Puritama Hot Springs
Termas Baños de Puritama
Map
LocationSan Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Coordinates22°43′15″S 68°02′41″W / 22.72083°S 68.04472°W / -22.72083; -68.04472
Elevation3,500 meters (11,500 feet)
TypeRiver
FrequencyConstant
DurationConstant
Temperature33.5 °C (92.3 °F)

Puritama Hot Springs (Spanish: Termas Baños de Puritama) is a series of eight large pools of geothermal spring water located at the bottom of a canyon in the Atacama Desert, in the Antofagasta Region in the north of Chile.[1] It is located at an altitude of 3,475 meters above sea level, 30 km northeast of the town and commune of San Pedro de Atacama and 348 km northeast of Antofagasta, and is a popular tourist attraction.[2]

The springs stretch over a length of about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the Puritama River, which has cut a winding valley.[3] Travertine deposits have been reported from the area.[4]

Attractions

The hot springs are managed by now, since 2011, the Explora hotel, charging for $15,000 Chilean pesos to get in (Spanish: Consejo de pueblos Atacameños) who are responsible for maintaining the modern tourist facilities. Facilities include the outdoor pools connected by wooden footpaths, some waterfalls, and changing rooms.[5][6] The town of San Pedro de Atacama was declared a “traditional zone” (Spanish: "Zona típica") in 1980.[7] In 2007, the springs were the subject of a legal controversy between the hotel and the Atacameno community, with the latter charging that the hotel was taking over the springs.[8]

Nearby, other places to visit include the Valley of the Moon, Atacama Salt Flat, the characteristic town of Toconao, Los Flamencos National Reserve and the El Tatio Geysers.

Activities

The Puritama Hot Springs were known for centuries and used for medicinal purposes by the local Atacama people, or Atacameño. However, they only opened to the public relatively recently. The sodium sulfate waters are recommended for rheumatism, arthritis, stress, physical fatigue and other ailments.

See also

References

  1. ^ Puritama Hot Springs website (English) www.termasdepuritama.cl Retrieved June 06, 2013
  2. ^ Puritama Hot Springs www.visitchile.com retrieved June 06, 2013
  3. ^ Sol, Germán del (2004). "Termas de Puritama". ARQ (in Spanish). ISSN 0716-0852.
  4. ^ Evenstar, Laura A.; Hartley, Adrian J.; Archer, Stuart G.; Neilson, Joyce E. (14 July 2015). "Climatic and halokinetic controls on alluvial-lacustrine sedimentation during compressional deformation, Andean forearc, northern Chile". Basin Research. 28 (5): 634–657. doi:10.1111/bre.12124. hdl:2164/6219. ISSN 0950-091X. S2CID 55306696.
  5. ^ Spas and hot springs Archived 2012-08-31 at the Wayback Machine ThisisChile.cl, May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 06, 2013
  6. ^ "Atacama - eine Reise durch die Wüste | MeilenUM". Archived from the original on 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2014-09-05. meilenum.de, September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014
  7. ^ Tierra de Monumentos Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine SanPedrodeAtacama.com. Retrieved June 06, 2013
  8. ^ Rocabado, Patricia Ayala (1 December 2015). "Neoliberal Multiculturalism and Contract Archeology in Northern Chile". International Journal of Historical Archaeology. 19 (4): 775–790. doi:10.1007/s10761-015-0311-8. ISSN 1573-7748. S2CID 254543251.

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