Pocos de Caldas

The city sits in the floor of an alkaline volcanic structure roughly thirty-five kilometres across, formed around eighty million years ago, and the same geology produces the sulphurous thermal water it was built on. The Thermas Antonio Carlos, a 1930s bathhouse in art deco, still runs individual baths and treatments in tiled cabins with the original fittings, which is the most interesting thing to do here. Around it are a spa-town centre of gardens, a casino building from the era before gambling was banned in 1946, and a cable car up to Cristo Redentor on the caldera rim. The region also carries uranium and thorium deposits and has an active mining and nuclear fuel history that the tourist material does not mention.

History

The region was home to the Cataguases until the bandeirantes, searching for gold, drove them out, and the town was founded in 1872 as the parish of Nossa Senhora da Saúde das Águas de Caldas. It became a district in 1874 and a town in 1875, and the hot springs soon drew many people in search of cures; its name comes from Caldas da Rainha, a spa town in central Portugal (Wikipedia, Poços de Caldas).

What you'll find

• A city in a caldera - the volcanic structure thirty-five kilometres across.
• The 1930s thermal baths - art deco cabins with the original fittings.
• A closed casino building - from the years before the 1946 gambling ban.
• A cable car to the rim - up to the Cristo statue above the city.

When to go

April to September. Two days.

Things to know

The baths need booking and treatments are basic rather than luxurious. The city is a working provincial centre and parts are unattractive. The spa-town glamour is largely historical. Weekends bring crowds from Sao Paulo state.

Nearby

Sao Lourenco and the Circuito das Aguas are east; Caldas is south.

Key facts