It is strange that many who visit Dharmashala do not know about Masroor! What is here? ... 15 rock-cut temples which are built in Indo-Aryan style. The richly carved temples are protected monuments. The temple complex is awaiting the entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
There was no shared transport available from McLeaod Ganj to Masroor. I had to hire a private taxi which costed me Rs.2000. Expensive huh? Doesn't sound like typical backpacking trip! Checked in all the travel agencies this was the only one who said Yes to the Masroor trip! Others didn't agree at all! Well, I had specifically asked for a "good" driver ... and specified what "good" means. That is ... no speeding, no talking rubbish, no talking loud (yelling), no cutting my lines, not contradicting my lines, no noisy Bollywood songs. So, next day had a Punjabi Jawaan at my Hotel. The car stereo was playing Jai Mata di in very low volume ... He was trying hard to be "good" :) He used to raise the voice and instantly lower it and be nice! Inside he was definitely ... Yeh! Is Queen Victoria ko uthake bahar phenkdoo ... fun ride huh?
There was no shared transport available from McLeaod Ganj to Masroor. I had to hire a private taxi which costed me Rs.2000. Expensive huh? Doesn't sound like typical backpacking trip! Checked in all the travel agencies this was the only one who said Yes to the Masroor trip! Others didn't agree at all! Well, I had specifically asked for a "good" driver ... and specified what "good" means. That is ... no speeding, no talking rubbish, no talking loud (yelling), no cutting my lines, not contradicting my lines, no noisy Bollywood songs. So, next day had a Punjabi Jawaan at my Hotel. The car stereo was playing Jai Mata di in very low volume ... He was trying hard to be "good" :) He used to raise the voice and instantly lower it and be nice! Inside he was definitely ... Yeh! Is Queen Victoria ko uthake bahar phenkdoo ... fun ride huh?
It is the only rock-cut shrine in northern India it seems. Rock-cut temples meaning, the temples carved out of free standing rocks/monoliths. It seems there are only four such temples in India.Ratha in Mamallapuram, Kailasa in Ellora, temple complex in Masroor and Dharmnatha temple in Damnar.
The Temple is dedicated to Lord Rama. The Main shrine has stone images of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana.
These temples are in a remote area away from Kangra and hence were saved from the destruction by Muslim-invaders. But, some damage is caused by 1905 earthquake. Many exquisitely carved panels of these temples are on display in the state museum of Shimla.
A pleasant journey through the sanctuary to a wonderful place!
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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