Resort Balneario Panticosais a very special place. It is situated at an altitude of 1,636 metres within the River Caldarés glacial cirque. The granite walls of the cirque are formed by a number of peaks measuring over 3,000 metres, such as Argualas (3,046 metres), Garmo Negro (3,051 metres) and Infierno (3,082 metres). The river rises in these mountains, and initially the water collects in mountain lakes (Ibones Azules,Perico and Bachimaña). Subsequently it flows downhill to Ibón de los Baños, where the spa itself is located.
Roman coins from the reign of Augustus and Tiberius found near a spring at the Resort, known as Tiberius’Spring, show that there was a Roman presence in this area and that people have come here specifically to use the spa since that time.
The first written records about the Resort are from the beginning of the 17th Century when going to spas became common again and hydrotherapy became very popular among the European elite. The first building at the site was constructed in 1694.
It wasn’t until the 19th Century, however, that the resort began to take on the aspect that we know now. Gardens and wooded areas were planted and its iconic buildings and springs were constructed.
In the first half of the 20th Century the Resort became the thermal spa of choice for many sectors of the Spanish bourgeoisie. Numerous well-known figures from medicine, the arts and politics stayed at the complex, including King Alfonso 13th, Niceto Alcalá Zamora and Primo de Rivera, Ortega y Gasset, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Perico Chicote, Zarrra, Iriondo, and Paniza.
In 1966 the Resort was declared a site of National Tourist Interest.
PLACES OF INTEREST IN THE AREA:
The casino
The theatre
Hotels
Thermal pavilions and springs
VIEWING POINTS:
El Pino viewing point
The Queen’s viewing point (Mirador de la Reina)
MOST POPULAR EXCURSIONS AND WALKS:
Ibones de Bachimaña and Azules (lakes)
Ibón de Brazato (lake)
Ibón de Ordicuso (lake)
Thermal springs
MORE INFORMATION:
Resort Balneario Panticosa
Carretera del Balneario, Km.10 – 22650 Panticosa (Huesca)
Tel: +34974 48 71 67 – Fax: +34974 48 71 37