Basheshar Mahadev Temple, Bajaura
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What it is
Basheshar Mahadev Temple — also written Basheshwar or Bishweshwar Mahadev — is a stone temple to Shiva in a walled courtyard at Bajaura, off the highway 15 km and about 21 minutes below Kullu. Wikidata dates it to the 8th–9th century, and the Archaeological Survey of India lists it as a Monument of National Importance, number N-HP-27. It is stone, which in a valley that builds in deodar and slate is the first thing you notice. The outer faces carry carved figures; inside there is a lingam.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
On the highway between the town and Bhuntar, set back from the road among fields. Any bus down the valley passes the turning, and the walk in from the road is a couple of minutes. It is 13 km and 19 minutes from Bhuntar's airport, which makes it a sensible last stop before a flight.
What to look at
The carving on the three outer faces, which is the reason art historians come; the shape of the tower, which belongs to a tradition from outside the valley; and the quiet, which is the reason everyone else stays longer than they meant to. Fifteen minutes is enough to see it and twice that is not wasted.
Around it
Bhuntar and the confluence of the Beas and the Parvati are a few minutes down the road. The town, the bazaar and the Raghunath temple are 21 minutes back up it. The two-day plan ends here on its second afternoon, and the river plan does the same on its way to the airport.
Going to Kullu?
Two days in Kullu — the ridge temple on the first morning, the town, the river and the stone temple at Bajaura on the second1 night · 2 days, ready to copy and change- Stays in KulluCompare live prices
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Questions people ask
Where is Basheshar Mahadev Temple?
At Bajaura on the highway south of Kullu, 15 km and about 21 minutes from the town and 13 km from the airport at Bhuntar. It stands back from the road in a walled courtyard among fields, and is easy to drive past without noticing it.
What is there to see?
A stone temple of a kind the valley otherwise does not build — the houses and temples here are wood and slate. The outer faces carry carved figures and the sanctum holds a lingam. It takes ten or fifteen minutes to walk round and look at properly, and it is usually empty.
How old is Basheshar Mahadev Temple, and is it worth stopping for?
If you are passing — flying out of Bhuntar, driving south, or on the river plan — then yes: Wikidata dates it to the 8th–9th century, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects it as monument N-HP-27. It costs a quarter of an hour. It does not justify a separate trip from Manali on its own.