Termas de Río Hondo

Termas de Río Hondo grew entirely around its water: mineral springs rise here at temperatures up to around sixty degrees, and the city is built so that most hotels draw thermal water directly into their own baths and pools, a system unusual anywhere in the world. Bathers come mainly in winter, when hot water and cool air suit each other, and the season fills the city with visitors from across the north. Beside it a large reservoir on the Río Dulce provides fishing, sailing and a long shoreline promenade. Since 2014 the city has also had an international motorcycle racing circuit, which brings a very different crowd for a few days each year, and a casino and spa hotels serve both.

What you actually see

• The thermal hotels - rooms and pools fed directly by hot mineral water.
• The public spas - municipal baths and treatment centres in the centre.
• The reservoir - the Río Dulce lake with promenade, fishing and boats.
• The racing circuit - the international motorcycle track outside town.

When to go

April to October is the thermal season, with July and August busiest; summer is very hot and the baths less appealing, though the lake is used. Race weekends fill every hotel in the region.

Honest expectations

This is a purpose-built spa city with little historic character, and the architecture is functional. Quality varies sharply between hotels, and cheaper places pipe cooler water. Outside the baths and lake there is not much to do.

Nearby

Santiago del Estero lies southeast; the Copo park is far to the northeast.