The Best Hot Springs & Baths in South and Central America

Volcanic water

The Andes and the volcanoes of Central America give Latin America its baths. Hot water rises along the whole chain, and the best-known places channel it into pools in the open air and leave the surroundings alone.

Costa Rica and Chile

Tabacón in Costa Rica is a warm river. Water heated by the Arenal volcano runs through rainforest gardens in a series of pools and waterfalls, and visitors with a day pass walk upstream from one to the next. In southern Chile, Termas Geométricas lies in a narrow ravine near the Villarrica volcano: red wooden walkways connect its stone pools through dense forest and end at a cold waterfall. Termas del Sol, near Puelo in Chilean Patagonia, has ten pools between 36 and 45 degrees beside a wetland.

Argentina

Argentina has two very different examples. The hot springs of Fiambalá are in the dry mountains of Catamarca, a string of rock pools stepping up a hillside, each one hotter than the one below. Villa Elisa in Entre Ríos is a thermal resort on flat land, with pools of fresh and salt water, a lake and a campground.

Brazil

In Brazil, Parque das Fontes at Rio Quente in Goiás is a park of hot springs. The springs bubble up through the floor of natural pools, and monkeys and macaws live in the trees around them. Most of these places are far from large cities, and visitors usually stay nearby for a night or more.