Manikaran Hot Springs

The Parvati river runs cold through a narrow gorge, and the springs that rise on its bank at Manikaran come out close to boiling, hot enough that food is cooked in them directly. The Sikh gurudwara built over the site uses them for the langar: rice, lentils and vegetables are lowered into the spring in cloth bags and cooked in minutes, then served free to everyone who comes. Hindu temples stand alongside, since the place carries significance in both traditions, and bathing tanks fed by cooled spring water are separated by gender. Steam rises from the whole riverbank in cold weather.

What you actually see

• The boiling springs - water hot enough to cook food in minutes.
• The gurudwara langar - free meals cooked in the spring itself.
• The bathing tanks - cooled spring water in separate pools.
• The gorge setting - steam rising beside a cold fast river.

When to go

March to June and September to November; the springs run year-round and are most striking in cold weather when steam fills the gorge. The monsoon brings landslides on the valley road.

Honest expectations

The water in the springs is genuinely near boiling and burns; touching it is dangerous. Heads must be covered and shoes removed in the gurudwara. The village is small and crowded with pilgrims.

Nearby

Kasol lies down the valley; Kheerganga is a walk upstream.