CHITRAL: The number of people visiting Garam Chashma for taking a dip in its hot water spring has not decreased despite the town has received heavy snowfall, plunging the temperature below freezing point.

The beautiful village of the Lotkoh sub-valley has been named as Garam Chashma (hot spring) and is the second tourist resort in Chitral after the Kalash valleys due to its natural beauty.

The government has constructed a number of public bathrooms in the vicinity of the hot spring while the water has also been carried to the hotels nearby where open swimming pools have been built for the tourists.

The water from the spring is believed to have healing affect on the patients with skin diseases and joint disorders. That’s why people from different parts of the country throng the spring round the year.

Ashraf Gul from Drosh village said he had been at the hot spring along with his family for last two days as his wife, who was suffering from joint pain, was advised to take frequent baths in the hot water to cure the disease. He said he took her spouse to hospitals in Peshawar, Islamabad and Karachi, but she could not get well.

Aftab Nabi, a local medical practitioner, said a number of people from his village suffering from skin and joint ailments got healed up by taking bath in the hot water.

Regarding any negative effects of the hot bath, he said no such thing had been reported, but said one must be cautious about the temperature before taking a dip as the water was well above the boiling point and people should mix it with cold water.

The Garam Chashma town provides the tourists a two-pronged opportunity of eco-tourism. They not only can take a hot bath but can also do trout fishing in the stream which has abundance of the specie.

The town is also known for having the tomb of Shah Nasir Khusro, a sufi saint, who came here from Central Asia to preach Islam many centuries ago.

Garam Chashma is also the home of cottage industry of Chitrali patti (coarse cloth made of sheep wool), and the very name of the cloth (Moghekan) has been derived from Mogh, one of its small hamlets.

The area has also been producing potato on commercial scale for last two decades and the produce is supplied to national market.

Published in Dawn February 4th, 2017