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Hidimba Devi temple
Hidimba Devi temple stands in the
midst of a sacred cedar forest near the town of Dunghri at the
verdant foot of the Himalaya mountains. The sanctuary is built over
an enormous rock that juts out of the ground, worshipped as a
manifestation of Durga, the "Hill Mother" or goddess of the earth.
The temple was constructed in 1553 by Maharaja Bahadur Singh, who
made a promise to the Hidimba deity of the Mahabharata epic.
The temple is rather unusual and is
architecturally similar only to the temple of Tripura Sundari in
Naggar (also in the Kulu valley). The Hidimba Devi temple is 24
meters tall and consists of three square roofs clad in timber tiles,
surmounted by a cone-shaped fourth roof that is covered in brass.
The interior of the temple is occupied by the large rock and
contains no useable space except for the ground floor. Curiously, a
rope dangles from the ridge that is said to have been used to hang
victims by the hand, who were then swung--bleeding and bruised--over
the large rock in the presence of the goddess.
The base of the temple is made of
whitewashed mud-covered stonework. The main doorway includes an
elaborately carved wooden entrance that is believed to be over 400
years old. These and other carvings center on the goddess Durgha
who is a mainstay of pan-Indian stories. However, the goddess
herself is represented only once in a three inch tall brass image.
MANU TEMPLE: 3 kms. from the main bazar in old Manali lies the
temple of MANU RISHI. It is believed that this is the only temple of
Manu in India, who was the creator of human race on the earth.
CLUB HOUSE: 2 kms. from the town, club house has indoor games
facilities which has been located on the left bank of Manalsu Nallah.
There are some picnic spots near it.
TIBETAN MONASTERIES: There are 3 newly constructed colorful
monasteries, where visitors can buy carpets and other Tibetan
handicrafts. Two are located in the town and one at Aleo on the left
bank of Beas river.
MOUNTAINEERING INSTITUTE: Located 3 kms. on the left bank of
river Beas towards Kulu. This Institute organises basic & advance
training courses, in trekking, mountaineering, skiing and water
sports. Skiing and trekking equipments can be hired from here by
booking in advance. Tourists can visit an interesting showroom here.
VASHIST HOT WATER SPRINGS AND TEMPLE (3 Kms): Vashist, a small
village located on the left bank of river Beas towards Rohtang pass
is worth a visit. It is renowned for its hot springs and temples.
Nearby is the pyramidal stone temple dedicated to Vashist Muni.
There is another Temple of Lord Ram here. Natural hot sulphur
springs with two separate bathing tanks for gents and ladies are
always full of tourists. Turkish style showers fitted baths have
also been built nearby. Hot water from the nearby spring is provided
for bathing.
NEHRU KUND: 5 kms. on National Highway to Leh,a natural spring
of cold clear water named after Pt. Jwahar Lal Nehru, who used to
drink water from this spring during his stay in Manali. This spring
is believed to originate from the Bhrigu lake situated high-up in
the mountains.
SOLANG VALLEY: 13 kms. is a splendid valley between Solang
village and Beas Kund. Solang valley offers the view of glaciers and
snow capped mountains and peaks. It has fine ski slopes. The
Mountaineering Institute has installed a ski lift for training
purpose. Located here is a hut and guest house of the Mountaineering
and Allied sports Institute, Manali. Now a few hotels have also come
up. The winter skiing festival is organised here. Training in skiing
is imparted at this place.
KOTHI: Situated on the road to Rohtang pass, a picturesque spot,
Kothi is 12kms. from Manali. A PWD rest house is situated on a ridge
overlooking a narrow valley with a very good view of mountains and
valleys. Large number of films (movies) have been picturised at this
place and is the ideal resting resorts of poets, writers and the
lovers of peaceful environs.
RAHALA WATER FALLS: 16 kms. on way to Rohtang pass. If one goes
to Marhi on foot from Kothi from the old road, the sight of the
falls is fascinating. It is a good picnic spot as well.
Rohtang Pass
(el. 3978 m./13,051 ft.) is a high
mountain pass that connects the
Kullu Valley with the
Lahul and Spiti valleys of
Himachal Pradesh,
India.
The pass is only open from June to
September, has a well-deserved reputation for being very dangerous
because of unpredictable snowstorms.In fact in the local language ,rohtang
literally means the "pile of corpses".
The pass provides a natural cultural
divide between the foothills and wet lowlands of northern India and
its primarily Hindu
culture, with the dry desert uplands north of the first range of
the Himalayas
and its mainly
Buddhist and heavily Tibetan-influenced culture.
There is a small temple at the top of
the pass with a spring that is the source of the
Beas River.
The road through the
Kullu Valley, past
Manali and over the Rohtang Pass to
Keylong, and Lahul and on to
Ladakh, has become
very busy during the summer months as a military route, because of
the troubles in
Kashmir which have meant that the road from
Srinagar to
Leh is now less
used. Traffic jams (as pictured) are common occurrences caused by
the inability of military vehicles, trucks, and goods carriers to
navigate the tight roads and rough terrain, not to mention, snow and
ice.
ARJUN GUFA(CAVE): 4kms. from Manali towards Naggar, the cave is
situated near Prini village 1km. above the road where Arjun had
meditated. This is good 1/2 a day excursion with charming view of
the brilliant mountains.
JAGATSUKH: 6 Kms. from Manali located on the left bank on Beas
on the road to Naggar. The place is famous for very old temples of
Lord Shiva and Sandhya Gayatri in Shikhara style, these are worth a
visit.
Adventure Sports
Skiing is a major pastime in Manali.
Facilities for skiing are available at Solang Nullah (January-March)
and Rohtang La (during summer). The Mountaineering Institute at
Solang Nullah is a good training institute. Heli skiing is possible
at the deep snowfields.
The Mountaineering Institute and Allied
Sports is about 3 km from the Mall and offers mountaineering and
kayaking courses. Kayaking is possible on the Beas River.
There are several good hikes from
Manali. The 12 km hike up the western banks of the Beas to the
Solang Valley is noteworthy. Lama Dugh meadow is a 6 km hike up to
the Manalsu Nala, west of Manali town.
For the best trekking expedition, take
a trek from Solang Valley, on to Dhundhi and from there to Dussar
lake and then onwards to Manali. This stretch will take you to
places you would have only dreamt of. Pure, unadulterated adventure
and fun. Be sure to have a good guide at your disposal who knows
this area otherwise you would be lost forever. The trek would
typically last for 5 days.
In the summers, several travel agencies
organize paragliding on the slopes of the Solang Nullah. The charges
generally include accommodation, food, equipment, and a guide, but
not transport.
From May to July and, depending on the
monsoons, from mid-September to mid-October, some basic rafting is
possible on the Beas. The trips generally begin at Pirdi and
continue 16 km down to Jhiri.
The HPTDC provides day permits for
fishing. Permits can be obtained also at Patlikhul. Angling in the
Kullu valley is possible at Larji, Katrain and Kasol.
Beas Kund is the lake from which the
River Beas originates. It is considered holy and sacred. Besides
being a holy pilgrimage place, it is a popular destination for
trekking.
Sports
Manali is among the most popular
adventure sports destinations in India. Manali offers opportunities
for mountaineering, skiing, trekking, paragliding, white water
rafting, and mountain biking. Yak skiing is a sport unique to this
area.. Manali also featured in Time magazine's "Best of Asia" for
its "Extreme Yak Sports". | 