Hadimba Devi Temple, also known as the Hadimba Temple, is located in Manali, a hill station in the State of Himachal Pradesh in north India. It is an ancient cave temple dedicated to Hadimba Devi, sister of Hidimb, who was a character in the Indian epic, Mahabharata. The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest at the foot of the Himalayas. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground, which was worshiped as an image of the deity.

The structure was built in the year 1553.Hadimba, a ‘Rakshashi’ in the Mahabharata has been deified and is worshipped in this area. According to Mahabharata ‘Hadimba Rakshash’ ruled some of the sub-mountainous tracts of the Himalayas. His sister was Hadimba or Hadimba.manali taxi service, taxi service in manali, attrctions in manali The Hadimba Devi Temple has intricately carved wooden doors and a 24 meters tall wooden “shikhar” or tower above the sanctuary. The tower consists of three square roofs covered with timber tiles and a fourth brass cone-shaped roof at the top. The earth goddess Durga forms the theme of the main door carvings. The temple base is made out of whitewashed, mud-covered stonework.

An enormous rock occupies the inside of the temple, only a 7.5 cm (3 inch) tall brass image representing goddess Hadimba Devi. A rope hangs down in front of the rock, and according to a legend, in bygone days religious zealots would tie the hands of “sinners” by the rope and then swing them against the rock.About 70 meters away from the temple, there is a shrine dedicated to Goddess Hadimba’s son, Ghatotkacha who was born after she married Bhima. As per another legend, the architect of the temple had to lose his hand for this masterpiece. King was afraid of duplication of the master craft and he ordered architect’s hand to be cut. This anecdote might have some portion of reality and truth, with only the temple being a mute witness. It is also said that this could not stop the master architect, who trained his left hand and at the request of the people, executed an even finer temple at Trilokinath in Chamba.

The temple is also known for a fair held every year in Hindi month of Sravan in the memory of Raja Bahadur Singh, who built the temple. The fair is popularly known as Bahadur Singh Re Jatar among locals. There is another fair too which is held on 14th May each year in the celebration of birthday of Hadimba Devi. Women around and from Dhungri forest come and celebrates this fair with music and dance.

When heading to Manali for a vacation, two absolutely essential destinations in the itinerary are Rohtang and Solang Valley. 14 kilometres to the north west of the main town of Manali, Solang Valley is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. Situated on the way to Rohtang from Manali, every year the valley welcomes tourists in huge numbers. A favorite for adventure enthusiasts, Parachuting to paragliding, horse riding to driving mini open jeeps specially available for tourists of all age groups, Solang has it all.

During winters, as the valley is covered with snow, skiing is a popular sport here, with training institutes and trainers located in the valley to supervise skiers and train beginners. As the snow melts, skiing is taken over by zorbing. Another popular attraction of the valley, taking advantage of the slopes of the valley, you are likely to spot a huge transparent ball with mostly two people inside it rolling down the slope during summers, it is as much fun as it looks like. One of the most vibrant and enjoyable places in Manali, there is no way one can possibly miss this valley, while here.

Vashisht Temple located few kilometers away from Manali. The beautiful small village located east of the Beas River spread the energy of positivity and is a true backpacker’s paradise. Locals and tourists love to visit this place which gives a tremendous view of nature and provide inner satisfaction deep in the sole.

Vashistha village is extremely significant when it comes to the heritage Indian Hindu culture as one of the saptrishis rishi Vashistha stayed there for sometimes. There is a hot water spring known as Vashisht kund. According to legend the saddened Rishi Vashisht after knowing that his children were killed by Vishwamitra tried to commit suicide, but the river refused to kill him (refer Wikipedia).

The river was therefore named as Vipasha which means ‘ freedom from bondage.’ It was later shortened to Beas River. He began mediating and vowed to start his new life. The Vashisht temple is believed to be more than 4000 years old.

