Champavati Temple, Chamba
temple · 562 m away
temple8 min from Chamba
Chamunda Devi Temple, Chamba
Chamunda Devi Temple in Chamba is a wooden gabled temple consecrated on 2 April 1762 on the Shah Madar hills, reached by 378 steps or a 3 km road.
What it is
A wooden gabled temple on a spur of the Shah Madar hills, opposite the town of Chamba. Raja Umed Singh built it and it was consecrated on 2 April 1762. It is the only wooden gabled temple in Chamba, set among stone ones.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
A 3 km motorable road runs up from the old town, about eight minutes by car. The old way was a paved path of 378 steps, which is still there for anyone who wants to walk.
The visit
Come for the wood and for the view back over the town and the terraces. The Nandi at the temple is carved and worth a look. The temple is small, so the climb and the view are most of the visit.
When to go
Clear mornings give the best view; October and November are the driest months. See when to visit Chamba.
Around it
The old-town temples, Champavati and the Lakshmi Narayan group, are below. Both plans include this stop: the one-day plan and the two-day plan.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage
One day in Chamba — the old town on foot
A one-day Chamba plan on foot: Champavati Temple, the Lakshmi Narayan temples, the Chaugan, the Bhuri Singh Museum and Chamunda Devi. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitTemples & heritage
Two days in Chamba — the old town and Chhatrari
A two-day Chamba plan: the old-town temples and the hill temple on day one, then a day trip to the 8th-century Shakti Devi Temple. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Nearby places
Questions people ask
When was Chamunda Devi Temple in Chamba built?
Raja Umed Singh built it and it was consecrated on 2 April 1762. It is the only wooden gabled temple in Chamba, set among the stone temples of the town, on a spur of the Shah Madar hills opposite the old town.
How do you get up to Chamunda Devi Temple?
A paved path of 378 steps once led up the hill, and a 3 km motorable road now does. By road the temple is about eight minutes from the old town, so a taxi works well, and the steps remain for anyone who prefers to walk.
Is this the same as Chamunda Devi near Dharamshala?
No. This temple stands in Chamba and is a different place from the Chamunda temple near Dharamshala, which has its own page on this site. Both are named for the same goddess, which is why the names match, but they are far apart.