The positive impact on the treatment of people with leprosy was one of the first signs of the beneficial qualities of thermal waters for health. The disease haunted a portion of the Brazilian population in the late 18th century, when sulfur waters stood out in these treatments.

The first spa in Poços de Caldas opened in 1886, the Balneário Pedro Botelho. Ten years later, another one was established in Praça Dom Pedro II and as Thermas, in 1919. It was at that time that the city noticed a differential in tourism, after all the sulfurous waters are a specific attraction of Poços de Caldas, and as a result began to increase its visitor infrastructure.