Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal is one of the most incredible locations to visit in Colombia. While Santa Rosa De Cabal hot springs is popular with locals, not many international travelers know about it making it a great hidden gem.
We stumbled upon Santa Rosa hot springs while traveling through South America in our campervan and looking for things to do on our trip. Located in the lush Colombian jungle this hot springs is like a little piece of paradise.
In this post, we cover tips and things to know for visiting Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal in Colombia.
About Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal
Santa Rosa De Cabal is a natural hot spring that was first discovered around 80 years ago by a local family that lived in this area. Since then a resort has been built around the hot spring to accommodate all the visitors that come to this destination.
Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal outdoor spa now consists of multiple man made pools with various temperatures where visitors can soak and enjoy relaxing in mineral water from this region.
Santa Rosa Thermal Spa is located on a large property with a lush waterfall, river, scenic walkways, bridges, a hotel, restaurant, showers, and other amenities. Visitors can also take a guided tour to learn more about the history and origins of these hot springs.
This beautiful Colombian spa is quite large so we recommend setting aside at least half a day to spend here and enjoy everything it has to offer. From this area, you can also arrange tours to local coffee plantations, go bird watching, explore Los Nevados National Park and so much more.
Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal Location
Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal is located a bit out of the way from most major attractions in Colombia but it’s well worth a trip if you have the time.
The closest major attraction to Santa Rosa De Cabal is Salento and Valle De Cocora, about 2 hours away. After exploring the Salento coffee region we made our way to Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal.
Pereira is the nearest big city that we passed heading to Santa Rosa hot springs, around 45-minutes from it. There is also a smaller town closer to the hot springs with the same name – Santa Rosa de Cabal. If you choose to stay in town you can catch a jeep or a minibus to the hot springs resort.
We had our own car with us so we drove to Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal and stayed the night in their parking lot. If you’re an overlander and plan to sleep there, make sure to check with the security guards for permission before you settle in for the night.
Before stealth camping at locations, we also check comments on the iOverlander app. Some people have mentioned that they were not allowed to camp at the Santa Rosa Thermal Spa parking lot and were asked to leave in the middle of the night. While we didn’t have any issues sleeping there, this can often depend on the security guard on duty.
If you don’t want to take that risk there is also a hotel nearby that you can stay at. For the latest Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal Hotel pricing and availability see here.
Google Map Location: Cra. 17a #83-23, Pereira, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia
Best Time To Go & Cost
Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal is open daily from 9:00 am to 11:30 pm.
After spending the night in their parking lot we purchased entrance tickets first thing in the morning right when the resort opened up to visitors.
If you’re coming here specifically to get photos, try to arrive as early as possible. Santa Rosa De Cabal hot springs is very popular for locals and can get crowded especially on the weekends and in the evenings.
Many people come here to hang out, soak in the pools, relax, and recharge. Balnearios (spas) are very social places in South America where locals bring their families to spend quality time together. Natural mineral water is also believed to have healing powers so many locals come to thermal spas to help with muscle pain, aches, and stress.
The price to enter the Santa Rosa hot springs depends on a few different factors like discounts for different entrance times and 2 for 1 tickets. We paid 25,000 pesos (7 USD) but I’ve heard others paying double or more.
The official entrance price on the Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal website is currently at 47,000 pesos (12 USD) which is still pretty low for all the amenities that they offer.
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What To Expect
We entered Santa Rosa De Cabal hot springs right after it opened at 9 am. While it was empty at first, more people started to arrive shortly after.
After the entrance, we followed a paved path that led us to the main area with pools. This path trails along a beautiful river that starts at the 100 foot tall Santa Helena waterfall and serves as a backdrop for the entire resort.
The Santa Helena waterfall is fan-shaped and flows down in 5 smaller tiers that connect into a river.
There are lots of walking paths and scenic bridges throughout the entire property. Visitors can even climb around on rocks to get up close to the waterfall but this area is very slippery and wet from the waterfall rushing down the cliff.
The main area with pools is located to the right of the Santa Helena waterfall.
Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal has multiple large pools that visitors can relax in. These pools come in different shapes and one even looks like a giant water fountain. At first, I thought it was purely decorative but later I saw plenty of people soaking in it too.
Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal is very family-friendly and kiddos even have their designated pool. The entrance prices are cheaper for kids than adults listed at 23,500 pesos (6 USD) on the website.
After soaking in the mineral pools we explored more of the property. There were lots of trails that led in many different directions.
One of my favorite places for photos was a scenic outdoors shower at the back of the resort that was surrounded by beautiful arches and jungle plants.
After soaking in the mineral springs there was a designated area to take a shower and change.
If you start getting hungry there is also an on-property restaurant and a bar to purchase food and drinks. Termales Santa Rosa De Cabal really offers everything to make your visit as enjoyable and relaxing as possible.
If you’re looking for more South America inspiration don’t forget to check out some of our other popular posts below:
- 15 Incredible Things To See & Do In Colombia
- 20 Of The Most Beautiful Places In South America
- 10 Incredible Things To Do In Peru That You Shouldn’t Miss
- 15 Of the Best Cities To Visit In South America
- 10 Unreal Places To Visit Along Carretera Austral Highway In Chile
Interested in how I capture photos on my trips? Here is my suggested camera gear that I use to create my images:
- Main camera: Sony a7II Camera With 28-70 mm Standard Lens
- Polarizer Filter for the standard lens (helps eliminate reflection and enhance color especially on super bright days): Amazon Basics 55 mm
- Wide Lens (great for nature shots): Sony 16-35 mm F4
- Polarizer Filter for the wide lens: Amazon Basics 72 mm
- Small Tripod (to stabilize photos and eliminate blur): JOBY Gorrilapod
- Memory Cards: SanDisk 32 GB
- Batteries: Sony Camera Charger Set
- Camera Bag: Lowepro weather-resistant bag
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