The Best Hot Springs in the World

Iceland

Five of the hot springs are in Iceland, more than in any other country. Hvammsvik has about eight stone pools on the shore of Hvalfjörður, and the lowest one meets the sea at high tide. At Vök Baths near Egilsstaðir the outer pools float on a lake, with ladders into the cold water. Sky Lagoon is cut into dark rock on the coast near Reykjavik, Forest Lagoon sits on a wooded hillside above Akureyri, and the Blue Lagoon lies near Grindavík.

The Americas

Eight are in North and South America. Orvis Hot Springs outside Ridgway has about ten unchlorinated pools in a garden. In Chile, red wooden walkways link the pools of Termas Geometricas through a forested ravine near the Villarrica volcano, and Termas del Sol near Puelo has about ten pools between 36 and 45°C. At Termas de Fiambalá in Argentina the stone pools climb a slope, and the water is hotter the higher the pool.

Japan and New Zealand

Four are in Japan. Tenzan Onsen in Hakone has open-air rock pools of spring water, and Tamatebako in Ibusuki is a municipal open-air bath on a slope above the sea. In New Zealand, Wai Ariki on Lake Rotorua is Māori-owned and takes guests through a two-hour sequence of pools, saunas and a mud room; Hanmer Springs is the second New Zealand venue on the list.