The Napa Valley may be world-famous for its fine wines, but there’s another precious commodity on which this sunny corner of California has been cashing in for decades: mud, glorious mud.
Warm, pungent and absolutely packed with mineral goodness, the brown stuff here has been capturing the attention of vitality-seeking visitors for hundreds of years. The epicentre of the muddy action is beautiful Calistoga. This laid-back wine-country town of 5,000 people is so charming that many of Napa's millions of vino-swigging visitors make sure they stay here for a night or three.Calistoga quick links
The perfect Mediterranean climate is clearly the reason for the area’s wine heritage, but just what causes Calistoga’s mud to be so special? Since the 1840s, local entrepreneurs have been combining two local staple products of the earth - pure volcanic ash and mineral-rich spring water – to create health treatments. Together with a helping of peat, these ingredients form a thick, rich muddy mixture whose healing and rejuvenatory qualities have long been recognised. Arthritis sufferers are thought to have the most to gain from a joint-easing submersion in this concoction, but even if you have no current ailments beyond a wine-tasting hangover, there’s much to be said for taking an invigorating bath in some pure brown.
NEXT: Days of wine and geysers...