Tours and Activities:
The Road towards a Healthy Life
Mónica Pons Eduardo EpifanioThose of us who live in the big city must compensate for so much noise and hustle and bustle every now and then with a visit to some hot spring resort where we can breath fresh mountain air.
Feeling quite enthusiastic about visiting Hotel Termas de Cauquenes and then the Río Cipreses National Reserve, we were ready to take the Copper Road and leave the City of Rancagua behind once we were convinced of having chosen an interesting area for relax and contemplation.
Hotel Termas de Cauquenes is the oldest hot spring resort in Chile. Back in 1580, news about the healing properties of these waters had already been spread. Entire families arrived from Santiago de Chile and stayed in the surroundings for long seasons. Sick people and those who wished to recover from some illness used hollow logs to have a bath. We read that General don José de San Martín (from Argentina) resorted to them both before and after his trip to Peru as the Chief of the Liberator Army and that some meetings with General Bernardo O’Higgins (Chile) were held in this place.
Nearby Relax
At present, this is used as a site for recreation and rest, and also for therapeutic purposes. The hotel can accommodate approximately 300 guests. It is very ancient. It features colonial style. It has been very well conditioned and preserved. It offers equipment for congresses and conventions, as well as a wide range of international cuisine choices.
Five slopes are used for the baths in individual pools and in the outdoor swimming pool. This is an ideal site to enjoy contact with nature in a pure and quiet environment. A question came to mind after touring around the facilities: how can Earth give us so much hot spring water and with such good properties? It seems to have no end…
Outdoor Path
We left the paved roads behind in order to travel dirt wild paths towards the vast Río Cipreses National Reserve. The pace was very slow. When the road seemed long enough, we came to the access gate and the manager’s office, where the park ranger told us about the various alternatives to enjoy life outdoors in a completely natural environment.
The Cipreses River, which goes across the reserve, features certain areas open for swimmers. Besides, there are some lagoons at various levels with respect to the sea, some waterfalls and a huge area to see.
The activities that may be enjoyed in the venue include hiking, bicycle rides and some guided tours on horseback. The natural forest contains native wildlife (the mountain cypress represents the tree species) offers the possibility to practice mountain activities with well defined trails for those who enjoy intense hiking.
When we returned, we retraced our steps along the same trail we had gone along. We did not experience any inconveniences and had the feeling of having crossed the sky among cypresses, just one step away from the clouds.
Contact
Termas de Cauquenes
Cel: +56 988141782
Reserva Nacional Río de los Cipreses
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