One trip sows the seed for the next. A lazy afternoon at a hotel in Sanchi sparked our plan to go to Manimahesh.he A travel documentary in TV was covering the temple complex in Bharmour, and the host left us longing for more by telling about the trek to Manimahesh. Thus it began - planning for Manimahesh. It is said that till the Lord calls, Manimahesh remains unreachable - it was a message conveyed through television for the two of us, Nilanjan and myself. Despite our best efforts to include quite a few others for the trip, everyone else dropped out in the end, some lacking in interest, others for reasons that can only be termed divine intervention; the message was definitely just for the two of us!!
The route is simple. An overnite train ride to Pathankot in Punjab. Pathankot is the gateway to the Himachal hills. From there, it is an estimated 6 hour drive to Bharmour via Chamba, which is the district capital. Bharmour is the town nearest to Manimahesh where you can find proper accommodation for the night. Don’t miss the ghee-soaked aaloo paratha breakfast at Pathankot before you leave for the long
He bholya shakara lyrics On our part, though we were aware of the early start advice, we still wanted to visit the temple complex at Bharmour, one that we had watched on TV. This is called the Chaurasi temple for the 84 shrines that are there in the perimeter. this is the only temple dedicated to Dharmaraj anywhere in the world. Another deity quite widely worshipped in this part of India is Kartik (the son of Lord Durga). I have not seen a temple dedicated to Lord Kartik anywhere before. We hurried with our homage to the gods and goddesses, skipping quite a few shrines in the process.
Manimahesh
Manimahesh is a high altitude lake perched at a height of more than 4000 metre. There is a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is well-known to have picked up some of the most inaccessible spots up in the mountains as His abode. Every year in the month of September, around Krishna Janmastami devotees undertake this journey, known widely as the Manimahesh Yatra. The Himachal Government makes good arrangements for the pilgrims for about 14 days centered on this yatra by providing with tents at intermediate points in the trek, as well as at the final destination of Manimahesh. We reached couple of weeks after the Yatra.
we should carry tents from Bharmour. On the brighter side, we could avoid the crowd that usually spoils the serenity of such a place. To our surprise, there was hardly another soul throughout the entire trek, so much so, that there wasn’t a chance to take a snap of the two brave souls together. We took our chance on the assurance that we will find at least one person who stays up at Manimahesh till the end of October, and provides food and shelter to the unexpected visitors like us.The walk began from Hadsar at a height of 2280 metre. Fresh legs and the promise of a view of the snow-clad peaks carried us forward quite briskly through the first half hour. But soon we could feel the strain of this journey. Nilanjan wisely picked up a stick lying on the path. It turned out to be useful as the gradient kept increasing. The pace reduced, the pauses to catch our breath back increased.
