Did you know that Caldes de Boí is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest Spa in Spain?

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Did you know that Caldes de Boí is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest Spa in Spain?

Balneari Caldes de Boí - Afores, s/n
25528, Caldes de Boí
Web: www.caldesdeboi.com
Email: info@caldesdeboi.com
973 696210

 

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  • The wide and highly varied range of springs, with waters of different properties, have earned the Balneari (Spa) of Caldes de Boí a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the “Largest Spa in Spain”, both in terms of the number of springs and their respective capacities.The Caldes de Boí Thermal Station is located at an altitude of 1,500 metres and lies the Vall de Boí (L’Alta Ribagorça – Pyrenees), in the very heart of the Lleida Pyrenees.This valley is a truly unique and incomparable place. As well as the spa, it also boasts a series of Romanesque style churches that have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. Apart from its natural beauty, the park – which is only 10 km from the spa resort - has the added value of being the only National Park in the whole of Catalonia.
     
    This privileged geographic location means that Caldes de Boí is surrounded by spectacular scenery, with lakes, rivers and waterfalls and several peaks that tower above 3,000 metres.All of this makes this spa an ideal place for nature lovers. It appeals to both those looking to enjoy the peace and quiet of the setting and those who want just the opposite: seeking adventure sports and activities, for which there are a wide range of possibilities.
     
     
    The Spa Resort has a total surface area of 24 hectares and contains a vast extension of gardens where visitors will find 37 mineral water springs with medicinal properties of different chemical compositions and with temperatures ranging from 4 ºC to 56 ºC. The resort includes the (4*) Hotel Manantial; the (2*) Hotel Caldes (a boarding house that has been totally reformed and currently awaits reclassification as a 3* hotel); and the Centro Termal de Estética y Belleza (Thermal Aesthetics and Beauty Centre), which offers a wide and very diverse range of services and treatments.The 37 medicinal mineral water springs allow a varied catalogue of very specialised and highly personalised treatments and services that are provided by qualified staff under medical supervision.
     
    The waters have the following characteristics: weakly mineralised, alkaline, chloric, sulphated, fluoric, sodium, soft, cold and hyperthermal waters, with temperatures ranging between 4 ºC and 56 ºC.Therapeutic Instructions
     
    • Rheumatism: illnesses affecting the joints, degenerative osteoarthritis, gout, fibrosis, different types of myalgia, post-traumatic after effects and sciatica.
    • Respiratory complaints: bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis.
    • Circulatory system: vein, lymphatic and arterial complaints.
    • Urinary system: kidney stones, cures for diuresis.
    • Digestive system: gastritis, enteropathy, hepatic insufficiency.
    • Dermatological complaints: dermatosis, eczemas, psoriasis
    • Nervous system: neurovegetative dystonia.
     
    A GUIDE TO THE SPRINGS   
     
    • The Avellaner Spring: Our guide begins with the Avellaner (hazelnut tree) spring. As its name suggests, this spring rises under a hazelnut tree. Its waters have a temperature of 22º C and its flow rate is 20 l/m. This spring is rich in carbonates, silicon and sodium. This is also called the kidney spring because of its diuretic properties.
    • The Boix Spring: The waters of the Boix (boxwood) spring have a temperature of 4ºC and a flow rate of 15 l/m. This is the coolest spring at the Spa and its source is a small perforated gallery near the river. The same source is used to supply water to the cold pool and the hotel water system.
    • The Bou Spring: The waters of the Bou (ox) spring filter down through the earth, passing through various layers of granite, to a depth of 3,000 metres, in a process that takes approximately 80 years and adds healthy properties. Its high proportion of silicon helps to eliminate accumulated fats and residues and to cleanse the body. These pure, digestive and diuretic waters are recommended for their low calcium content. The spring waters prevent the formation of kidney stones and crystals. The temperature of these waters is 36º C. This is the only spring with waters commercialised as Agua de Boí (Boí Water), which were declared “of public utility” on 20th December 1887.
    • The Bosque Spring: The clear waters of the Bosque (forest) spring emerge at a temperature of 22º C; they smell of rotten eggs and are slightly laxative. These waters are used in drinks as a powerful thermal medicinal additive. They are used to combat illnesses that cause a gradual reduction of nutrition, rheumatism, gout, and lumbalgia.
    • The Titus Springs (I-II-III-IV): This route now takes visitors to a hut with four springs. The temperatures of the Titus springs range from 11.3º C, in the case of Titus III, to 28.3º C, in that of Titus IV
    • The Cànem Spring: Continuing along the path and passing the swimming pools, visitors will find the Cànem (hemp) spring, which is used for beauty treatments. The waters of this medicinal mineral water spring are also used in one of the thermal pools. They have a temperature of 38.5º C and are mesothermal waters, rich in sodium, sulphates, chloride and silicon.
    • The Hierro Spring: Having passed the Isard (Pyrenean chamois) waterfall, visitors will cross the Salenca gully and then follow the path to the Hierro (iron) spring, whose waters have a temperature of 11º C and a flow rate of 0.18 l/m. It is famous for its untypical taste and is used for some of the treatments offered at the spa.
    • The Salencas Spring: The Salenca shelter is located just a few metres from a fork in the path where one branch leads to Erill la Vall and the other goes towards the Salenca spring. The spring waters emerge at a temperature of 27.2º C
    • The Santa Lucía Spring: The Santa Lucía (Saint Lucy) spring is also called the bleary-eyed spring because this saint is the patron of sight and the water that emerges from it is recommended for some superficial eye complaints. Its waters have a temperature of 29.8º C and flows at a rate of 0.86 l/m.
    • The Estufa and Baños Springs: The headwaters of the Baños (baths) spring lie inside the thermal centre. This spring emerges at a temperature of 54º C and its waters are hyperthermal, containing chloride, silicon, sulphide, fluoride and sulphate. Together with the Estufa (stove) spring, whose waters have a temperature of 50º C, these waters are used in practically all of the thermal pools. The Estufa, or Cueva (cave), spring has one of the greatest flow rates.
    • The Tartera Spring: The waters of this spring, which is also called the Curas (priests’) spring because it was discovered by a priest, emerge at a temperature of 44.6º.  The name of the Tartera (scree) spring comes from the fact that these waters emerge from between the stones. The majority of its flow is channelled over to the spa’s treatment building, where its waters are also used as part of a beauty treatment. The waters from the Tartera spring are much appreciated for their skin care properties.
    • The Pompey Spring: The source of the Pompey spring is above the Tartera spring and at an altitude of 1550 metres. The water temperature is 36.5º and the flow rate is 1.57 l/m. This spring is rich in carbonates and chlorides.
    • The Termas Romanas (Roman Thermal Baths) Spring: At the end of the route, visitors will find the first spring to be used for thermal treatments. It has been used since 1859, when its waters were first channelled to the interior patio of the Hotel Caldas and used for fresh water baths. The water temperature is 49.4º C and these waters are rich in silicon.
     
