Termas de Chancos Ancash

Chancos, Ancash, Peru

Location: Chancos, Ancash, Peru
Water type: bicarbonate
Temperature: 36 °C
pH: 8

Water profile

Thermicity

Neutral

36 °C

LowHigh

Soothing — neither hot nor cold, perfect balance.

Mineralisation

Restorative

LowHigh

Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).

Buoyancy

Standard buoyancy

LowHigh

Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.

BicarbonatesSodiumCalcium

Termas de Chancos in Marcará district, Ancash, are high-Andean calcium thermal springs at 2,700 meters elevation in the Callejón de Huaylas valley, framed by the Cordillera Blanca — the greatest concentration of tropical glaciers on Earth — including the towering Huascarán at 6,768 meters, Peru's highest peak. The thermal complex is managed by the Vicos peasant community as part of their collectively held communal lands, with mineral revenues supporting community development and the continuation of a millennial therapeutic bathing tradition in the shadow of glaciated peaks. Bathing in calcium-rich mineral pools while 6,000-meter snow-capped summits rise directly from the valley above is a spatial drama found nowhere else on Earth.

Insider tip — Termas de Chancos lies at 2,800 metres in the Callejon de Huaylas valley, one of the most scenic stretches of the Peruvian Andes flanked by the Cordillera Blanca. The hot springs feed a series of stone bathing chambers that have been used since Inca times, and the site retains a pleasingly rustic character. The Blanca peaks of Huascaran and Chopicalqui are visible on clear mornings from the upper pools. Combine the visit with the Llanganuco glacier lakes just two hours north for a full Andean day.

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