Termas geométricas, Thermal bath complex in Panguipulli, Chile.
Termas geométricas is a thermal bath complex set inside a narrow forested gorge near Panguipulli, in Chile's Lake District, where hot spring water flows into a series of stone pools built along a stream. The pools sit at different levels on the rocky slopes, all linked by a network of red wooden walkways.
The site, in a gorge once called Cajón Negro, was largely untouched before it was developed in the late 1990s. Chilean architect Germán del Sol designed the complex with the intention of working with the shape of the land rather than changing it.
The red wooden walkways that link the pools were built to follow the natural shape of the gorge, stepping around trees and rocks rather than cutting through them. Walking from pool to pool feels like moving through the forest itself, not just passing between facilities.
The complex is reached by an unpaved road through the forest, which can be rough after rain, so a vehicle with some ground clearance helps. Once inside, the pools closest to the stream tend to be cooler, while those higher up on the rock face are usually the hottest.
Although the name suggests rigid geometry, the pools are not built in regular shapes but were designed to follow the exact contours of the rocks where they sit. No two pools are the same, and their positions were determined by the natural cracks and ledges of the gorge wall.
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