Hot soaks of the Himalaya: Tapping

Shigatse (Tibet) by mayaruonan

Local way to enjoy bath. #hotsprings #waytorelax #shigatsesummer #summerfun☀️

I'm always tempted to provide as much info as possible from whatever I can find on internet. But concerning hot springs in the more mountainous regions of north-east Asia, there's very little to report about. It seems that (with exception of China) overall development and reporting on visits is poor and remains so.

But it's also development itself that seeks to end many of the blissfull soaks. Take the following as an example.

The Nepali Times (13-19 May 2016) has an extensive article on the hot springs of it's mountains and what they could do for tourism.

'Nepalis have been using Himalayan hot springs for health reasons, but their full tourism potential has never been tapped.

...

Geothermal expert Mahendra Ranjit says although research on geothermal energy started in Nepal more than 30 years ago, the emphasis was misplaced. “We looked mainly at generating electricity, which is difficult and costly due to the relatively low temperature of the hot springs in Nepal. What we need and should focus on is the direct use of these springs, like in tourism development and farming,” Ranjit told us.

...

All the towns next to hot springs in Nepal are called Tatopani, and there are dozens of them from Humla to Taplejung.

...

In Nepal, the huge potential of hot springs remains untapped. Tourism experts say the scope of hot spring tourism is vast and if properly developed can be a lucrative addition to the tourism market. “With the current infrastructure tourists may visit hot springs for the quaintness of it, but to attract international tourists we need to scale it up or leave everything natural,” says tourism entrepreneur Raj Gyawali. Combining thermal springs with yoga, ayurveda and even shamanism can make it a viable product, Gyawali adds.

...

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In Myagdi, the Singa Tatopani on the way to Dhaulagiri Base Camp is often overlooked by foreigners but Nepali patients have been coming here for centuries believing in the healing property of the spring. Income from the spring is used to operate the local Sarvodaya Secondary School with over 300 students. Income from the Bhurung Tatopani is also ploughed into the Saraswati Higher Secondary School. Earnings from the springs are used in the development of not only the springs but the community as well'.

So development and tourism can go hand in hand. However whenever we see talk about developing hot springs, it usually spells the end of another great soak.

Jhinu hot springs, probably one of the most sort after hot soaks of Nepal. Note that development is long way away ... a conundrum? Source: achut12

#those #days #nature #river #hotspring #friends #nepal

There Must Be Quite A Few Things That A Hot Bath Won't Cure But I Dont Know Many Of Them

Capping
Let's look at more hot springs along the south side of the Himal.

tejasvikannan

#hotsprings #khirgangatrek #snowcappedmountains #himachaldiaries #incredibleindia #beautifuldestinations

Locals bathe in a natural hot spring along the Nu River near Liuku, in China’s Yunnan province, March 29, 2016.

From the Malaymailonline

Darjay Gompa, le_monde_a_portee_de_mains

A notre arrivée, le moine qui nous accueille nous explique comme il peut qu'il n'y pas de douche au monastère mais pas de soucis il y a une source chaude à quelques minutes de là... Le lendemain matin on découvre la fameuse source, c’est la plus belle salle de bain qu'on ait vu du voyage 😄 #hotsprings #bathroom #mountains #freedom #nature #naturelovers #beautifuldestinations #experience #voyage #tourdumonde #travel #travelling #travelgram #passionpassport #travellovers #tourdumonde #adventure #lifeofadventure #backpacking #backpacker #traveladdict #wanderlust #landscape #landscapes #neverstopexploring #discover #1jour1lieu #china #sichuan #experienceroutard #lemondeaporteedemains

Tracking

The stan republics:

Garam Chashma, Tajikistan. danielsanwit:

Met blote Tadjieken in een warm bad #adventure #hotsprings #bloterts

kyrgyz.nature

Warm baths in the middle of the nature, no one around and a view on the river!AltynArashan. Kyrgyzstan.

Photo credit @vrouwopreis 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲 ➡➡ Follow @kyrgyz.nature

➡➡ Tag #kyrgyznature 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲 #kyrgyzstan #kyrgyzmountains

#centralasia #naturekyrgyzstan #kyrgyznomad #mountains #beautiful #summer #sky #wonderfulplaces #tracking #horseriding #wonderfulplaces #aboveseelevel #nature #naturelovers #asia #backpacker #природа #природакыргызстана #горы #лучшегормогутбытьтолькогоры #кыргызстан #горыкыргызстана #issykkul #lake #altynarashan #hotsprings

veloclub.kz

Главный шеф-пилот велобуса и начальник авто подразделения Клуба вело приключений принимает водные процедуры на минеральном источнике во время Altyn-Emel Bike Tour

#veloalmaty #showedup #hotspring #altynemel #veloclubkz #biketrip #leaser #travel #alabike #alatau

Kyrgystan, Karakol, naport_soaps:

#горячиеисточники, сероводородные, попахивает тухлыми яйцами, вода горячая - градусов 40-45, долго не посидишь, рядом горная холодная речка, в нее можно прыгать :) #иссыккуль #караколь #кыргызстан #naportsoaps #hotsprings

everything centralasia, back in Tajikistan:

Trip to Iskandarkul & Saritag with some friends.

Whaling
Finally Kamchatka and around ...

orion_travel_kamchatka

Бассейн с голубой глиной на Дачных источниках. Отдых после похода на Мутновку.

#камчаточкалюбимая #камчатка #мутновка #горелый #горячиеисточники #туры #турыпокамчатке

Looking at the last photo, don't really know where this. Chukota refers to Chukotka Autonomous Okrug a large administrative tundra steppe area on the eastern most point of Asia / Russia. It could refer to Gil’mimyl Hot Spring, to Senyarinskiya Hot Spring (which does look similar, though more rustic) or to (Kukunyskie) hot springs near Lorino village. Read other possibilities here.