Vinayaraj · File:Hadimba Devi Temple, Hidimba Devi Temple Dhungari Temple Manali and around vrtmrgmpksk (14).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hadimba_Devi_Temple,_Hidimba_Devi_Temple_Dhungari_Temple_Manali_and_around_vrtmrgmpksk_(14).jpg
Attraction · Manali
Hadimba Devi Temple
A four-tiered pagoda of cedar and stone built in 1553 over a bare rock, in a grove of deodar above the town — and dedicated to a demoness rather than a goddess, which is not something you find twice.
Time needed45 minutes
Best timeEarly morning
WhereDhungri, above Old Manali
Built1553
Dedicated toHidimba, of the Mahabharata
FootwearRemoved at the door
About
Hadimba Devi
The temple stands in a stand of old deodar on the slope above Manali, and almost everything about it is unusual. It was built in 1553, in the local pagoda form — four diminishing tiers of timber roof, the lowest ones shingled and the top one conical and metal-clad — over a rock outcrop rather than over an installed idol, so the object of worship is the rock itself and a small brass image beside it. The dedication is stranger still. Hidimba was a rakshasi, a demoness of the Mahabharata, who met and married Bhima in the forest; almost nowhere else in India is a figure of that kind the principal deity of a temple, and here she is the guardian of the valley. The carved wooden doorway, dense with animals and dancers, is the other reason to come. The forest around it does as much work as the building.
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What to See
What to see
A small building in a big grove. Fifteen minutes will cover it and forty-five is better spent.
The temple
- The four-tiered roof, each stage smaller than the one below, in the pagoda form that Himachal uses and almost nowhere else in India does.
- The carved doorway and its surround — deities, animals, dancers and geometric bands, cut into deodar and worn smooth by four and a half centuries of hands.
- The rock inside. There is no grand image; the shrine is built around a natural outcrop, which is why the interior is far smaller than the exterior suggests.
- The horns and skulls fixed to the outer walls, left as offerings, which are part of the temple rather than a curiosity added to it.
The grove
- The deodar forest the temple sits in — old, dense and cool, and the reason the site feels a long way from the town it is ten minutes above.
- The Ghatotkacha shrine a short walk away, dedicated to Hidimba and Bhima’s son, which is a tree rather than a building and is easy to walk past.
- The clearing where the angora rabbits and yaks are brought for photographs. It is a livelihood and it is entirely avoidable if it is not for you.
If you have longer
- Walk down through Dhungri into Old Manali rather than driving back — twenty minutes downhill through orchards and stone-and-timber houses.
- The Manu Temple in Old Manali, dedicated to the lawgiver of the Manusmriti, is a further climb and is very much quieter.
- The Dhungri forest paths continue above the temple and are walkable for as long as you want them to be.
Getting There
Getting there
About two kilometres above the Mall, and the one major sight in Manali you can reach on foot.
From Manali
- Roughly two kilometres from the Mall — ten minutes by car, or a steady uphill walk of about half an hour through Old Manali.
- Taxis wait at the Mall and at the temple. Agree the fare before you set off; there is no meter anywhere in the valley.
- It is almost always combined with Vashisht across the river and Solang up the valley as one half-day.
At the temple
- Footwear comes off at the entrance to the enclosure and there is a stand for it.
- The interior is very small and a queue forms on weekends and through the summer season. The grove absorbs it better than the building does.
- There is a modest entry arrangement for cameras at some times; ask at the gate rather than assuming.
Combining it
- With Old Manali, which is directly below and is the walk back rather than a second drive.
- With Vashisht, ten minutes across the Beas, whose sulphur springs make an obvious pairing.
- With Solang in the afternoon, which is the standard Manali day in every package that comes here.
Best Time
When to visit
Early, and ideally not on a weekend. The building is small and the grove is what suffers from a crowd.
Time of day
- The first hour after opening, when the light comes through the deodar at an angle and the queue has not formed.
- Late afternoon is the second-best, with the grove in shade and the coach parties gone.
- The middle of the day in season is the busiest and the least rewarding.
Time of year
- March to June is the main season — warm days, and the grove is at its best in late spring.
