Cacheuta Spa 1.59

The Cacheuta Spa is a bathing establishment in Argentina exploiting the natural hot springs at Cacheuta on the Mendoza River in the foothills of the Andes. The spa lies on the old road leading from the city of Mendoza to the Uspallata Pass over the mountains into Chile.The first spaThis area of the Andes is known for many hot springs. However, in the heyday of the Argentine’s boom in 1904 the spa at Cacheuta was developed on a massive scale. Financed by the issue of shares to speculative investors, a very substantial and luxurious hotel was built on the hillside above the river, with a bathing establishment below consisting of a large space lit from roof lanterns with individual bathrooms leading off it.The establishment achieved particular success through its link with the Transandine Railway, which opened in 1910. The line ran straight past the hotel, and a special railway station was erected there, about 1 km east of the station in Cacheuta village. Passengers alighting on the platform at the spa station would descend a staircase directly into the spa hotel, while their luggage would be brought down in a lift constructed within a tower modelled on an Italian campanile. Special packages and excursions were offered, and a wide range of glittering special events were celebrated in the local press.In 1934 a glacial flood in the Mendoza canyon completely destroyed the spa. The establishment never recovered.