Whakarewarewa Village is a living Maori village located in the thermal region of Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand. Its doors have been open to tourists since more than a century ago when an 1886 volcanic eruption destroyed the historic pink and white terraces at Lake Tarawera, New Zealand’s first tourist attraction. Whakarewarewa Village today is inhabited by 25 families who go about their daily lives but allow visitors to move amongst them and learn about their customs and culture.

When travelling, it’s always fun to stumble upon both famous and lesser-known local bathing spots. However, while I love to be surprised by historical and natural baths in different destination, not everybody likes surprises, and the bathing experiences found on the road are often hit or miss. In fact, in my experience, local baths get misnamed, over hyped and overlooked. Here are a few cases in point in England, Hungary, Iceland and Peru.

For ages, people have travelled far and wide in search of a good bath. Journeying to natural pools and hot springs with healing properties has been ‘medical tourism’ in its simplest form. Nowadays, though, a healthy soak in the mineral-rich waters of thermal springs is more than just doctor’s orders; finding the natural hot spots for a relaxing steep is a way to appreciate the unique geographical qualities of a place while simultaneously indulging in some healing.