Trilokinath Temple
temple · 3 min from Mandi
1 night · 2 daysFirst visitClassicrelaxed
Two days in Mandi — temples, Pandoh and Rewalsar
A two-day Mandi plan: three ASI-protected temples on day one, then Pandoh Dam and Rewalsar Lake — sacred to three faiths — on day two. Free, copyable plan.
A second day added to the one-day loop, reaching Pandoh Dam and Rewalsar Lake, also known as Tso Pema — a lake sacred to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists at once. Day one covers Trilokinath, Ardhnareshwar and Panchvaktra in town; day two leaves for the two proper day trips further out.
Photos: Harminder singh saini (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Gannu03 (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Anyone with two full days in Mandi who wants both the town's own temples and a genuine day trip beyond it.
Day by day
Day 1
Trilokinath, Ardhnareshwar and Panchvaktra
Three ASI-protected temples, all within a few minutes' drive of each other in Mandi town itself.
- 09:00Trilokinath Temple, MandiA three-faced Shiva murti gives this temple its name — "Lord of Three Worlds."
- ↓ 3 min by road · 1 km10:00Ardhnareshwar TempleOne of very few temples in India dedicated to Ardhanarishvara, the composite half-Shiva, half-Parvati form.
- ↓ a short walk11:00Panchvaktra Temple, MandiA five-faced Shiva shrine at the confluence of the Beas and the Suketi Khad.
Day 2
Pandoh Dam and Rewalsar Lake
The two proper day trips out of town — an embankment dam on the Beas, then a lake sacred to three faiths.
- 09:30Pandoh DamAn embankment dam on the Beas, completed in 1977, that diverts the river through a 38 km tunnel system for hydroelectric power.
- ↓ 1 h 22 min by road · 49 km12:00Rewalsar LakeKnown as Tso Pema, sacred to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists alike — a Colossus of Padmasambhava, three Buddhist monasteries and three Hindu temples all sit at the lake.
Getting there
Mandi is reached from Chandigarh by car or bus — about 164 km and just under three hours. See the hub guide for the full arrival table.
Where to stay
Mandi works as a base for both days — Pandoh Dam and Rewalsar Lake are round trips, not overnight moves.
Know before you go
- Start day two reasonably early — Rewalsar Lake alone is about an hour each way, plus real time at Pandoh Dam on the same day.
- Rewalsar draws pilgrims of three different faiths — dress and behave respectfully at all of the shrines around the lake, not just the Hindu ones.
- Carry cash for both days; card payments are unreliable this far out of the main town.
Places on this route
Other ways to do it
All Mandi itineraries →
Questions people ask
Is Rewalsar Lake worth the drive from Mandi?
Yes — it's genuinely unusual, sacred to Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists at the same time, with a Colossus of Padmasambhava, three Buddhist monasteries and three Hindu temples all around the same small lake. It's about 56 minutes and 23 km from central Mandi.
What is there to see at Pandoh Dam?
The dam itself, an embankment structure on the Beas completed in 1977, diverting the river through a 38 km tunnel system to a power house for hydroelectric generation. It's about 34 minutes and 21 km from Mandi, on the way further into the valley.
Why is Rewalsar sacred to three different religions?
Hindu tradition credits the sage Lomasha's own penance here. Sikh tradition holds Guru Gobind Singh stayed a month at the lake. Tibetan Buddhists revere it as the site where Padmasambhava and the princess Mandarava's story created the lake itself, known there as Tso Pema.