SuAo Cold Spring

Cold springs are precious and rare natural resources. There are only two locations in the world that have cold springs. One is in Italy and the other one is in Taiwan, in a city name SuAo. Unlike hot springs, the average temperature of a cold spring is 22c which is below the human body temperature; therefore it is named cold spring. The cold spring was made from the underground water heated by the volcano, then filtered by a cold layer of limestone to purify the water and maintain a consistent temperature year round.

The SuAo cold spring was discovered by a Japanese General during Japanese occupation of Taiwan, more than a hundred years ago. Due to presence of carbon dioxide in the cold spring, the cold spring water was used to make a special soda drink, call Glass Ball Soda. This traditional drink was one of the popular soda drinks in both Japan and Taiwan. Drinking it can help with upset stomach and assist with digestion. Since the cold spring is also rich in minerals, bathing in cold spring can also cure some of the skin diseases and nourishes skin, and making it look brighter and younger. It’s also believed that bathing in cold spring consistently can also improve the immune system.

SuAo is situated in the southern county of Taiwan, and it can be reached by public bus or train from Taipei. The train leaves from Taipei station and takes about 3 hours to SuAo. There is no direct bus connect Taipei and SuAo. The 1st bus would take about 1.5hr and the second one takes about another half hour. But both the bus and train stops 5 minutes walking distance from the cold spring park. As SuAo is very protective of its natural resources, the cold spring has not been sold to big hotel chains or corporate. It is currently run by local government and making it very accessible to the public. In SuAo Cold Spring Park, there is a big public pool, which cost only 80 TWD per person with unlimited time. (equ. To 20 HKD) The private room can be reserved for 200 TWD per person for a 45 minutes session. The private room session also includes unlimited use of the public pool. As the majority of staff in the park are locals, they are a very useful source to ask where to go for a bit to eat or where else to explore in the city.

The private rooms are made of wood blocks, and it contains a cold spring pool, wooden bucket with scoop for shower, an oval bath tub with heated cold spring water (40c), few wooden benches with shelves to place your belongings. We booked a 45 session in a room for 3. The room wasn’t big but the temperature of the room is much cooler than outside. The first dip in the cold spring was most difficult for all of us. When the skin is exposed to the 22c water, it tingles and creates discomfort. It does take courage for one to completed cover the body in the cold spring. But once you’re in the water, less than 1 minute, once the blood circulation catches up with its speed, the body heat would adjust the temperature of the water surround your body. The carbonated water would create a layer of bubbles on the surface of your skin fill in every spaces between your body hairs. Every hair would stand up, and when you brush them lightly, you can feel how soft and smooth your hairs became. I think the bubbles and the hair form a layer to contain the body heat and make me feel like I was warped in a nice and warm coat. After 15 minutes of cold spring, it’s also suggested to switch to the hot tub to rejuvenate the skin. The experience was so spectacular that 45 minutes session ended too soon for us. I would sure to recommend two sessiones in minimum if you’re going to visit.

Considering the benefit and the easy access to SuAo Cold Spring, it’s definitely an ideal choice for hot summer getaway. It’s a worth awhile stop if you’re visiting Taiwan, not to mention that there are also night markets with variety choices of food near the bus/strain station. I’m just hoping that the local government will continue to run the cold spring and making it available to the public.