Travelling to mountains has always been a dream of mine. What attracted me most was the people, view, serenity and peace they offer after a hectic week. This trip by far was one of the adventurous trip I had in a while. It was planned mainly so that we could go to Bijli Mahadev Temple.
We took a general HRTC bus from Delhi to kullu and it took us approximately 14 hours to reach. The bus left us at the start of this small town located just sideway of mountains and near Beas River. We reached kullu at around 2:30 PM and we went to out hotel, took sone rest and decided to explore the local market. When talking specifically about kullu, there is nothing much to explore. The one attraction which is Raghunath Temple was closed at that time due to the preparation of Internationally famous, Dussehra Mela celebrated in Kullu.
We decided to go to Bijli Mahadev Temple on the second day of our trip. We took a general bus from kullu and it took us approximately 2 hours to reach to the point from where the trekking started.
Bijli Mahadev Trek is named after the Bijli Mahadev Mandir which is a temple of Lord Shiva. Located at a height of 2452 meters, the place lies at a distance of 24 kilometers east of Kullu in the district of Himachal Pradesh.
The temple got its name because it is said that once in a year lightening strikes the temple and the it leaves it in pieces. The local priest then uses butter (a local adhesive) to join it together. The cracks could easily be seen on the wall of the temple.
The trek is quite easy after the first 1 KM in which there are approx 100 stairs which are quite steep. One can easily spot local shops selling maggi, chai on the trek and there is a local shop also on the trek where handmade himachali caps, nehru jackets, mufflers are for sale. The whole trek is approx 3 KMs and for people who cannot trek, there is a motorable road to reach the temple. For this, one has to reach Naggar from Kullu. Then they could take the road from Naggar side via Jana Waterfall.From this route, people will reach the temple directly.
Once you reach the temple, it feels like all the tiredness is gone and one can easily feel the positive vibes, the serenity and the peace. The view from the top is heart taking and it looks out at the panaromic view of famous Parvati Valley. The inside of the temple are decorated with gorgeous cravings depicting mythological creatures and natural scenes. There are several trisuls installed at small distances to prevent the Mandir from sudden lightening striking the temple time to time.
All in all, it is a perfect getaway from the hectic weekends and pocket friendly as well. If planned the trip wisely, a two day trip would cost you ₹2500/- in total including the bus expenses and stay.
