PLACES
TO VISIT
Tarna
Hill : For a cool respite from the town, take
an auto-rickshaw up the very steep four or five km to
Tarana Hill. At the top of the hill, the Rani Amrit
Kaur Park (opened by the Dalai Lama in 1957) has superb
views of the area, and there's a nice cafe for lunch
or a snack. In the park, the 17th century Hindu Syamakali
Temple, also called the Tarana Devi Temple, is worth
a look.
Triloknath
Shiva Temple : It is built in the Nagari style
with a tiled roof. The temple at the centre of 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.
Bhutnath
Temple : 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.
Syamakali
Temple : 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.
Ardhanarishvara
Temple : 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
Other
Places are : Rewalsar, Prashar, Sunder Nagar
and Janjheli
HOW
TO REACH SHIMLA?
|| BY
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.
|| BY
RAIL ||
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.
