New bridge makes possible access to Mangpu Hot Spring.

Lhastse County in Shigatse Prefecture is well-known by multiple names such as the "North Entrance of the Qomolangma," "Food Grains Storage," "Hometown of Tibetan Knives," "Hometown of Dorxic (a kind of Tibetan music)" and also "the Way to Pilgrim". "Lhastse", in Tibetan, refers to the "Summit of Manitou". In the secular world, it is called "Laxog", meaning "the holy place where the sunlight first touches". Naturally, some scholars prefer to dub "Lhastse" as "a place suffering from drought".

Mangpu hot spring is 12 kilometers from the centre of Lhatsen County. It is recognized all around Tibet as a "unique hot spring which can cure hundreds of different diseases" due to its special therapeutic characteristics. Several years ago, together with my team, I visited the hot spring and was fortunate enough to experience bathing there in its charming surrounds.

Dorje Pula,a Tibetan medicine healer and Director-General of lhatse Counnty Health Bureau.

On a fine and warm day, we set out at 9:30am from downtown Lhastse. After driving 21 kilometers we came to Phurlu Village of Mangpu Township. After changing horses and riding for another eight kilometers we arrived at Mangpu hot spring. The spring is located halfway up the South Mountain, in Chogu Village (In Tibetan, "Chogu" refers to hot spring), which is 4800 meters above sea level. When looking from a distance, it is suffused with a white haze and fascinating to any onlooker; the scenery is spectacular. Hot water effuses from cracks in the rock through a total of five mouths into two artificial pools, each 20 square meters wide. A fissure connects these two pools. Five traditional Tibetan architectural style bungalows have been built by the rocks beside the pools, but due to years of winds and rain they appear quite old.

Fogs float over the surface of the spring. Local people say the lucidity of the spring water often changes; sometime it tends towards transparency and you easily see the bottom of pool, but at other times it turns to a milky white. When smelling the water, no special aromas can be detected. Although the pool is not so deep, you can feel a strong buoyancy if you dive in.

Guest-houses in Tibetan architecture built aside the spring.

Local people love to come to here, trekking the hills and dales in order to wash out their diseases. They name the water "water of Castalia". The water temperature does not vary seasonally, and is usually 50 centigrade.

The hot spring is surrounded by fascinatingly picturesque scenery. It is definitely a good place to visit and explore. The mountains are steep, and tend to be a bronze color at the top and dust colored halfway up. At the foot of the mountains yaks and sheep graze the grassland, close to a swamp. Colourful flowers and rare medicinal plants are inlaid into the green grass plains, creating spectacular scenery. Many wild animals live in the mountain area, such as Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan river deer, foxes, marmots, snow-land leopards, lynxes, and wolves.

Local people are kindhearted and their harmonious relationship with the natural environment depicts a Shambhala (mystical kingdom in the Himalayas) picture which most people dream to have. There are four lakes located at the top of mountain ranges, three ancient relics and two monasteries; Shapug Monastery and Sangpog Monastery. On the way to the hot spring, many Mudrak caves and mud holes will also attract people to the places of Tibetan ancestors. The caves and monasteries give testament to forefathers also benefiting from the advantages of the hot spring.

Tangkar,a Buddha's reincarnation and Tibetan medicine healer,is providing medical consultation for a Canadian.

According to the local people, and their well-known doctors, since ancient times people have visited this place. They believe that the hot spring was formed naturally, and call it the "Integration of Water and Fire." As the name infers, one can cure diseases through therapeutic methods of soaking in, bathing in, and even drinking the hot water. It is believed by local people that many diseases can be cured by the hot spring including; gastric diseases, gallbladder diseases, rheumatism, arthritis, eye problems, high blood pressure and dermatitis just to list a few. Also worth a mention is the eye-shaped mineral water source that is located 1.5 kilometers westward of the hot spring. When we passed through, we saw many people were busying themselves pouring the mineral water over their heads. It was said these actions help to wash out all kinds of diseases and obtain healthy blood. We were also informed that there was another hot spring close by, called Nyidong Hot Spring that also had the same therapeutic properties.

The temperature in Manypu hot spring is a little high. Accordingly, it is inappropriate to stay too long in the water. Following local customs, people should not put on their clothes immediately after bathing but rather cover themselves in a rug or quilt and lay down for about 15 minutes. By doing so people will sweat greatly, resulting in all kinds of germs or poisons from either inside the body or skin are expelled through the capillary vessels, by which one becomes healthy.

Mountain altar used for worship of deities of mountains and the hot spring.

Old Kelsong, our guide, told us of an ancient ballad which spoke of "the Lotus Buddha meditating here with fairies and the Buddha of Longevity informed all that this was a sacred place, which people should visit to get rid of their diseases in the hot spring".

Historic literature from the Mangpu Township suggests that Tsongkhapa meditated and convalesced here for a long time. He built a monastery close to the hot spring called the Ataklugagye Monastery, but unfortunately a flood washed it away. Panchen Choskyi Nyima, the ninth Panchen Lama, also stayed here and built a palace during this time. Nowadays, there are still many famous persons visiting here. It is a perfect place for bathing and recuperation.

We had some roasted barley flour and dried yak meat for lunch. Then, together with team members Penpa from country health bureau and Tsenang (a Tibetan medicinal doctor), I jumped into the pool. Soon we felt released from our fatigue. It was so wonderful. When dusk came, we were reluctant to leave the Manypu hot spring. While riding into the distance, I turned my head to see Mangpu hot spring shining in the sun and looking more beautiful than ever.