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Kangra
Altitude : 615m
Places Of
Interest : Jawalamukhi, Kangra Fort, Brajeshwari
Temple
Best Time To Visit : Mid-May To
Mid-November
HOW TO
GET THERE
Road: Kangra is well connected by road with Dharamsala, which is 18-km away.
Rail: Nearest broad-gauge railhead at Pathankot is 86-km
away . Kangra Valley express is a narrow gauge train, starting
from Pathankot and continues to Bajinath.
Air: Kangra airport is
7-km away and has got straight flights from Delhi |
 Kangra town is 18 km
from Dharamsala. This was the first seat of Raja Sansar Chand II (1775-1823)
.One of the ancient capital of powerful hill state-fort of
Nagarkot(3km) stands as a mute witness to the ravages
of conquerors from Mahmood of Ghazni to the Emperor Jehangir, and the disastrous
earthquake of 1905. The place is now
called "Purana Kangra".2 km from the bus stand is the
temple dedicated to the goddess Barjeshwari Devi.
Known for its legendary wealth it was invaded in
1009 AD by Mahmud of Ghazni who departed with King's ransom in
gold, silver and jewels. Earthquake of 1905 destroyed it
completely. Rebuilt in the present form in
1920, it continues to be a busy palace
of pilgrimage. Old Jain temple
and Gupt Ganga are the other attraction of the town. Jayanti Devi temple is
7 km and the Kangra mandir railway station 3 km from the main bus stand.
Shri Bajreshwari
Devi Temple
 The Kangra town, known to the
ancients as Nagarkot, is the seat of Shri Bajreshwari Devi. Mr. F.
Cunningham's District Gazetteer of Kangra has the following account
of the Bajreshwari temple in kangra "'The temple of Bajreshwari
or Vagreshwari Devi at Kangra is - perhaps
the most famous in this district. It is said to have been founded by
the divinity of that name at a famous Ashwamedh or horsesacrifice,
which was held on the spot. The famous Mehmood of Ghazni is said to have invaded
the district and destroyed the temple, building a mosque on its
ruins It was, however, restored and is said to have been visited by
Akbar together
with his celebrated Diwan Todar Mal. There are some temples in the
vicinity which, are, said to have owed their origin to Todar Mal.
Finally, Maharaja Ranjit Singh visited and
under his orders the domes of the temples here and at Jawalamukhi were gilded.
Subsequently devotees from Amritsar subscribed together and
presented the temple with marble floor." Through the main temple was
ravaged by foreign invader and flattened by the 1905 earthquake, it has since been
restored to its pristine glory. At Kangra, one can also visit the
historical Kangra Fort, the `Gupta Ganga Kshetra' and also trek
up to Jyanti Devi temple situated on a hillock to the West of
Kangra. There is a beautiful Jain temple near the Fort. Kangra is 20
km from Dharamshala
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