A few miles to the north east of Almería is a
small village called Los Baños de Sierra de Alhamilla. Why is it called that?
Well, it is situated up in the mountains of the Sierra de Alhamilla and it has a
hot spring.
The Phoenicians and the Romans were aware of this
spring and then the Moors made regular use of the hot water. The Arab
geographer Al-Himyari wrote about the spa village: “…a high mountain which has
important mineral deposits.. It is
also has an extraordinary hot spring that has no equal in Al Andalus by the
goodness of its waters, its sweetness, its diuretic virtue, efficacy, and all
its healing powers…”
I can attest to the fact that there must be a hot
spring here because there is an acequia with water that is rather warm - it is 58°C
apparently.
The Balneario spa hotel is located here and
visitors can avail themselves of various health treatments. I prefer just to
walk around this pleasant oasis and drink coffee or have a beer in one of the
two bars in the village.
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