Top Five Religious Attractions in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is renowned for being the “Land of God”, besides being a home for nature’s beauty and vibrant culture. This northern state of India has been serving tourists with a blend of diverse and colorful culture, architecture, and wide-spread and snow-capped mountain ranges. Despite the common prevalence of Manali tourism in terms of a honeymoon, adventure, and summer destination, Himachal Pradesh is also renowned for being a religious destination of India. For many people from in and outside of India are now visit Himachal Pradesh for religious purpose, here in this blog we are going to learn about top five religious’ sites in Himachal Pradesh that are perfect treasure for those who seek sacred aroma meddled in the nature’s essence of Manali and other destinations dwelling in this state.

Naina Devi Temple:

The history behind the advent of this temple is as enchanting and mind-boggling as visiting this temple in itself is. It is said that Naina Devi temple is dedicated to goddess Sati who sacrificed her life by setting herself on fire as a retaliating step against her spouse. As per the myth, it is also said that Lord Shiva was in extreme sorrow and pain after seeing Sati being burned alive, hence collected and carried all her corpse on his shoulder and started Tandav. When Lord Vishnu encountered such a scenario, he released his chakra to disperse the remains of Sati into fifty-one pieces, so Shiva’s Tandav doesn’t bring destruction to the earth.

Jwalamukhi Temple:

As the name itself tells about the temple, this temple is dedicated to goddess Jwala who has her remnant in this temple. For those who don’t know, “Jwala” means “flame” and “Mukhi” means “mouth”. The reason behind the popularity of this temple among tourists from all over the world is the eternal flame emerging from between the rocks. The stories of the majestic powers of the idols here are also popularly known across the world.

Baba Balak Nath Temple:

There are many temples of Baba Balak Nath in India, but those in the northern parts are valued the most due to the strong belief of people residing in most parts of northern India. Baba Balak Nath temple is an essential pilgrimage site for Hindus, where religious people pay homage to the idols inside a cave on the Dhaulagiri hills of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh. The reason why this temple remains packed for almost every part of the year is the faith of devotees in the miracle in Shah Talai and “Tapasya” or meditation.

Hidimba Temple:

Besides being one of the most popular and commonly visited tourist destinations, Hidimba Devi temple is also a famous pilgrimage site for which many people plan a trip from different parts of the country including Mumbai to Manali. This temple is constructed amidst a dense forest around a cave in devotion to the goddess Hidimba who was the wife of Bhima. This cave is believed to once housed Devi Hidimba where she practiced meditation, penance, and prayed. Tourists are mostly enticed by the historic prevalence of this temple and beautifully carved wooden architecture.

Bijli Mahadev Temple:

As the name suggests, this temple is a sign of Lord Shiva who is both a “Transformer” and a “Destroyer”. Situated in Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, it takes a long trek of almost three kilometers alongside the mountainous terrains to reach this temple. The history claims that there is a sixty feet high staff that attracts the blessings of Lord Shiva in the form of lightning and destroys the “shiv linga” which thereafter is restored by the priests of the temple.

Himachal Pradesh has in its cauldron several holy rivers flowing down the rocky and steep landscape and sacred temples with panoramic view for which many tourists invest in Manali packages from Mumbai and other parts of the country every year. Not only this state is home to Hindu temples and other religious attractions, but there is also the place of the Tibetan government in exile and home of Dalai Lama. Thus, Himachal Pradesh is secular to every religion and every belief and blesses you with enormous options to explore.