- Late September to November is quieter, clearer and colder, and many people prefer it.
- December to February brings snow to the grove, which is genuinely beautiful and closes some of the higher approaches.
How long
- Forty-five minutes covers the temple, the grove and the Ghatotkacha shrine without hurrying.
- Fifteen minutes covers the building alone, which is what a tight schedule allows and what most visitors take.
- Add half an hour if you are walking down into Old Manali afterwards rather than driving.
Visitor Intelligence
Visitor intelligence
A working temple in a forest, and it is treated as both.
Respect
- It is an active place of worship with a resident priest and a steady stream of local worshippers, not a monument.
- Cover shoulders and knees. Nobody will stop you at the gate for anything less, but the room is small and the courtesy is noticed.
- The Dhungri Mela in May is the temple’s own festival and changes the character of the place entirely for a few days.
Photography
- The doorway carving is the subject, and it needs the soft light of early morning rather than direct sun.
- The whole pagoda against the deodar is the wide shot, and it works better from below the enclosure than inside it.
- Ask before photographing worshippers or the priest, and do not photograph inside the shrine.
Access
- The approach from the car park is a short paved path with a few steps at the enclosure.
- The interior has a raised threshold and is cramped; the grove and the exterior are the accessible part of the visit.
- The walk down to Old Manali is steep in places and is not the route for anyone unsteady.
Animals
- The yaks and angora rabbits in the clearing are kept for photographs. They are a livelihood; look at their condition and decide for yourself.
- The grove has macaques. Keep food out of sight and do not hold anything loosely.
- There is no feeding anywhere on the site and it should stay that way.
Nearby
Nearby
Everything below is on the standard Manali day and within twenty minutes.
Old Manali
Directly below the grove — orchards, stone-and-timber houses and the better half of the town.
Vashisht
Ten minutes across the Beas, where sulphur springs feed stone baths beside the temple.
Solang Valley
Up the valley under the Rohtang road — a wide meadow, paragliding in summer and snow from December.
Manali
The town itself, at the head of the Kullu valley.
Good to Know
Frequently asked
Hidimba is a rakshasi of the Mahabharata who meets Bhima in the forest, falls in love with him and marries him, and their son Ghatotkacha fights and dies on the Pandava side at Kurukshetra. In the Kullu valley she is not a villain but the guardian deity of the region, and the local rajas took their legitimacy in part from her. Temples with a rakshasa figure as the principal deity are close to unknown elsewhere in India, which is a large part of what makes this building worth the ten minutes uphill.
Forty-five minutes is a proper visit and covers the temple, the surrounding deodar grove and the Ghatotkacha shrine a short walk away. Fifteen minutes covers the building itself, which is what most coach schedules allow. The interior is genuinely tiny — the shrine is built around a rock outcrop rather than a hall — so the time goes on the carved doorway, the roof and the forest rather than on the inside.
It is the pagoda form that Himachal and the western Himalaya use, and which almost no other part of India builds. Four timber roofs of diminishing size stack above one another, the lower stages shingled in slate or wood and the top one conical and metal-clad. It is a response to heavy snow and to the availability of deodar rather than an imported style, and once you have seen it here you will recognise it across the whole Kullu and Parvati valleys.
Yes, and it is the only one of Manali’s main sights that is. It is about two kilometres from the Mall, roughly half an hour of steady uphill through Old Manali, which is a pleasant walk in itself through orchards and old stone-and-timber houses. Most people drive up and walk back down, which is the sensible arrangement. Taxis wait at both ends and the fare is agreed before you set off.
The first hour after opening on a weekday, in almost any season. The building is small enough that twenty people constitute a queue, and Manali is a heavily domestic destination whose peak weekends fill the grove. Late September to November is the quietest stretch of the year with clear weather; the Dhungri Mela in May is the exception in the other direction and turns the site into a full village festival for a few days.
Mostly. The path from the car park is short and paved with a few steps at the enclosure wall, and the grove itself is level and shaded with places to sit. The shrine interior has a raised threshold and very little room, so many older visitors look in rather than go in, which loses little. What is not suitable is the downhill walk into Old Manali, which is steep and uneven in places.
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