Famous Temples of Himachal Pradesh

A 500-year-old four-tiered pagoda of carved deodar, standing in an ancient cedar grove. The Kathkuni shrine is Manali's most visited sacred site.

A hilltop Shiva shrine whose lingam is said to be struck by lightning each year, then restored with butter and barley. Reached by a steep ridge hike with full-valley views.

Shimla's hilltop Hanuman temple, watched over by a towering statue. Legend says Hanuman rested here while searching for the Sanjeevani herb.

The Bushahr royal family's historic pagoda temple, a masterpiece of Kathkuni wood-and-stone craft and one of Himachal's most important Shakti shrines.

A Shaktipeeth where the goddess is worshipped as an eternal natural flame, with no idol. One of North India's most visited Devi temples.

An ancient Shaktipeeth rebuilt after the 1905 Kangra earthquake. The stone temple remains a major stop on the Kangra Devi circuit.

A riverside shrine on the Baner, set against the Dhauladhar range. Pilgrims visit year-round; Navratri draws the largest crowds.

A 13th-century Nagara-style stone temple dedicated to Shiva as the Lord of Physicians, among the finest medieval shrines in the hills.

Spiti's largest monastery, a whitewashed cliff citadel above the Spiti River at about 4,166 m. Home to hundreds of lamas and centuries of murals.

Founded in 996 AD, often called the Ajanta of the Himalaya for its mud-brick chapels and thousand-year-old frescoes.

A rare shrine revered by both Hindus and Buddhists, where Shiva and Chenrezig are worshipped in the same six-armed marble image.

The 500-year-old wooden guardian temple of India's last inhabited village, with deep Kinnauri woodcarving and local Devta traditions.

A 10th-century stone temple complex on the Chamba Chaugan, the finest surviving example of early medieval hill architecture in the district.

The heart of Mandi's Shivratri fair. Over 200 village deities gather here each year in Chhoti Kashi, a town of 81 stone Shiva temples.

A three-storey pagoda beside a floating-island lake, dedicated to sage Prashar. One of Himachal's most photographed high-meadow shrines.

Often called Asia's tallest Shiva temple, this soaring white shrine above Solan is a major Mahashivratri pilgrimage.

A lakeside shrine to Renuka, mother of Parshuram, beside Himachal's largest natural lake. The November fair is among the state's oldest.

A hilltop Shaktipeeth overlooking Govind Sagar, reached by road or cable car. One of Himachal's three great Devi peeths.

A cave shrine of the sidh Baba Balak Nath, among the most visited pilgrimage sites in lower Himachal, especially on Tuesdays and during Holi.

A Shaktipeeth where devotees offer the goddess their worries. A cornerstone of the Kangra–Una Devi circuit and Una's main pilgrimage.