Baños Termales de Lares

Baños Termales de Lares is a natural ferruginous hot spring complex at high altitude in the Lares District of Calca Province, Cusco Region, Peru, serving as both the endpoint of the celebrated Lares Trek — an authentic alternative to the Inca Trail passing through remote Quechua weaving communities — and as a therapeutic resource for the indigenous communities of the Lares valley who have used the iron-rich waters for generations. The springs emerge at approximately 4,000 metres altitude in a landscape of snowcapped Andes peaks, glacial lakes, and traditional Quechua communities whose textile traditions, maintained in naturally dyed alpaca and wool, represent one of the most living expressions of Andean Inca heritage in the Cusco region. The ferruginous mineral water, coloured rust-red by dissolved iron compounds, is used therapeutically for musculoskeletal and circulatory conditions consistent with the traditional Andean medicine of the highland communities who have farmed and herded this extreme mountain environment for centuries.