Lord Rama
There is also an ancient stone temple of Lord Rama adjacent to the Vashisht temple. The place is an important Hindu Pilgrimage center. The hot spring of the village is believed to have been created by Lakshman, the younger brother of Lord Ram.

The creation of the spring is associated with the belief that since Lakshman, did not want the sage Vashisht to have to walk too far for a bath; he shot an arrow into the ground, and the hot springs emerged. Vashisht offers an excellent view of the Beas River and the Old Manali. The river valley spread below at sunset gives an excellent sight and perfect for photography.

Beside the gurgling stream of Beas River, Vashisht Village is stationed upon a summit. The village is well known for the Vashisht Temple, named after Rishi Vashisht, one of the seven Hindu sages. Many pilgrims bathe in the hot spring inside the temple. It is said that this spring has medicinal values and there are separate arrangements of bathing for men and women.

At an elevation of 13,054 ft, Rohtang Pass serves as the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh. About 53 km from Manali, it connects Kullu valley with Lahaul and Spiti which in turn provide access to Leh. Besides Lahaul and Spiti, Rohtang Pass also serves as the gateway to Pangi and the valley of Leh. Like the Zojila Pass, Rohtang also serves as the gateway to Ladakh.

A drive on Rohtang Pass offers wonderful views of surrounding peaks, glaciers, Chandra River, and Lahaul Valley, along with twin peaks of Geypan. Self-drive on this road is quite challenging due to its meandering curves and thin stretch. Other options are local cab or tourist bus.

Rohtang Pass is open between June and October as during the remaining months, it is covered with a snow, making it inaccessible. During the peak season, the pass is jam-packed and thus to avoid delay, one must leave quite early. It is quite popular amid adventure junkies and features in the list of must-visit places of Manali.

Tourists can enjoy various kinds of adventure activities at Snow Point such as sledge ride, mountain biking, snow scooter, ski ride, tyre drop and skiing. Equipment are available on rent. Enjoy making igloos with snow. There are no accommodation options here. Nearest stay is in Manali. As far as food is concerned, you can either carry your own food or can enjoy food at roadside eateries and dhabas. On the way, there are clothes selling sticks, snow clothes etc.

Another attraction here is the Rahala waterfall that is 16 km from Manali, on the way to Rohtang Pass. The scenery here is breathtaking. Do not forget to click memorable photographs. Popular track ‘Yeh Ishq Haaye’ of Bollywood blockbuster ‘Jab We Met’ was shot at Rohtang Pass. Nehru Kund, Kothi, Gulaba and Marhi are other attractions near the pass.

Rohtang Pass Tourist Permit
There are two types of permits available for Rohtang Pass. One is for people visiting Rohtang from Manali which is known as the tourist permit. With this permit, you will only be allowed to travel to Rohtang and then will have to return to Manali on same day. You cannot go all the way to Rohtang top or cross it over towards Keylong. For this permit, you will need to pay a sum of Rs. 500 as permit fee and Rs. 50 congestion charge, so a total of Rs. 550 per vehicle. Heavy motor vehicles like buses, trucks and tempo travelers will have to pay Rs. 100 for congestion charge so a total of Rs. 600 per permit. The farthest you can go with this permit is Snow point on Rohtang Road.

This is the permit which is limited in number; only 1200 per day; is issued on first come first serve basis; and is becoming hard to get these days.

Beyond Rohtang Pass Permit
Second permit is called Beyond Rohtang Permit. This permit is issued for people who want to cross Rohtang over and then travel towards Ladakh, Spiti or Lahaul Valley. Using this permit, you will have to cross over Rohtang and cannot come back to Manali the same day. If you try to come back, you will be stopped at the check post and fined for it. For this permit, you will only have to pay a congestion charge of Rs. 50. Permit of Rs. 500 is not applicable for this permit. This is the permit which is not limited in number and is comparatively easier to get.

In both the cases, There will no refund if you do not use or try to cancel your permit.