Hauts LieuxChapels, sanctuaries & legends

Hauts Lieux›All places›Pyrénées-Orientales

Hot springPyrénées-Orientales

Sources chaudes des Graus de Canaveilles et monastère d'Eixalada

Canaveilles

Dimensions
Six main springs of 27 to 64 °C recorded by the BRGM in January 2004, the hottest and furthest upstream being the ‘des bains’ spring (64 °C); a table in the Annales des Mines of 1998 gives 56 °C and 4 m³/h for the ‘upstream group’ of Canaveilles; bathing pools that vary, mixed with water from the Têt
Period
Around 840 (monastery of Saint-André d'Eixalada); 871 (diploma of Charles the Bald); autumn 878 (flood that destroys the monastery); June 879 (birth of Cuxa); 16th century (troglodyte baths); 1844 (first establishment, according to a bathing website); 25 May 1868 (ministerial authorisation); 1876 (flood); 1929 (sale); 1957 (Pancera file); 1984 (fire at the Relais de l'Infante)
What stands there
Disagreements: the BRGM records 64 °C (January 2004) at the ‘des bains’ spring and cites a 1998 table giving 56 °C for the ‘upstream group’; nothing indicates that they are the same spring. A bathing guide gives 35 to 42 °C in the pools, where the hot water mixes with the Têt. The first establishment is dated to 1844 by a single bathing website (commercial blog, rank 4), whereas the BRGM cites only the decree of 1868. The monastery is ‘on the left bank of the Têt’ according to the BRGM, but on the right bank, at the exit of the Graus, according to Wikipedia EN (which attaches it to the commune of Nyer): the exact location of the 16th-century baths rests on the BRGM alone. Foundation around 840: Wikipedia EN (monastery of Eixalada); the Sauvegarde de l'Art français entry gives no date. The origin of the name ‘fontaine de l'Infante Inès’ was not found: no legend is given. An urban-exploration website gives a construction of the Relais around 1714 without a source: not retained. The BRGM writes ‘moines d'Escalada’ for Eixalada.

At the bottom of the Graus gorges, the Têt runs through a defile from which several hot springs emerge: the BRGM recorded six, from 27 to 64 °C. According to the Sauvegarde de l'Art français entry, a Benedictine monastery, Saint-André d'Eixalada, stood on the bank of the Têt at the site of these waters, said to have been known since Antiquity, with no archaeological evidence cited. It was founded around 840 according to Wikipedia EN. Charles the Bald confirmed its possessions in 871. In autumn 878 a flood of the Têt destroyed it; the monks took refuge at Cuixà, where Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa was born through an agreement of June 879. In the 16th century troglodyte baths were dug at the site of the former monastery, according to the BRGM alone. In the 19th century an establishment exploited a dozen springs, bottled the water under the name ‘fontaine de l'Infante Inès’ and obtained a ministerial authorisation on 25 May 1868. A bathing website speaks of an opening in 1844, a destructive flood in 1876 and a sale in 1929. There was even a plan to bring the water as far as Olette, which came to nothing. The luxury hotel fitted out afterwards, the Relais de l'Infante, burned down in 1984; only ruins remain. Today the hot water arrives in stone pools on the bank of the Têt, which cools it.

Further reading

Getting there: At the bottom of the Têt gorges, below the route nationale 116: park on the verge after the tunnel, opposite the D28, then take a steep path to the river, which sometimes has to be crossed (bathing guide, updated 31 August 2026). The BRGM notes that the access road to the former Relais de l'Infante is closed off. Free access, at your own risk; no facilities. Flood and storm are dangerous, and crossing the river is risky: avoid the site after a storm or a rise in water level. The pools are not at a stable temperature; the water can be very hot at the emergence (up to 64 °C according to the BRGM), so it should not be touched without care. The pools of Thuès-entre-Valls (43 °C according to the BRGM, January 2004), about 800 m away, are another emergence. Coordinates: 42.5337; 2.2558 (bathing guide), cross-checked to within 500 m by the centre of the commune of Canaveilles (Wikipedia EN, 42.5369; 2.2506) and by a website on the Relais de l'Infante (about 42.531; 2.252); approximate position.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Pyrénées-Orientales (32).