Myagdi hot spring gaining prominence as healing place

By Our Correspondent,Beni, Feb.2: The hot spring, located on the banks of Kaligandaki River in Paudwar of Annapurna Rural Municipality, Myagdi, is gaining prominence as a natural healing place. 

Many people have been visiting the place in the recent days with the belief that diseases can be cured after taking a bath in the hot spring.

Kumar Tilija, manager of the hot spring, said that the Annapurna Rural Municipality has aimed to develop the spring as a place for natural healing. 

The rural municipality has added infrastructure and managed the spring, increasing the number of visitors day by day, said Tilija. Three ponds have been constructed so that patients can submerge their bodies. Water tap has been installed for drinking water and toilets are constructed in the site.  The bathing pool is covered with zinc sheets. 

Tilija said that people from Myagdi and other districts, including Mustang, Parbat, Baglung, Pokhara and Kathmandu, visit the place for healing themselves. According to Tilija, more than 100 people visit the hot spring on a daily basis. 

Most of the people take hot bath for the treatment of some kind of injuries, sarcoid aches, gastric, cold-related diseases, gonorrhea and other problems and return after a week of recovery. 

Ran Bahadur Tilija of Jaljala Rural Municipality-5 of Parbat, came to the hot spring a week ago with the belief that he will get better. "I had gastric and back problems, but after a week of bathing, I am getting better,” he added.  “I came here as I had severe gastric and pain in the joints of the bones, pain due to swelling of old wounds," said Narsingh Purja, the former ward president of Annapurna Rural Municipality-3. 

"The water here is different from other hot springs. It is salty water. The water is very hot. Most of the diseases will be cured after submerging here for a week,” said Purja. 

Purja said that after the rural municipality built a tower and a pond, it has become easy to take a bath any time. It is easy to bathe even during rainy and summer seasons, he added. The water temperature here is 68 degrees Celsius. 

The rural municipality took charge of Rs. 1.2 million per year from the pool manager. Each visitor is charged Rs. 50 for the whole day.