As a relaxing, tranquil place to visit, New Mexico is hard to beat. The same can be said of a spa. Combining the two is one very good reason to enjoy the pleasure of New Mexico's unique spa experience. One feature that makes it so special is the spiritual energy of New Mexico's spectacular landscape. It's an energy that plays a significant part in many of the treatments available at its spas. In addition, the abundance of natural hot springs provide many of the state's historical healing resorts with their edifying waters, while the adoption of ancient Native American healing practices is yet another distinctive feature offered by a number of New Mexico's spas.
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Many, like the Eldorado Hotel's Nidah Spa, draw on the natural restorative properties of a number of New Mexico's indigenous plants for their treatments. Blue Cornmeal, considered sacred by the natives, is used to soften and purify the skin and Anasazi beans help to clarify and tighten pores. Desert clay, aloe, sage and juniper, which have long been abundant in the region, also help lend a visit to a New Mexico spa an original flavor. The El Monte Sagrado spa in Taos uses local volcanic ash in some treatments and has a Lakota-style sweat lodge in which they hold sweats on the Saturday nearest the full moon.
The enigmatically-named town of Truth or Consequences was described by Arthur Frommer as "the most affordable spa town in America." Situated on the banks of the Rio Grande, it was formerly known as Hot Springs. Built atop a hot aquifer, it boasts a number of spa resorts which tap directly into the same mineral-enriched geothermal waters where Apache chief Geronimo reputedly once bathed.
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