Photo by FVillalobosD, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
🇨🇱 Chile · Los Lagos
♨ Temperature
88°C
⛰ Altitude
345 m
⚗ pH
8.6
💧 TDS
510 mg/L
🌊 Flow rate
35 L/s
📅 Established
1940
✓ Verified on 2026-07-22
Termas de Puyehue is Chile's finest resort thermal destination, set in a pristine temperate rainforest between the Puyehue volcano and Rupanco and Puyehue lakes in the Chilean Lake District. The spring water — strongly alkaline and extremely pure — flows from deep volcanic rock at 88°C into resort facilities that include an indoor thermal complex and outdoor pools with views of the forested Andean foothills. The 2011 eruption of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano, one of South America's most significant in decades, paradoxically increased spring flow and mineral content, renewing geological interest in the site. Puerto Montt's cruise port — a gateway for Patagonian cruises to the fjords and Chilean channels — is 76 km away, placing Puyehue within reach of passengers crossing southern South America.
| Bicarbonate | 280 mg/L |
| Silica | 88 mg/L |
| Sodium | 62 mg/L |
| Sulphate | 45 mg/L |
| Chloride | 32 mg/L |
The Termas de Puyehue resort was founded in 1940 by Chilean entrepreneur Enrique Raby, who recognised the region's potential as a South American equivalent to the great European spa resorts. The resort became an important social destination during the Pinochet era, when it hosted diplomatic events; it has since been returned to its role as a civilian wellness destination. The broader Puyehue National Park, in which the springs are located, preserves temperate rainforest unchanged since the pre-Columbian period.
The Lake District's thermal springs — known locally as 'aguas calientes' — have been central to the health practices of indigenous Mapuche-Huilliche communities for centuries. The Huilliche name for the spring area, 'pewü' (spring/fountain), points to a spiritual dimension in which the hot spring was seen as a gift from Ngünechen, the supreme Mapuche deity. This indigenous reverence for the volcanic spring landscape continues to inform the resort's approach to nature-based wellness.
Termas de Puyehue operates within Puyehue National Park under a CONAF (Chilean national forest service) concession that mandates zero waste discharge into the park's waterways and strict construction limits. The resort sources 100% of its electricity from a run-of-river hydroelectric facility on the Nilahue River and uses geothermal direct-exchange for building heating. The 2011 volcanic eruption has provided a unique opportunity for geological research into spring water chemistry changes following volcanic activity.
Phone+56 64-233-2090
Websitewww.puyehue.cl
AddressRuta 215 km 76, Entre Lagos, Los Lagos Region, Chile