     
     
    A LITTLE HISTORY
     
    According to legend, Julius Caesar first discovered Caldes de Boí during the Roman occupation and the dominance of Tarraco. The modern Caldes de Boí Spa is however the product of a long history dating back to the year 1657: the date of the first known reference to a Casa de Baños (Bath Centre) in this area. At that time, the spa belonged to four hermits who managed the springs together with their four servants.
     
     
    At that time, the waters were considered a divine gift and were thought to be very important for human health. The reputation of the Casa de Baños of Caldes de Boí gradually spread and for centuries the arrival of bathers and pilgrims was managed by the ecclesiastical authorities who slowly introduced improvements.
     
    1868 saw the installation of the first thermal stove. Then, on 20th December 1887, the medicinal mineral waters were declared a “Public Utility”. Over time, the spa has seen better and worse times, but has luckily always managed to survive.
     
     
    As Josep Pla (Catalonia – Ed. Destino-Barcelona, 1961) once said: “the water phenomenon of Caldes de Boí is one of the great wonders of the Pyrenees; it possesses the richest and most varied group of medicinal mineral waters on the Iberian Peninsula. Thirty-six springs emerge in this area  with temperatures that range from 4º C to 56ºC; these universally famous waters are a truly unique phenomenon”
     
     
    The waters of Caldes de Boí have always been considered particularly appropriate for treating rheumatism, degenerative osteoarthritis, sciatica, various types of neuralgia, traumatisms, respiratory problems, dyspepsia, hepatic insufficiencies, skin disorders, vascular disorders, cellulitis, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic problems. It is possible to treat such a great variety of afflictions on account of the extraordinary variety of the waters. As well as the usual hydrotherapy facilities, the spa also offers the internationally famous natural stoves of Dr. Gimbernat. These features, which have been cut out of the rock, take the form of small individual caves and have environmental temperature of 45ºC. They are very appropriate for treatments aimed at combating such complaints as asthma and bronchitis. The idea of applying treatments involving natural stoves was first referenced in a memorandum from Dr. Carbonell y Bravo, which was presented to the Real Academia de Medicina y Cirugía (Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery) of Barcelona in 1832. The first natural stove entered production in 1868.
     
     
    In 1885, in the Boletín de la Asociación Excursionista Ilerdense (Journal of the Lleida Hiking Association), Camilo Castells said: “we are proud to believe that it is impossible to find such a great variety and abundance of mineral waters, with such unsurpassed medicinal virtues, in such a reduced area, in any other place in the world”.
     
     
    In the case of the Shrine, and according to tradition, the original image of Nuestra Señora de Caldes (Our Lady of Caldes) was found at the end of the 14th century by a shepherd who placed it in a chapel that he built in a hut. The present day Shrine was built in the middle of the 18th century. Access to the church is via the patio of the Hotel Caldas, the former hospice-hospital and Casa de la Consorcia (Consortium Centre), which was reconstructed in the middle of the 19th century.