Blessed

We're still in North Macedonia. And still with Sascha.

His final North Macedonian report concerns the hot springs of Banjishte (Banište / Banisht). Sascha in his own words:

And the best comes at the end of my trip:

Banjishte hot springs close to the Albanian border and close to the Mavrovo National Park (which by the way is great for hiking).

First head to Debar, which is a bigger town in the area.

Then continue in the direction of the Albanian border to where you'll see the spa of Banjishte indicated. The village itself has a larger spa complex that has been renovated and also has several hotels. 

I tried the spa complex first which was quite expensive. And not worth it. But at least, I got a sauna and steam bath for my own. You have the choice between a private pool and the common pool (both are not in the best shape and not really romantic). Recommended time to soak is about 20 minutes.

A little bit of background on the spa complex of Banjishte itself.

The Guardian (18-1-2020) lists it as 1 of 

'Ten of the best budget spa holidays in eastern Europe'.

Then the description of Banjishte spa:

'From an aquifer high on the Albanian-Macedonia border, 39C water bubbles up alive with minerals. People have sought healing here for centuries, and in the 1970s scientists designated it one of Europe’s most healing spas. The Banjisht resort still majors in fangotherapy (where thermal mud pulls out toxins as it dries). There’s also electrotherapy to cure muscle spasms and increase circulation. Nowadays a beauty and wellness department assists with 21st-century treatments including waxing, detox baths, fruit facials and teen facials (to treat blackheads and whiteheads). Nice. The rambling resort hotel is ringed with trees that thrive in a sun-blessed microclimate'.

It seems to contrast Sascha's experience as well as what can be found on Tripadvisor which rates Hotel Banjisht (which is part of the spa complex) with 3 stars out of five, with inconsistent reviews. So maybe the Guardian is more focussed on the budget than the experience per sé?

More on the history of the thermal origins from a website named Macedoniatimeless:

'Debar is a small town in western Macedonia, but with a long history. The Debar region is rich in various thermo-mineral waters, which are located in the villages of Banjishte and Kosovrasti, where today two modern spa centers are located under the same names. Although there are many legends about these sources, the oldest testament to the existence of balneotherapy in this region are the two ancient pools in Banjishte. They were built in 1797 by Hadji Mujedin, son of Numan Efendi, members of the old Oruchi Zade Debar family of 1010. These pools have been recently renovated and can be visited.

Debar baths were founded on February 21, 1948, as the best spa resort in the former Yugoslavia, the doors of which were opened only to politicians, army generals and the high class of society. The claims that these spas were the best were confirmed in the 70s of the last century. At a time when the Debar region was visited by an expert team composed of doctors, geologists and physicists from France and Germany. Reports from the scientific studies that were conducted, pointed out that thermo-mineral waters in the city of Debar, contain about 4 grams of various minerals per 1 liter of water, an amount that today no other thermo-mineral spring in Europe has. The mineral structure is unique, and the water is classified as the most healing in this continent'.

This is the Hotel Banjisht website and their rather empty Facebook page.

Discrete

Right, with this in mind let's let Sascha continue:

After my spa visit, I wanted to return back to the car on the parking place, but saw a big info sign with hiking routes. This also mentioned some hot springs in the surroundings. !

Strange. One of the (natural) hot springs should have been directly next from the parking place. Well, I looked to my right and found the entrance behind me. Ok, entrance is a big word, I guess it is not permitted for the public to pass the fences, so take attention to pass discreetly.

Follow the the pipeline for around 100 m.

Here, only people on the hiking trail could discover you.

And reach the little hut with the pool inside.

Hide your clothes and enjoy a perfect soak in crystal clear water at around 39°-40°C.

The spring is at the end of the pool inside. On the walls you will detect yellow sulphur from the steam. No need to say that the sulphur smell is very strong, lingering for days after.

On the bottom are big kind of lava stones and no mud.

The water from this spring is used in the spa complex and there is not too much littering in the surrounding. Please keep at least this hot spring clean if you intend to visit it. A very nice and still unknown spring!

In the surroundings there seems to be another hot spring, but because of the snow in the mountains, the access was too difficult.

 And on a parting note to Debar:

Finally, another spa resort, rather family orientated, exists near Debar itself. But it was closed at the time of visiting.

Named Kosovrast Resort And Spa, this 75 room resort (and large outdoor pool) gets better reviews than Banjishte from Tripadvisor. Google reviews are also not too bad, though also very fluctuating reviews. Possibly the expectations of the visitors differs?

Sascha with a final note of his trip:

Well, 3 hot springs in one week with all the Covid-19 restrictions is  not bad