Chuhuo (Eternal Flame) is an area where natural gas escapes from the earth and is burned as never ending flames in Hengchun Township of Pingtung County. The area lies just outside Kenting National Park. It is an interesting geological sight, what more reason do you need to visit than an endless fire? You should definitely stop by on your next trip to Kenting.
Background: Kenting was first settled by Chinese during the Qing Dynasty. The word Kenting comes from twp words that mean cultivate (ken3) and strong man (ding1). During that time, a group of strong men (or Zhuang Ding) came from Guangdong, who were basically Chinese pionners of the area to cultivate the land, hence the area was named Kenting for them. The area was considered to be made into a park during the Japanese occupation due to it being the only tropical location in the Japanese Empire, but was never officially created. Kenting National Park was established in 1984 as the first national park in Taiwan after WWII. Kenting became a major vacation spot, becoming a center for hostels and hotels for travelers. The fire at Chuohuo has been witnessed since before Han settlement in the area, by Paiwan indigenous people. The fire has moved slightly over the years, and sometimes the flames are brighter or dimmer. Chuhuo Natural gas is a product of the Kenting Shale formation in the area, which seeps up from cracks in the shale. Cooking or otherwise utilizing the natural gas to burn things is prohibited. Hours: 9 AM to 8 PM Price: Free You can take a day tour of Kenting including a visit to Chuhuo on Klook here. When to go: Summer! It's when the water is warmest and the sun is hottest. However there will be more people in summer, and there could be Typhoons. Spring and Fall are also good times to go, as there will be less visitors and cooler temperatures. Winter is an okay time to go as well, it will be warmer than the rest of Taiwan and the water will still be warm enough to swim in. How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 1 south to the bottom of Taiwan until it becomes provincial highway 26. After that keep going past Hengchun into Kenting National Park and take Sheding Road to the Kenting National Forest Recreation Area parking lot. Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search here. By Bus: Busses leave daily to Kenting from Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung Station, and Pingtung. You can book tickets to Pingtung via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. By Plane: There are direct shuttle busses to Kenting from Kaohsing's Xiaogang (KHH) Airport. You can search for cheap flights in Taiwan here. Accommodation: Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan. I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Kenting, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com, or Expedia for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here. Tours and Activities in Pingtung: There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. Just to let you know, if you book using the links above, we get some commission at no cost to you, and you can help support our blog. You can click here to receive $5 USD on your first Klook purchase. Map: Please see below: Our Jounrey: I have only been to Chuhuo once after countless times visiting Kenting. Now I want to go back at night because it is hard to capture the flames during the day.
See above for a video of the flames.
You can take a day tour of Kenting including a visit to Chuhuo on Klook here. 
The park is right next to the main road to Manzhou, and there is usually plenty of parking.
There is also a grave yard right next door which people were visiting.
No camping, fireworks, or otherwise using the fire to cook food etc.
Open from 9-8, and don't do anything stupod here.
View of the wood steps down to the fire pit.
Another view of the steps.
The wooden steps then become a brick path.
Under the tree there are a couple of guys that sit there all day and make sure no one is making trouble with the fire.
The main pit is encircled with a chain and concrete post fence.
View of the mountains in the background.
Again, no camping or barbequing.
"Chu Huo Hengchun County Records"
"Chuhuo is located just past Hengchun's east gate. The local topography is made up of mudstone. There are many cracks in the mudstone through which natural gases are emitted. There is a fire source, these gases can be ignited...it is best to visit this area in the spring." 
Closer view of the ring of fire.
The flames are really hard to photograph. They flicker.
Closer view of some flames.
More flames.
Another view of the flames.
View from the back.
The flames actually had come out of the circle a bit.
More flames.
More flames on the ground.
You can see a flame here.
From this view it is hard to see any flames. I assume at some times the flames are bigger than other times.
There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing.
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. Check out our full guide to Kenting here. You can also check out our full guide to Pingtung here, and can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.
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Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Archives 檔案
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