National Parks in South America and Hot Springs

September 10, 2018 SouthAmerica

What is the fascination with Hot Springs in South America? The answer is volcanoes.

Excerpt from Hot Springs of the Andes:

“The Andes are a thermal mechanical ridge in the Earth´s crust, a geological tale formed at the South America continent´s tectonic plate edge resulting in resplendent mountains, volcanoes, and hot springs. To travel there is to journey, and the journey requires refreshment. Hot Springs driven by lively volcanoes punctuate the scenery, defining relaxation in a tapestry of extreme landscapes. From Jungles to alpine highlands, glacial clad summits and desiccated lifeless wastelands, each hot spring holds adventure and temptation for generations to seek the mysteries spilling from the earth. Hot Springs of the Andes resonates with all generations; they are where humans and geology converge and the worldly worries dissolve during a relaxed soak and a spa massage.”

While visiting South America places such as the National Parks, why not take time to visit, and enjoy a nice hot spring? We here provide a list of hot springs near or within National Parks of South America.

Bolivia

Sajama National Park – Parque Nacional Sajama

Location: department of Oruro near the border with Chile.

How to get there: From La Paz takes about 5 hours of driving time, but there is also public transportation available and the time will vary depending on the carrier.

Attraction: The Park was originally created to protect the Keñua forest; also the fauna of the area, the park also holds the highest summit of Bolivia the Sajama at 6,542 meters of elevation. The hot springs at Sajama National Park have the most extraordinary landscape.

Sajama National Park Hot Springs: The Park has two areas of hot springs called Kasilla and Junt´uma.

Kasilla – main pool has it’s the one with the most spectacular view of Sajama.

Junt´uma – field a lesser visited geothermal area northwest of the Sajama Village and includes about twenty hot spring vents.

Colombia

Los Nevados National Park – Parque Nacional Natural los Nevados

Location: The Park is located west of Bogota, in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, and Tolima. The area of the Cordillera Central

How to get there: The Park has four different ways to access; from the North is what is known as the Sector Brisas coming from Bogota, it is the most used one. From Manizales follow La Esperanza route to Cruce Murillo in Tolima, this will lead you to the area Las Brisas, directions in this section can vary depending on how active the volcano is at the time of your visit.

Attraction: This Park makes honor to its name; it has some of the most impressive Snow Peaks in the country, the volcanic group comprises the Nevado Ruiz with its craters La Ollenta and La Piraña. Also there are the Nevado Santa Isabel, Nevado del Tolima, Paramillos del Cisne, Santa Rosa and Quindío. The park was created in order to protect the glaciers Nevado Ruiz, Nevado Santa Isabel, and Nevado del Tolima. The Park is located in Colombia´s coffee region that benefits from the fresh water coming down the mountains.

The complex of Nevado Ruiz hosts numerous hot springs; the main developed centers are Termas de Ruiz, Termal la Quinta, Termas de San Vicente, and Termales el Otoño at Santa Rosa de Cabal.

Termales de Ruiz: Located one-hour from the city of Manizales at the National Park and only 12 km from the Nevado Ruiz (summit at 5,321 meters) carries year round snow.

La Quinta: Located in a canyon on the west flank of Volcan Nevado del Ruiz about 30km from Manizales.

Santa Rosa de Cabal: A large resort and the most popular in Colombia, located near the park. There are several hot springs resorts but the two main springs resorts are Termales de Santa Rosa Hotel and the Balnerio de Santa Rosa.

Ecuador

Cayambe Coca National Park – Parque Nacional Cayambe Coca

Location: In northeast Ecuador, the hot springs occur in four provinces of Imbabura and Pichincha in the Sierras, and Sucumbios and Napo in the Amazon area.

How to get there: travel to the park from Quito runs through Cayambe, which is located at about 75 km away. Then follow the road to Olmedo – Laguna de San Marcos. At this point you will come across the entrance to the park, from Cayambe to the park is about 32 km distance.

