬 (xiàmǎ) village and the 嘉寶隧道 (jiā bǎo) tunnel off of the South Cross Island Highway 南橫公路 (Highway 20), at about km 191.5, for about 5 km to the end of the road where there is a work shed in fruit orchards. The road climbs from roughly 700 to 1200 meters elevation and the ride took us about an hour including a few wrong turns. Sections of the road would probably be impossible in a car, but were negotiable on scooter. Accessing the road requires a mountain entry permit 入山許可證.
We hike 5 km from the trail head at 1200m, to the old Guanshan trail 關山越嶺古道 along the ridge at 1450 m, then down to 大崙溪 Dalun stream at 600 m elevation, in 3 hours with a lunch break. The Guanshan trail 關山越嶺古道 once connected to Kaohsiung 高雄市六龜區, 171 kilometers away, and is predecessor of the South Cross Island highway 臺20線南橫公路. Today only the short three and half kilometers long Jhongjhihguan Historic Trail 中之關步道 section of the original Guanshan Historic Trail 關山越嶺道 is maintained. The trail was built by the Japanese and finished in 1931 for the purpose of controlling the Bunong indigenous tribe. The trail was almost abandoned after the Japanese left Taiwan in 1945. In 1997, the Yushan National Park Administration repaired a small part of the trail, Jhongjhihguan 中之關步道 to Tianchih 天池, starting at 131 k on the South Cross Island Highway at an altitude of 1930 meters and climbing to Tianchih 天池 at about 2280 meters.
The trail comes down to 大崙溪 Dalun stream right at the confluence with Lulu stream 轆轆溪. There is a sandy beach on the opposite bank good for camping with hot spring pools right on the river. Other hikers may have left enclosed pools for hot water along the river right at the beach. The sand is hot and crossing the river from the trail to the beach could be challenging in high water.
Lakulaku hot springs 拉庫拉庫溫泉 (lākùlākù wēnquán), recently known as Lulu hot springs 轆轆溫泉 (lùlù wēnquán) is on 大崙溪 Dalun stream (dàlúnxī). 大崙溪 Dalun stream (dàlúnxī) is in 海端鄉 Haiduan Township of Taitung County 台東縣, a tributary of Xinwulu river 新武呂溪 (xīnwǔlǚxī) in the Beinan river 卑南溪 (pēinánxī) watershed.
The beach sand is also hot. Philip's air matress explodes in the middle of the night.
We are surprised to discover several hot springs on this small side stream and stop exploring upstream at a high waterfall deep in the slotted gorge.
There are hot water runs, boiling springs in the river and hissing thermal vents everywhere along the river from our campsite as far upstream as we are able to explore.
Lulu hot springs 轆轆溫泉 is a 2 kilometer stretch of geothermal activity along the upper reaches of Dalun stream 大崙溪. The water of Lulu springs is pH 7.5 and listed as hot at 83.5 C by Taiwan's Central Geological Survey under the MOEA 中央地質調查所, but the water was clearly boiling in many places along the stream.
Olympus TG-4 photos taken by Leigh or Richard.
