Relaxing in Papallacta

If there is one thing I could take back with me from this country (apart from the Galapagos Islands) it would be the therapeutic waters of Papallacta. After climbing volcanoes in the snow, walking up and down the Andes and trekking in the cloud-forest, we thought a couple of days in Papallacta would do us some good. And we were right.

Papallacta is famous for its thermal waters which sooth sore muscles and relax the mind & body. Despite the chilly and cloudy weather (the village is at 3300m above sea level) we made the most out of the thermal pools. Weather temperature isn’t really an issue as once you are in the (very hot) water you feel as if you've got an electric blanket on top of you.   

Note the steam coming out of the
water!

We decided to treat ourselves and stay at "Termas de Papallacta" (http://www.termaspapallacta.com/ ), a hotel spa about 1.5 km from the village. It is a great place for relaxation at prices that in the UK would not even get you past the front door of a dodgy massage parlour on the Holloway Road.

There is also the opportunity to do some walking along the river and observe some of the local fauna, but we were too lazy to venture too far from the pools and spa. The highlight was the full body relaxation massage only comparable to the treatment I got at The Grove back in the UK.  

From the pools, on a clear day, you should be able to see the Volcán Antisana, but all we saw were clouds. It was surprising though that we did catch the sun and even got a tan. That reminded us how careful we have to be with the sun in this country!