SATV, Kathmandu, Oct. A large number of people have gathered at Singa Hot Spring, a natural healing site in Beni Municipality-4 of Myagdi district, to take a dip in its hot water.

With the main bathing season beginning, the number of patients and members of the public visiting the site for natural treatment has increased.

The hot spring, which was damaged by floods and landslides in the first week of October, was repaired by the Hot Spring Management Committee and local residents and reopened before Dashain. The main bathing season at the hot spring runs from October to April.

Patients from all 77 districts of Nepal and abroad, visit the site for natural treatment. Hot water naturally emerging along the banks of the Myagdi River is collected in a pond where visitors can bathe. The water temperature is around 50 degrees Celsius. The water has a smell similar to that of rock salt.

There is a popular belief that bathing in the hot spring helps cure skin problems, gastritis, rheumatism and injuries. A fee of Rs. 500 has been fixed for nine days of bathing, said Kumar KC, secretary of the Hot Spring Management Committee. Around 700 to 1,000 people bathe in the hot spring daily.

With the rise in cold weather, the number of patients visiting the hot spring, along with tourists, has also increased, said Krishna Khadka, chairman of the Hot Spring Management Committee.

To facilitate bathing, separate time schedules have been arranged for women and men. According to him, visitors bathe by immersing their bodies in the hot spring for three hours at a time, twice a day. After bathing, patients come out and rest for five to ten minutes, covering themselves with warm clothes such as shawls, blankets, plastic sheets and traditional woollen blankets until they begin to sweat profusely.

Business owners say economic activities at hotels and commercial shops in the hot spring market have increased along with the rise in the number of visitors.