Vashisht

Vashisht is a natural hot spring village above the Kullu valley town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh, India, where sulphurous thermal water feeds gender-separated stone bathing tanks associated with the sage Vashisht — guru of Lord Rama in the Ramayana epic — in a living tradition of Hindu sacred bathing that has continued for centuries. The springs, at around 2,050 metres elevation, are integrated into the village's ancient temple complex, where bathing in the thermal water is considered an act of spiritual purification. The setting above the Beas River valley with the great Himalayan peaks of the Kullu-Manali region as backdrop, and the village's traditional Himachali wooden architecture, give Vashisht a deeply authentic Himalayan spiritual character.