Gobind Sagar - The Submerged Temples

|Don’t tell me how much educated you are, tell me how much have you traveled| ~ Fellow Traveler

Gobind Sagar Lake of Himachal Pradesh has remained a bright shining star in the history of Himachal Pradesh for various reasons. Hydroelectricity, fish breeding, water sports and so many other things, which even I do not know. However, one thing that is worth mentioning here is the submerged temples that have gone down under the deep waters of this Man Made Lake.

One can visit the lake during any time of the year. Those who want to see water must go during the rainy season. Those who want to see the submerged temples must go during the summers because it is practically possible to hire a boat and see the temples and appreciate their architecture, if you understand anything about it or not, you can’t stop praising the make and design of the temples. It is believed that Pandava’s built these temples during their Exile [though I am not sure who built it or Pandavas even existed] but yes whoever made them, he/she was a genius. Those who just want to go, it does not matter what time of year it is, take a bus go there, have fun and come back.

The lake is so full of silt that its bed level has raised by at least 5 feet for sure. Boats run from one bank to another because it is faster medium of transportation and it also saves money because state transport costs you 1 INR per KM where as the boats run of the mixture of kerosene oil, gasoline, diesel, water and so many other additives that can pollute the air very well and cost nothing actually. Usually the charge is 5,10 INR per trip but in case if you want to go close and look at the temples, you might have to pay 200-300 INR for an exclusive trip. There is one temple that can be seen in its full form and shape, as it lies outside the major water body.

However, walking on silt is dangerous because it is soft, it has absorbed water over the years and it has become swampy at places. So place your foot firmly, hold your camera tightly and jump on the silty desert of the Gobind Sagar Lake.

There is another temple that lies close to the lake and it is called as 'Dholra Temple’. I, and my twin brother were born somewhere near this area but that is not at all related to this blog post ;)

The Silt Desert

The road diverges from the extremely busy National highway-21 on the left hand side, just when you are about to reach Bilaspur coming from Chandigarh side. There is no proper mention or sign board but then here in Himachal people are fond of helping and sharing, so ask anyone and you will get the right answer with all the directions about turning left , right and what to do and what not to do. Do not worry about parking your car, truck or bus because there is ample space in the hearts of people when it is about God. Parking lot of the Dholra Temple would be at your service.

God has settled upstairs @ Dholra Temple

All photographs by Jaipal Mandyal [Humble Arrogance]

P.S: Do not carry plastic bottles and in case you are too thirsty make sure you carry your bottles back because if you do not carry it back, the GOD will punish you, one day ;)