A beautiful secret lies hidden in the Andean mountain range of Colombia ... a treasure that is the result of the volcanic activity in this area. Originating deep in the earth, this hot, therapeutic water emerges in the form of magnificent waterfalls near the Colombian town of Santa Rosa de Cabal.
When we were visiting the Eje Cafetero (the coffee country) of Armenia, our AirBnB host piqued our interest when he mentioned that there were some hot springs located in the mountains nearby. After a little research into this magical-sounding natural phenomenon, we realized that these hot springs were practically ''on the way'' back to Medellin from Salento.
During our time in this Colombian region, we have discovered that the Andean mountain region is blessed with numerous beautiful waterfalls as well as a few active volcanoes. Combine a waterfall with a volcanic hot spring, and you have the recipe for incredible relaxation and pure joy. You have a Colombian hidden treasure that is called ...
Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal
As we did our research, we found that the hot springs can be enjoyed in both a day-use area as well as at a small resort nearby. When Doug looked into staying at the resort, he found that the cost of a hotel room, breakfast, and access to the thermal pools was fairly reasonable ... about $100/night. Bus and taxi transportation for the side trip was also quite inexpensive ... $20 for the both of us. The most difficult part of this adventure was the fact that Doug had to call the hotel to confirm our reservation, because the online reservation did not go through. His excellent Spanish-speaking skills prevailed ... and we found ourselves ready to relax at Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal.
View from our hotel room
Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal is located about fifteen miles from Pereira (one of the three major Eje Cafetero cities) and about six miles from the small town of Santa Rosa de Cabal. After catching a taxi in Santa Rosa, we soon realized why the cab driver seemed less than enthusiastic about taking us the six miles to our hotel. The last three miles consisted of a very rough, bumpy, narrow road that led up the mountain. Doug, in his true generous and thoughtful way, tipped him fairly well when he safely got us to our destination.
And what a destination it was! Located in a small canyon between two magnificent mountain slopes, Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal resort lies at the base of a 300 foot waterfall. A volcanic hot spring (with a temperature of around 150 degrees F) emerges nearby and mixes with this cold waterfall just before it spills into the man-made pools.
The creators of this resort figured out a way to combine the odorless, tasteless hot spring water with the pure cold mountain water. The result is a delightful, refreshing, relaxing cascade of thermal bliss. Water enters the pools at a temp of about 105 degrees. Since Doug really only prefers pool temps of 90 degrees or greater, this was just about perfect for him.
The hotel was elegant, but not over-the-top luxurious. The rooms had comfortable beds, beautiful views of the waterfalls, and a few special touches.
There was an on-site restaurant that surprisingly, was not much more expensive than what we would expect to pay for meals in local restaurants. And when in Colombia, it is hard to stray from their traditional breakfast foods of coffee, juice, eggs, arepas, cheese, and fruit, but then again ... why would we want to?
At the hotel, we found a strong emphasis on service. They employ a lot of local people to make sure your meal was just right, to supply you with plenty of dry towels, and to ensure that the pool, grounds, and gardens remained immaculate. Their job made it easy to totally relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
And that we did!
Hours were spent just relaxing in the thermal pools ... where conversations developed into new friendships.
While we were blissfully becoming prunes in the hot pools, we struck up a conversation another guest who was there visiting his adult daughter. Born in Colombia, he emigrated to the United States many years ago. Thus, both he and his daughter spoke excellent Spanish and English. They were able to help us with our Spanish conversation skills ... and were just as happy to speak English when our brains became overloaded with too much Español.
The next day we walked the half mile down the road to check out the day use area for the hot springs. The owners of the hotel built this other park so that people not staying at the resort can come to enjoy the hot springs for the day. Like the resort's pools, these pools contain the volcanic hot spring water mixed in with the cold water from a magnificent waterfall.
Birds, flowers, and beautiful landscapes surrounded us.
Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal is truly one of those magical places where the power of Colombia's many streams and waterfalls combine with the strong underground volcanic forces to wondrously ease any troubles away.
As our Spanish slowly improves, we are grateful for feeling more confident about veering off the main path and discovering some of the unique hidden treasures that Colombia has to offer. And it is also filling us with ideas of places that we would like to share with any future travel guests.
As the sign says,
''I'll wait for you here''
... when you decide to join us!
Hi Cristina! what a wonderfull description. If you and your husband have plans to come back to the Eje Cafetero I can recomended you in Manizales, before Termales del Otoño, a place called Tierra Viva Hot Springs, is a beautiful place, isn't expensive and it's near to Manizales. You can reach the place by bus.
ReplyDeleteMuchas Gracias! We love to hear about new places to visit in Colombia. It is such a beautiful country!
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