el valle panama hot springs

Very small and no feeling of natural enviroment. We left within half an hour. It was very dissapointing

We went to this "natural spring" in the afternoon and it ended up being more of a swimming pool for locals with their kids. The water was absolutely disgustingly dirty by that time, so I didn't even want to go in. Ended up paying $5 just for a mud facial.

The park-like setting was beautiful. But it wasn't enough for me to get in the water. There were a couple pools of water and there were at least a dozen people relaxing enjoying the springs. It just looked unhealthy to me. And then when a motor coach of people arrived it became more unattractive and unhygienic. I'm glad the locals love it. There are bathrooms available for use and for changing. Who really knows what they put in the mud to make a mud mask. No lockers on-site people were just making piles of their shoes and bags.

Disgusting dirty horrible place.Filthy, muddy pools.We paid, went in, looked around and were absolutely shocked at how gross and disgusting the place was. One of our group summed it up perfectly, " I wouldn't wash my dog in those pools"We immediately walked out and we were refused a refund even though we had spent only a few minutes at the place. This place is an embarrassment to Panama (which is an otherwise lovely place to visit) and should be shut down.

A little dificult to find once we got into El Valle. Road sign written in Spanish, hidden behind another road sign, luckily wife speaks and reads Spanish, and has eagle eyes. This place is definatley nothing fancy, lets say rustic. This is a public facility for all who dare enter, but this is the charm. We had an absolutely fun time. Entery fee $3.00 per person. One application of mud face mask (have both for "regular" and "sensitive" skin) already included in the initial $3.00 entery fee. One has the option to puchase additiional mud for $2.00 for the body. Had an absolutely grand old time. Bring your swim trunks and towel, as this is NOT avaialable for purchase. Apply mud, sit in sun to set and dry, then wash off in Hot Spring shower, and once cleaned off, climb into Hot Spring Tub. Water has a mild sulpher, zinc, iron-mineral smell. Enjoy.

From reading the other reviewers, I am thinking that your best bet is to go during the week when there are few other people. It was inexpensive and I expected not very much, but our driver stayed with our stuff and it was really relaxing. Wouldn't think coming here with the kids would have been nearly as relaxing but there is a separate pool for children, so maybe.

Having been to many hot springs, I totally expected this to be a bare bones affair, fine. What i did not expect was the lack of pools (there is really only 1) and how absolutely packed it would be. There is no place to put your belongings. We walked in & walked right back out, as there was not room for literally a single other body in the spring. We were inside less that 90 seconds. I asked for a refund and the man at the desk refused. I was calm, reasonable and nice about it. He was not. We argued in Spanish for about 5 minutes on the definition of an "entrance fee" since I had crossed the entrance line. I finally gave up & just tried to be zen since I was on vacation. This place is uninviting and not worth the stop.

The big painted sign that says " No refunds" should have been my first clue. It costs $3 to get in, and there are no lockers to store your clothes and things. You get to paint your face with some mud, but if you want the mud for your body, you need to buy small container for an additional $2 each and so you need a few of those. Not sure what you are suppose to do or stand once your mudded. Once it dries, you need to wash it off by spraying faucet of warm mineral water, then climb into a murky mineral hot tub. There are no showers to clean off the mineral water. I would not recommend this stop, there are better things to do.

I had never done anything like this before, but it was a lot of fun and very relaxing. Don't forget to bring a towel though!

to complete your resting trip you have to go to the Hot springs and see the difference of your regular body sores, aches and pains.Should visit at least twice.

I probably sound stupid, but i thought hot springs would be a beautiful place where the water would be hot. It is just a location that you have people covered in mud walk around. It is fun to see others walking with a mask, but that is it. The restroom are too disgusting to be considered a restroom. Overall in Panama the restrooms are not that great... But this was the most disgusting place i have ever seen before. Other then that you choose two types of mud to have a facial for$3 and that was it. The pool looks like a pool of dirty water and i do not believe it is healthy as it might be full of urine.

This was very disappointing. The staff is not welcoming at all and the water is not hot! The only one pool is super small. That's all.

Worth the $3/person for sure. Mud for facial and warm pools to soak in included! There are even nice picnic tables for a lunch or snack with friends or family.

This quaint small town is a short drive from the Buenaventura area and it does make a nice day trip.The attractions are not up to par as they read but still recommend a visit to the Zoo to see the exotic birds and the elusive golden frog.

Be sure to bring exact change to get in, as they don't have any. It is a beautiful place, but the baths are warm, not hot by any means. The mud baths cost extra, so be prepared for that as well. Still a fun place to go