Aguas Termales de Las Trincheras

Aguas Termales de Las Trincheras near Valencia in Carabobo state, Venezuela, is one of South America's most geologically remarkable hot spring sites — the springs here emerge at temperatures of up to 97°C, making them among the hottest naturally occurring thermal springs in the world, second in temperature only to a handful of extreme geothermal sites in Iceland and Yellowstone. The sulphurous water flows in the Aguas Calientes river through a landscape of tropical deciduous forest, where the hot water merges progressively with cooler tributary streams to create zones of bathing temperature across a considerable length of river. The thermal bathing tradition at Las Trincheras dates from the colonial period when Spanish settlers discovered the springs in the Caribbean coast hinterland. The surrounding Carabobo region, with its important sites of Venezuelan independence history including the Battle of Carabobo in 1821, provides a historically rich national context.