Rosario de la Frontera

Rosario de la Frontera grew up around a group of mineral springs discovered in the nineteenth century, and by the early twentieth it was one of the fashionable spa resorts of Argentina, with a grand hotel built in 1880 that received presidents and society families arriving by rail for the cure. Several distinct springs rise here, varying in mineral content and temperature, and they were bottled and prescribed for everything from digestion to rheumatism in an age that believed firmly in taking the waters. Today the town is quieter and the hotel has aged, but the thermal complex still operates with pools and individual baths, and the surrounding hills offer walks. It makes a natural break on the long road between Salta and Tucumán.

What you actually see

• The thermal baths - pools and private tubs fed by several mineral springs.
• The historic hotel - the 1880 spa building that anchored the resort's heyday.
• The spring sources - separate springs with different mineral makeups.
• The surrounding hills - walking trails and viewpoints above the town.

When to go

April to November is most pleasant, with cool air making the hot water welcome; summers here are hot and humid. Weekends and Argentine holidays fill the baths. The town works best as a stopover rather than a destination in itself.

Honest expectations

The resort is well past its glory days and the buildings show it, which some visitors find atmospheric and others simply run down. The town itself is ordinary. Water is piped rather than wild, and the experience is closer to a municipal spa than a natural spring.

Nearby

Salta city lies north; Tucumán and its valleys are south on the same highway.