Hot Water Springs At Unai in The Surat District of Gujarat State in India

I have moved in almost all the corners of the Gujarat State in India as I have passed around 35 years of my life there. There are thousands of vital places of tourist's interest in Gujarat State. Some of these places serve two purposes at a time. The first is to enjoy the beautiful sites of the nature and the second is to get cured of many diseases. Such places are rare to find in any country. I have been able to find one such place that has one additional feature than the two mentioned above. The third purpose of pilgrimage is also served at this marvelous place. This place is the hot water springs at Unai village, which is situated in Vyara Taluka in the Surat District in the Gujarat State.

One can reach Unai by traveling in a State Transport bus or hired taxi from the city of Surat. It is around 45 miles away from Surat. One can also travel by train, getting down at Surat on Mumbai-Ahmedabad railway line and then, boarding the Tapti valley railway line so as to reach Vyara. Unai is only 13 miles away from Vyara. There are famous hot water springs here at Unai. The hot water flows continuously here all through out the year from below the ground. This hot water has many beneficial chemicals like Sulphur, and phosphorous, already dissolved in it. That is why taking a bath here for a few days can cure the persons suffering from any types of skin diseases. I have myself seen many people coming here and staying for a month or so to cure their major skin diseases without the use of any harmful allopathic medicines. The water coming out in this spring is so hot that it may be difficult to bear it in the beginning. However, taking bath becomes slightly easier once you are used to such baths. It is advisable to take a bath for around half an hour continuously each time. The three or four baths daily will help a lot in curing skin diseases. Over and above this hot water spring, there is a famous temple of Lord Ram and goddess Sita here. This temple is said to be around 6000 years old, related to Ramayana times. The other famous temple of Unai Mataji is also located here at the village of Unai. Unai Mataji is said to be the sister of famous Amba Mata. This temple is also very old and ancient. Many pilgrims come here for the darshnas of the Mataji.

There is a place called Padam Dungari, which is only around 2 miles away from the village of Unai. Lord ram was said to have stayed here during his stay in forest with his wife Sita and brother Laxman. The ashes of the yajna performed by Lord ram here have been found and is preserved in the small temple here. The natural beauty of this entire area is really breathtaking. I have stayed here at Unai for 3 days once during my last visit to India. I had taken one of my relatives to cure her skin diseases. The experience of staying here was simply out of the world, close to the nature and experiencing the village life of a traditional Indian village. One can take long walks in the farms at early morning hours. The late morning and afternoon hours can be spent taking bath in the hot water spring and the evening hours can be spent nicely at the three holy temples. There are no good hotels available for stay here. But one can stay in dharmshalas, which provide reasonably good and clean rooms with the attached bath and the toilet at very reasonable rates of around Rs.50 ($1.25) per day. The authentic and pure Gujarati village food is available for the meals. However, it is preferred to carry the mineral drinking water with you as the quality of the water available here is not very good.

One can derive three fold benefits by visiting such simple and economical places, which are available in almost all the remote corners of India. I would strongly suggest all my AC readers to visit Unai hot water springs at least once in their life. And I am sure they will never forget the unique experience of visiting village of Unai in Surat District in Gujarat State in India.