Bijli Mahadev Temple

Top choice in Himachal Pradesh

A popular day trip from Kullu starts with a 20km uphill drive southeast to Chansari followed by a 2.5km uphill hike to the Bijli Mahadev. The temple itself is fairly modest but it commands spectacular panoramas over the Kullu and Parvati Valleys from its 2460m hilltop location. Beside the temple stands a 20m wooden pole, which attracts occasional divine blessings in the form of lightning.

The surge of power shatters the stone Shiva lingam inside the temple, which is then glued back together with butter. Crowds make a pilgrimage here during the Sawan Kamaina festival from mid-July to mid-August. A few daily buses from Kullu bus station run as far as Chansari (₹30, 1¼ hours). A taxi from Kullu to Chansari costs ₹1500 round trip including a two-hour wait.

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