Hidimba Devi Mandir Manali. According to tradition she was the wife of third Pandava Bhim. The temple is about a 15 minute walk from Mall road. Temple is made of wood, made by Raja Bahadur
Singh in 1553. Temple is in a forest called Dhungri Van Vihar.
Temple is surrounded by deodar trees. Just walking thru is a pleasure. Met these cops who were going for darshan. Hidimba Mata is worshipped by all communities in Manali.
Board is self-explanatory. There is no idol, only a foot print on a stone has been kept.
Entrance to temple.
Wooden panel. It has images of animals and Gods etc. Top part is a Navagraha panel. Bottom right to left second panel is Siva Parvati sitting on Nandi. Same position on left side is
Vishnu with Lakshmi sitting on vehicle Garuda. Image of Ganesha in the centre of the lintel. The uppermost part is decorated with motifs of Buddhist characters.
Centre panel seems like an image of Siva. Left are skulls of deers and local equivalent of a buffalo.
Left is local pandit (priest) and a lady who had come to the temple for a ceremony.
Hidimba Mata procession on Mall road. I was in hotel when heard about it. Ran out to catch up with them.
Close to Hidimba Mandir is her son Vir Gatothkach ka temple. This place has been the altar of worship of Vir Gatothkach since time immemorial.
This is the tree. Close by is a private museum, worth a visit.
Giant deodar trees close to Hidimba temple. In many places in Manali saw large patches of giant deodar trees, think they are maintained by the forest department. It is lovely.
To know more about temple Click here
Inside the private museum. Wooden model of key monuments in region. Left front is Kamru Fort in Sangla. Behind that is Prashar Temple. Centre right in front is Gondhla Fort. Behind that is a
typical Kullu home. Right front is Brahma Temple. End is Chaini Kothi. In between what u cannot see is Kinnauri house. To see pics of Sangla Valley Click here
Side view of Hidimba Devi Temple. Prashar temple is in village Kamand 12 kms from Kullu. It took 60 years to build temple. Chaini Kothi is 35 kms from Kullu. It was used by rulers to store
ammunition, is at Banjar. Brahma temple is at Kokan, 50 kms from Manali. Gondhla Fort is 17 kms from Keylong. Raja Man Singh of Kulli built the fort in 1688. It is 7 storeys. On 5th floor is a
veranda from where the ruler would listen to public and pronounce judgements.
After offering pranams at Hidimba Devi walked to old Manali. Took about 15 minutes. Once you cross the river enter old Manali. It has lots of hotels, cafes and locals as well. Mostly foreigners
stay here. Typical local home that I saw whilst walking to Manu Temple.
Virtually on top of the hill is Manu Mandir. Lovely walk. From here it is a 11km trek to Solang Valley. Next time hope to do. The town Manali gets its name from Rishi Manu. Ancient name of Manali
is Manualaya that means Abode of Manu.
According to tradition a small temple existed earlier. Idols in that temple are kept in the sanctum of current temple. Visited Manali in August which was not peak season. Better to visit then. Lots
of places to stay, at varying budgets. U can stay out of Manali too. I quite liked the place.
Family who live in a traditional home next to temple and are local musicians for generations painting a musical instrument.
Next to the temple is loom that sells shawls, the region''s biggest cottage industry. Saw the stuff pretty good. If you like to buy call Amar Chandra 91 98165 06609 or 91 94185 43698. To see
pictures of Indian Army Museum Leh called Hall of FameClick here
This is a typical cafe in old Manali. This part of Manali is quiet, not so many tourists - no honeymoon couples-great place to relax and read a book. Probably cheaper too. To see pics of
Khhang Shiling trek Click here
View of old Manali from a height. In front traditional home with stone on top (keeps u warm in winter and cool in summer) and then hotels with deodar trees as a backdrop. To see pics of
Dharamshala Click here