Attraction: The Park has a lot to offer starting with the volcanoes Cayambe, and Reventador. Also peaks Sarahurco, and Puntas. There are Lake Systems such as; Papallacta, and San Marcos, Hot Springs or Termas de Oyacachi, San Rafael waterfall, and a rock climbing area called Cuyuja.

Termas de Oyacachi: Located at the town with the same name, the hot springs are in a canyon, and are accessed by a wooden bridge. There are five outdoor pools with pseudo-style Inca stone.

PERU

Huascaran National Park – Parque Nacional Huascaran

Location: department of Ancash, in the Cordillera Blanca, the world´s highest tropical mountain range.

How to get there: From Lima it takes about 6 to 8 hours of driving time, but there is also public transportation available and the time will vary depending on the carrier. You now could fly to Huaraz from Lima and this takes about 30 minutes.

Attraction: The Huascaran National Park is one of most visited places in Peru; The Cordillera Blanca has the highest summit in the country El Huascaran. The northern part of the range has the summit of Alpamayo considered the most beautiful mountain in the world. The entry point to the Park is the city of Huaraz.

Monterrey Hot Springs: The Monterrey hot springs are located at the western base of the brilliant Cordillera Blanca and are very popular with tourists visiting the park. A large rectangular pool is filled with muddy water, is warm but big enough to swim laps.

Machu Picchu National Park – Parque Nacional de Machu Picchu

Location: department of Cusco, in the Region of Cusco

How to get there: From Lima one needs to book a flight to Cusco, and it takes about one hour to get to the city of Cusco.

Attraction: Machu Picchu the Inca Ruins is the most visited place in the country, lately the Peruvian government changed the rules to visit the park, now you can only visit the park with an official guide and the times to enter the park are from 6am to noon and from 12:00 pm to 5:30p.m. All these rules are new and are being implemented, it would be best to check before visiting the park and just in case plan ahead if possible.

Aguas Calientes: Located up the canyon at about 800 meters east of the town previously with the same name, they changed the name to Machu Picchu pueblo. Seems to us they did this just to confuse people that have known this town as Aguas Calientes for many years. The hot springs have easy access from the Plaza de Armas del Cusco; follow the pedestrian path uphill starting near the Machu Picchu ticket office. There are seven pools only one has the right temperature; this is the upper larger pool. To get to Aguas Calientes most visitors will travel via train either from Cuzco or Ollantaytambo. The train ride takes approximately 3 hours from Cusco.

Argentina

Lanin National Park – Parque Nacional Lanin

Location: The Park is located south of the Province of Neuquén, west side of Lago Epulafquen along the Chilean border.

How to get there: The different areas of the park are accessed from the cities of San Martin de los Andes (south), Junín de los Andes (center) and Aluminé (north), which are connected by buses to almost the entire country. To find all the current information you can visit the Lanin national park office in the town San Martin de los Andes.

Attraction: The Park has an area of 412,000 hectares of Bosques Patagonicos, Lanin Volcano at 3,776 meters, is the main attraction of the Park, most impressive Huechulafquen (the park´s largest lake) and Lacar glacial Lakes, the park is popular for fishing. The Park protects their Patagonian forests; one of our favorites is the Araucaria that is also found in Chile. The Park counts with several hiking trails, camping area, hostels, and restaurants among other attractions.

This park is worth mentioning for its beauty but the hot springs in 2004 was shut down, the government had expropriated the business from the owners and the hot springs were abandoned. Before they offered yoga, Tai Chi, and had a massage center. We don´t know all the facts that took place for the closure of this facility, but things do change and that is why we are mentioning the hot spring.

Termas de Epulafquen – Epulafquen Hot Spring: Located in the park check with the park offices to get the correct information.

In our guide book Hot Springs of the Andes we provide latitude and longitude coordinates to all the hot springs or termas as well as description of the springs. This guide book covers Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Each country provides a different cultural encounter, a different landscape, and an experience with many locations having been used for hundreds of years.