The Roman Baths of Hedionda are among the least-visited Roman remains on the Costa del Sol, which makes them all the more rewarding to find. A small ruined bathing complex sits beside a stream about 2 km west of Manilva town, where mineral-rich sulphurous water seeps up at around 20 °C. The name "Hedionda" means "stinking" in Spanish — the hydrogen sulphide smell is noticeable but not overwhelming. The walls of the Roman pool survive to knee height in places, and the stonework is clearly ancient. A short walk through scrubland brings you to the site; there is no entrance fee and no visitor centre, just the ruins and the smell of sulphur.
Termas Romanas de Hedionda
A story
According to local tradition, Julius Caesar bathed in these sulphurous springs in 49 BC while recovering from a skin condition during the Roman campaign in southern Hispania. Whether or not Caesar truly soaked here, the ruins are genuinely Roman — excavations have confirmed a bathing complex from the 1st century BC — and the warm, sulphurous water still flows today.