Manikaran is a town located in the Parvati Valley on river Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is at an altitude of 1760 m and is located 4 km from Kasol, about 45 km from Kullu and about 35 km from Bhuntar. The small town is known for its hot springs and pilgrim centres of Manali and Kullu. An experimental geothermal energy plant has also been set up here.
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underground. In this they are unlike sweet springs, which produce soft water with no noticeable dissolved gasses. The dissolved minerals may alter the water's taste. Mineral water obtained from mineral springs, and the precipitated salts such as Epsom salt have long been important commercial products.
Some mineral springs may contain significant amounts of harmful dissolved minerals, such as arsenic, and should not be drunk. Sulfur springs smell of rotten eggs due to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is hazardous and sometimes deadly. It is a gas, and it usually enters the body when it is breathed in. The quantities ingested in drinking water are much lower and are not considered likely to cause harm, but few studies on long-term, low-level exposure have been done, as of 2003.