The historic town of Mandi (800 m) is built along the banks of the river Beas. It has long been an important commercial centre and the sage Mandva is said to have meditated here. This one time capital of the princely state of Mandi is a fast developing town that still retains much of its original charm and character. Today, it is a district headquarters. Mandi is renowned for its 81 old stone temples and their enormous range of fine carving, it is often called the ‘Varanasi of the Hills’. The town has remains of old palaces and notable examples of ‘colonial’ architecture. HPTDC runs a hotel here.GENERAL INFORMATION
AREA: 3950 sq. kmPOPULATION: 9.01 lakhCLOTHING: Cotton clothes in Summer and woolen to heavy woolen in winter.LANGUAGE: Hindi, Punjabi, English are understood and spoken by the people engaged in tourism trade.APPROACHRAIL: The nearest railway stations are Joginder Nagar and Shimla by narrow gauge train, Chandigarh and Kalka by broad gauge train which are connected by regular bus services.ROAD: Mandi is approachable by road from Shimla, Chandigarh, Pathankot and Delhi. There are regular bus services linking it to the other towns like Manali, Palampur and Dharamshala.WHOM TO CONTACT
For accommodation and guidance on sight seeing, please contact:
District Tourism Development Officer, Mandi. Phone: 01905-237635.
Private Travel Agents.
WHAT TO SEE
1.
REWALSAR: About 25 km from Mandi, 14 km from Ner Chownk is the Rewalsar lake, famous for its floating islands of reed. It is believed that all seven of them can be moved by prayer or breeze. There are three shrines here, 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. Lying in a mountain hollow, the lake is held sacred to all three communities, boating facilities are available. Tourist inn maintained by HPTDC provide accomodation and Indian cuisine.
2.
PRASHAR: Standing majestically amidst alpine pastures at a height of 9600 ft in the hills of Mandi, the Prasher Lake is emerging as a new tourist destination. The place has immense potential for tourism but it remained in oblivion all these years.This lake lies 40 k.m. north of Mandi, with a three storied pagoda like temple dedicated to the sage Prashar.
3.
JOGINDER NAGAR: The large hydro-electric project in Jogindernagar is a living tribute to man he has harnessed and tamed the wild and roaring river for his betterment.Here an electric trolley takes the visitor up the steep,rocky face of 2,500 metres-high(8,202 ft) mountain and drops sharply on the other side to Barot,where the reservoir is located.
The railway line goes up to the power station,the water rushing down from the reservoir at Barot in the Uhl river through penstock pipes going down nearly a thousand metres(3,280 ft). For tourists who go up to Barot by the trolley there is a comfortable rest house of the Electricity department.The roads extends beyond to Mandi and passes the Largi gorge to the Kullu valley.
Bassi power station is five kilometres from Jogindernagar and next to it, is Machinhar where fishing is not permitted as it is considered a sacred spot, but it is a popular as a feeding spot for fish.
4.
SUNDER NAGAR: Famous for its temples,26 k.m. from Mandi towards Shimla and at a height of 1,174 metres on the raised edge of a fertile valley, the beautiful town of Sundernagar is known for its shady walks amidst towering trees. On top of a hill and visited by thousands of devotees every year, is 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 Sudernagar. The Beas-Sutlej link colony is the biggest colony in Himachal Pradesh.
5.
JANJEHLI: At a distance of 67 k.m. from Mandi,Janjehli is a paradise for hikers, offering treks up to a height of 3,300 metres. After covering 32 k.m. by a motorable road up to Gohar and rest of the journey is on foot. In the midest of thick forest, forests (15 km from Gohar) is Bajahi.There is a beautiful and well furnished rest house to stay overnight, from here Janjehli is a scant 20 km away through bridle path
6.
SHIKARI MATA Placed at a sublime height of 3359m above sea level, Shikari Devi temple is 18km from Chindi (a tiny hamlet on the ridge of the Karsog Valley in the Himalayas, admired for its splendid view of the pine and deodar woods and apple orchards) in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh. The temple is an antique, roofless shrine, situated at the apex of a hill in Shikari Devi. Encircled by dense woods, the temple commands brilliant views of the snow-topped mountains and wooded hills all round. The Shikari Devi temple is devoted to Shikari Devi, the goddess revered in the form of a stone idol. Legend speaks that the temple has been in existence since the period of the Pandavas. Kamru Nag Temple, Rohanda, Barot, Karsog, Chindi, Shikari Devi Sanctuary, Mamaleshwar Temple and Sundernagar are the popular tourist attractions in the vicinity. The temple encompasses a Forest Rest House and also a Serai (inn), where worshippers can stay overnight. Shikari Devi temple is a perfect base for trekking. The temple can be approached from Janjehli and Karsog. Joginder Nagar Railway Station is the closest railhead.
7.
.PANDOH Pandoh Dam is a diversion dam of the River Beas at Pandoh situated about 21 Kms. Upstream of town of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh on Mandi Kullu Road. It is a zoned earth-cum-rockfill dam 76.20m(250 ft.)high above the deepest foundation. A chute spillway with flip bucket for maximum design outflow of 350000 cs. has been provided on left abutment. There are five bays in which high pressure top seal type radial gates have been installed for regulating flow of water. Each gate is independently operated by 200 tonnes capacity cylindrical hydraulic hoists.
Recent Comments