Thermales de Santa Rosa

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At about 9 kilometers from the town Santa Rosa de Cabral are two beautifully located thermal baths easily accessible by tourist chivas (open truck) and / or regular bus. It is a route through beautiful nature with mountains covered with "cloud forests" and many fincas and hotels. In the end of the road you find a small padge of cheap hostels and a parking lot.

Basically you can stay all day in these baths (it is open until midnight) and enjoy the beautiful setting where these baths are located; next to the forested hills with which you are surrounded, there is the 170 meter high waterfall that falls into four parts there is a beautiful landscaped garden. In addition to the main building, different baths with different types of hot water sources have been built at different heights.

Especially in the evening when the lanterns are going on it is a unique experience to relax here in the 40 degree baths.

Balneario de Santa Rosa thermals:

From the parking lot you first walk through a beautifully lushy garden with a swirling waterstream and numerous palm trees, colorful plants and flowers, authentic lanterns and a neatly laid out cobbled stoned path. When you use the “romantic’ path and go over some small wooden bamboo bridges you walk through the valley along the river to the main building where a restaurant and bar are located.

There are possibilities for massage and mud baths and you can change clothes. There are also lockers for your valuables. All this lies in the middle of the cloud forest and the hills where a 170 meter high waterfall (actually there are several) fall down to end up in the four thermal baths built on different levels.

One of the springs is a small waterfall and the other is a Roman pillar where the boiling water comes out in the middle of the bath. During the day it is often families and companies that take a dip, in the evening the young people arrive with a drink and have fun. If you have the opportunity to stay until after 6pm I would definitely recommend this. When the lanterns light up, it is a magical environment as you have probably never experienced before. 

Entrance fee: 14,000 (if you are there before 14:00)

 Closing time: 00:00

If you want to go to the thermal baths, you must first go to the small town Santa Rosa de Carbal - from there it is 9 km to the baths. There are two public transport options - the chivas (an open truck) that drive at least 3 times a day (2,500 COL) and the "normal bus" which, to my knowledge, drives once every 2 hours and costs 1200 COL. You can

board for both options on the Central square of Carbal.

Termales de Santa Rosa - Salento: first you have to go back from the thermal baths to the town "Santa Rosa de Carbal". Tell the driver that you want to go to Perreira and he will drop you off along a stretch of road where this bus passes regularly. The journey takes about 45 minutes and costs 2000 COL. At the modern bus station of Perreira you can take the bus with the organization "Alcala" at 11:30 to Salento.

The bus goes 3 times a day, costs 5,700 COL (no discount possible) and takes about one and a half hours. In the village of Salento you will be dropped on the central square (there is no terminal).

• Name: Hostal / cabanas El Portal

Address: Thermales de Santa Rosa (500 meters from the baths)

Price: 25,000 COL (including breakfast)

Content:

This hostel is the last of the first group of hostels you come across when you walk back from the baths on the road that you took by bus from Santa Rosa de Carbal. You have to walk back some 500 meters over the last stretch of road (asphalt) and it can not be missed. There is a restaurant with very simple meals and in the price of the room breakfast is included as well as a voucher that entitles you to a 10% discount on the baths (see above). The hostel is located along the road and you hear in your room the swirling river that flows behind it.

In the room is a shower and toilet and even though the woman indicates that you have hot water, try, because I had none. It is an authentic wooden hotel in red and white painted with a wooden terrace with many flowers in pots. It is something like a hotel in Germany or Austria. The rooms are also made entirely of wood. The disadvantage is that you hear everyone walking on the balcony because of the wooden floors.

There is unfortunately no window in your room. The breakfast is reasonable (egg, arepa, cheese, hot chocolate).