Travelogue

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Wild Hot Springs at Segesta, Sicily, Italy
Wild Hot Springs at Hongye Valley (红叶谷) near Luye (鹿野), Taitung County (台东县), Taiwan (台湾)

Wild Hot Springs at Segesta, Sicily, Italy

+ Near Segesta Archeological Park. Navigate to Parcheggio Terme Libere Segesta (37.972849, 12.893917), + which is located down a steep dirt path starting near the + private Terme Segestane resort. Park in the parking lot and + change into swimwear and sandals (some wading required; sandals + with straps preferred compared to flip-flops). Bring a towel as + well as water. +

+ There are two ways to get to the hot springs, neither of which + are particularly accessible. The easier (but slightly longer) + version is: at the end of the parking lot, take the path into + the woods. If there has been recent rain the ground may be very + muddy with deep puddles. +

+ A stream will appear on the left side. Cross the stream, being careful not to trip on the rocks. + The water level will vary depending on rain but when I went it came up to around halfway to my knees. +

+ You will then arrive at a fork. Take the right side. +

+ The hot spring will appear on your right (you’ll be able to smell the sulfur). +

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+ In case the first path is not accessible for some reason, you can try the second path. Carefully walk down + the steep hill at the beginning of the parking lot, which leads into a deep pond. Then scramble up the other side, and you will + come out of the left side of the fork pictured above: continue straight to arrive at the hot springs. Below is a picture + of the deep pond taken from the fork. +

+ When leaving, drive back the same way you entered. Do not continue the other way from the parking lot (towards 37.973254, 12.896022), + which is an extremely muddy path that leads to a private farm + and not back to the highway, as Google Maps may otherwise + suggest. +

Wild Hot Springs at Hongye Valley (红叶谷) near Luye (鹿野), Taitung County (台东县), Taiwan (台湾)

+ Bring swimwear and water. If you go at a popular time such as + on the weekend or if it has rained recently, you may need to + bring your own shovel to dig a hole (otherwise you can use a + hole someone else has dug). +

+ There are a few entrances to these hot springs. When I went the only accessible one was as follows. + Drive to the hot springs entrance. If you're + driving from Luye City, it is located past the red Hongye + Bridge but before the private Vakangan resort. The entrance is + to the right of a traffic mirror and is currently boarded up + with metal and warnings not to enter (in Mandarin). Park your + vehicle, ignore the warnings, and enter from the left side of + the metal boards. +

+ Walk down the stairs until you get to a rock cliff. If there + are other people at the hot springs they should be visible from + here. You will see a rope you can use to rappel down the (~15 + foot) steep face down to the riverbed. There are a few + footholds but it’s not the easiest climb down. The + warnings mentioned above say that the rope may be unstable; + descend at your own risk. +

+ Walk forward until you arrive at the riverbed. You should see many holes + dug by others; you can use them or dig your own if you brought a shovel. + Apparently most of the holes are dug by a 90 year old man. +

+ To cool down, you can carefully hop into the river for a bit. + Alternatively, you can build temperature and depth control for + your pool by digging narrow conduits from the upstream river + into your pool and from your pool into the downstream river. + By opening the upstream conduit, river water flows into and + cools your pool. The downstream conduit allows you to control + the depth of your pool. +

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+ There is another (perhaps previously accessible) entrance next to the bridge. It did not seem + accessible when I visited (too steep, path not clear), but this could change. +

Table of Contents

Wild Hot Springs at Segesta, Sicily, Italy

Wild Hot Springs at Hongye Valley (红叶谷) near Luye (鹿野), Taitung County (台东县), Taiwan (台湾)