Monday, November 8, 2010

Dev Bhumi Himachal Pradesh

Kasauli, one of the most popular hill stations of India is a small  town in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. It is located 77 Kms. from Shimla and 65 Kms. from Chandigarh  at a height of 1930 meters near Dharampur.



Like Shimla, Kasauli was also developed by Britishers. Britishers established a cantonment in 1842 at this hill station which still retains the old charm and natural beauty of the past. The town is full of greenery and flowers of various kinds along with unmatched cleanliness which you rarely get to see at such hill stations. The town is the home of the Kasauli Brewery, which is the highest brewery and distillery in the world. The Pasteur Institute, Kasauli, is the oldest institute of India producing anti-rabies vaccines.
Famous tourist spots include the Kasauli Mall, Sunset point, Sunrise point, Christ church and Manki Point (Monkey point). "Manki Point" is famous for Hanuman temple and is situated at the highest tip of Kasauli.  According to myths, Lord Hanuman after collecting the "Sanjeevani booti" (herb) from Himalayas, on his way back to Lanka (Sri Lanka), touched this hill and it is believed that  hill has taken the shape of a foot because of that.

From the mountain top, one can have a panoramic view of the Chandigarh and surroundings. A visit to "Manki Point" will certainly be a refreshing and breathtaking experience for you. Just so you know, you have to walk uphill to reach the "Manki Point".


Be informed that the Hanuman temple at "Manki Point" lies in Air-force area. You can't carry your mobile phone, camera and any other electronic gadget. Make sure to carry a identity proof if you wish to visit "Manki Point".











Kathgarh temple, Indora (Kangra)

Dev Bhoomi Himachal- the land of lords has some of the rarest and old temples which have their references in the history books. This time we're talking about one of such rare and only temple in the world. Lord Shiva temple at 'Kathgarh' (Indora, Kangra), has something interesting and unusual similar to Bijli Mahadev in Kullu. The temple has a large 'Shivaling', which is vertically split in two parts. The distance between two parts keeps increasing and decreasing from time to time. The larger portion is worshiped as Lord Shiva and second one as his better half, 'Parvati'.

According to one of the myths, once Lord 'Vishnu' and Lord 'Brahma' got engaged in a battle to decide supremacy. To stop the warring Gods Lord 'Shiva' intervened in the shape of a fire pillar and made the warring Gods stop the battle. The large “Shivaling” at 'Kathgarh' is believed to be the same fire pillar.

According to another story in Indian epic 'Ramayana', king 'Bharat', the brother of lord Rama, use to pay obeisance to Lord 'Shiva' at this pillar on his way to his grandparents in 'Kashmir'.

'Kathgarh' temple also seem to have some connection with Greek invaders when they stopped there. The statue is about size of a human above the floor, and it is believed that same length is buried under the floor. It could be one of the statues of Apollo, which Alexander the great is described to have built and worshiped on high platforms to mark the spot from where he retreated.

Visit to the temple will surely be a refreshing spiritual retreat.

Way to Kathgarh temple

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