Dezong Hot Spring

Dezong, is located on 170kms (about 3-4 hrs drive) out of Lhasa, is a favorite Tibetan retreat. It's really a small village, centered on Tidrum (in Tibetan) nunnery.

 

The Dezong hot springs pitted into an icy valley, a chilly 4,200 meters above sea level and nestled in the majestic slopes of the Himalayas. It is offering us open-air stone bathing pools filled with what is said to be magical healing water. The springs themselves are split into two pools--a men's pool, above, and a women's pool, below. 40¡ã C, jade-colored spring waters cascade 20 meters into the resort's pools.Out of the water, it is chilling, well below zero. Locals say the most popular time for a splash is after dark when the temperature really plummets.

 

Some 120 nuns look after the pools, a run-down bare bones motel, a tiny store selling beer and beads, and a kitchen that serves noodle soup, yak butter tea and curried potatoes only. The road into the village winds precariously around snowed-up slopes; a frozen waterfall stands suspended in time.

 

Other worthy attractions near the hot spring are including the Drigung-til monastery, Charnel Ground (sacrifice ground) and Dezong Temples.