Caldas Novas is Brazil's big inland hot-water resort, a Goiás city that grew around thermal springs rather than beaches. It is busy, family-oriented, and often more practical than pretty, but the identity is real: warm mineral water is the reason people come.
Caldas Novas makes sense only if you accept it on its own terms. The most typical day is not a museum crawl; it is soaking, sliding, and watching Brazilians turn a hot-spring aquifer into a holiday industry. Lagoa Termas Parque is the clearest version of that experience.
For something less resort-like, go to Parque Estadual da Serra de Caldas Novas. The park protects the cerrado ridge that helps recharge the region's warm-water system, and its trails and lookouts give the place a better frame than hotel pools alone.