Trekking

Bijli Mahadev Trek: Lose Yourself In The Misty Mountains

If you are looking for a weekend monsoon trek in Kullu-Manali then Bijli Mahadev trek is the one you must leave your footprints on. It’s also one of the shortest treks to reach a mountain top and on a clear day you can enjoy a bird’s eye view of not only the entire Kullu valley but also the Parvati valley.

I decided to do this trek in the monsoons because I wanted to enjoy the rains and disappear in the mystical mist that engulfs the mountain of Bijli Mahadev.

We started off from Delhi and after reaching Chandigarh drove down on the national highway number 21 that takes you to Manali. The highway from Mandi — which is located around 185 kms from Chandigarh and where we had the first view of Beas river — to Manali is one of the most beautiful ones.

You drive along the Beas river and through the might mountains of the Western Himalayas to reach Kullu town, which is also the headquarter of the district. The intermittent rains slowed us down but made our drive even more beautiful. We spent the rainy night at a hotel in Kullu.

The starting point

Next morning, we woke up early, carried our backpacks, and started walking towards Ramshila, a small place across the Beas river in Kullu, under an overcast sky. The trek to Bijli Mahadev starts from Chansari village and to reach there you can either hire a cab or get a bus from Ramshila as we did. Chansari is around 20 kms from Ramshila and it took us around an hour to reach there. Chansari is also the last village on this mountain.

A beautiful trek

It had already begun to drizzle when we started taking our first steps from Chansari village. Within an hour we were in the dense forests of Deodar trees. As we took steps, it all began to get so misty. Within minutes dense mist engulfed the entire forest making us completely disappear.

I was like in a completely different world of whiteness, lost and happy. It was all so misty and magical. There was complete silence as we kept on going up and I thought to myself wish I could stay here forever.

The mountain top

After around three hours of trekking, the forest ended and we were walking on the green mountain top of Bijli Mahadev. It was all misty up here too. We couldn’t see the temple of lord Shiva till we reached at the gate. There were many devotees already present at the temple.

We were up here and wanted to have a bird’s eye view of the Kullu and Parvati valleys but the valleys had disappeared down there in the mist. We had our lunch here and rested for a while in the temple complex.

The God of Lightning

The temple of lord Shiva has got its name due to frequent lighting that occurs here. The legend has it that lightning strikes the idol of Shiva here every year, breaking it into pieces. These pieces are collected and put together by a priest. You must also watch out for the lightening when you are up here on the top!

Bijli Mahadev to Mauti Naag

We wanted to explore further and resumed our trekking from Bijli Mahadev. There is this place called Mauti Naag, some two hours’ trek from Bijli Mahadev. It’s a beautiful but unexplored place right in the middle of the forest not many people visit.

We walked joyfully amidst the blinding mist of the forest and reached Mauti Naag by sundown. We hurriedly pitched our tent as it was drizzling again and started making preparations for the dinner. We lit a bonfire and ate without much talking. We were tired but filled with joy and at peace. It was all misty and magical.

And then it began to rain again.

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