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Built
along the Beas river is the historic town of
Mandi, the gateway to the Kullu valley. Literally
meaning market, Mandi was on the salt route to
Tibet. This place offers better option to break
journey to the Kullu valley. A district
headquarter, Mandi is also renowned for its 81 old
stone temples with exquisite carvings, thereby
earning it the title of 'Varanasi of the Hills'.
The town also has some remains of old palaces and
notable examples of the 'colonial' architecture.
The Shivaratri Bhutnath celebrations in the
Bhutnath temple attract tourists every year in
large numbers. There are also two lakes near
Mandi, which provide a good breather for the
visitor. About five kms from the main town is the
Tarana hills and on the top of the hill is Rani
Amrit Kaur Park. From here one gets very good view
of the nearby areas. The park has enclosed the
Syama Kali temple, which was, built some where in
the 17th century.
In the days of yore, the pious sage, Mandavaya,
performed long and severe penance and practised
unthinkable austerities on his body, on the right
bank of the river Beas, near the present town,
which, then took his name.
A group
of sculpted stones shrines, overlooks the river
and offers good views. Inside the temple, Lord
Shiva has been depicted as the lord of the three
worlds, at the Panchvakhra he has five faces,
expressing his five aspects.
Practically synonymous with Mandi and located in
its very heart, this temple is as old as the town
itself, dating back to the 1520's. It has a Nandi
or god Shiva's bull facing the ornamental double
arch to the sanctuary. The modern shrines nearby
are brightly painted. In the month of March, the
festival of Shivratri is a major event and
Bhootnath Temple is its focus.
Also
known as the Tarna Devi Temple, this temple is
situated on the Tarna Hill, which rises above the
town. Raja Syama Sen built the temple in the 17th
century after a particularly trying time when the
goddess gave him success.
This
7th century specimen of temple architecture,
enclosed structure of Lord Shiva in a composite
form with the right half as male and the left half
as female- symbolising the male and female
principles of cosmic evolution
About
25-km from Mandi, and 14-km from Ner Chowk is the
Revalsar lake, famous for its seven floating
islands of
reed. It is maintained that all seven of them can
be moved by prayer or breeze. Here are three
shrines - a Buddhist monastery, where elaborate
rituals are performed, a Sikh Gurudwara and a
Hindu temple. It was from this place that the Sage
Padma Sambhava, a zealous teacher of Buddhism,
left as a missionary to preach the doctrine of
"The Enlightened" in Tibet.
Famous
of its temples 26-Km from Mandi towards Shimla and
at a height of 1,174m (3,852 ft) on the raised
edge of the fertile valley, the beautiful town of
Sundernagar is known, also for its shady walks
amidst towering trees. On top of a hill and
visited by thousands of devotees every year, the
Sukhdev Vatika and temple of Mahamaya. The biggest
hydro-electric project in all Asia, the Beas-Sutlej
Project, irrigating nearly one-fourth of the
northern plains of India, has brought
unprecedented prosperity to Sundernagar. The Beas-Sutlej
Link colony is the biggest colony in Himachal
Pradesh.
At a
distance of 67-km from Mandi, Janjehli is a
paradise for hikers, offering treks up to a height
of 3,300m.(10,827 ft). After covering 32-km by a
motorable road up to Gohar, the rest of the
journey is on foot. In the midst of thick forests,
15-km from Gohar, at Bajahi is beautifully
located, well furnished, Rest House, to stay
overnight, from where Janjehli is a scant 20-km
away, after going through bridle path.
40-km
on the banks of the lake is a storyed pagoda-like
temple dedicated to sage Parashar.
Situated on the border of Mandi with Hamirpur,
this fort was built by Raja Surat Sen in 1625.
Just
16-km away from Mandi, Pandoh is an earth and
rockfill dam.
15-km
from Janjehli is situated the ancient temple of
Shikhra Devi and is surrounded by some marvellous
landscapes
The
nearest airport is Bhuntar about 57-km from Mandi.
The
broad gauge railhead is at Pathankot, a distance
of 210-km. From Pathankot the narrow gauge railway
connects Joginder Nagar, which is 55-km from
Mandi. |
