Marobo Hot Springs

In the western highlands near Bobonaro, hot mineral water rises from the ground and runs down a green valley, and in the colonial period a bathhouse was built to make use of it. That building is now a ruin, its concrete pools and terraces cracked and overgrown, but the hot water still flows through them, orange-stained and faintly sulphurous, and you can bathe in the warm pools with the forested valley all around. The setting is the draw: remote, quiet, and a long way from anywhere, reached on a rough mountain road that is an adventure in itself. It is the kind of place that sees very few visitors, and those who make the effort usually have it to themselves.

What you actually see

• The warm pools - the hot mineral water running through the old terraces.
• The bathhouse ruins - the cracked colonial-era structure in the valley.
• The valley setting - forested slopes and the mineral-stained stream.
• The mountain drive - the rough road up through the western highlands.

When to go

May to November, the dry season, when the mountain roads are passable; the rains make the approach difficult or impossible. It is cool at altitude, which makes the hot water more appealing.

Honest expectations

Access is genuinely hard: the road is rough and requires a capable vehicle and, ideally, local guidance, and it is a long way from any town. There are no facilities of any kind at the springs. The bathhouse is a ruin, so this is a wild soak rather than a spa, and the water quality and pools vary. It suits adventurous travellers, not those wanting comfort.

Nearby

Bobonaro and Maliana are the nearest towns; the Indonesian border lies west.