Gaurishankar temple walk, Dasal
What it is
A village temple on the hillside above the left-bank road between Manali and Naggar, reached on foot through the fields and orchards of Dasal: about 31 min up from the road at an easy pace, about 19 min down. The temple itself is a modest shrine to Shiva and Parvati, kept by the village. The reason to come is the walk up through a working village and the view from the top — the river and the orchards below, the ridge across the valley — which no temple on the road gives you.
Photos: Amohan41 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
It is the temple walk on the temples and heritage plan for exactly that reason: an hour that gets you above the valley floor without a trek.
Getting there
About 24 min from the Manali bus stand by road down the left bank towards Naggar; the path leaves the road at the village and climbs through terraces and orchards to the temple. Ask in the village for the temple path — everyone knows it. A taxi will wait at the road; the Naggar bus passes the foot of the village.
The walk
Easy to moderate: a village path, steady rather than steep, with one sharper stretch before the temple. Shoes with grip, a bottle of water, a morning start. Two hours for the round trip with time at the top. From December to February the path holds ice in the shade; walk it at midday or leave it for spring.
Manners
Shoes off at the temple, covered shoulders, and ask before photographing the shrine or anyone at it; the village keeps the temple and a visitor is a guest on its path. Stay on the path through the fields.
Around it
Naggar Castle and its two temples a few minutes down the road; Jana Falls up the side valley beyond Naggar for lunch; the Hadimba temple back in Manali for the timber pagoda in its grove. The day-hikes plan puts this walk on its third morning.
Plans that include this
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Where is the Gaurishankar temple at Dasal?
On the hillside above the left-bank road between Manali and Naggar, about 24 min from the Manali bus stand to the foot of the path. Then a walk of about 31 min up through the village fields and orchards to the temple; about 19 min down. A village temple with a view, not a monument with a car park.
How hard is the walk?
Easy to moderate: a village path that climbs steadily through terraces and orchards, with a short steeper stretch before the temple. Anyone who can walk uphill for half an hour can do it. Shoes with grip, water, and a morning start; in December and January the path holds ice in the shade and is a midday walk.
Is the Gaurishankar temple worth the climb?
For the walk and the view, yes: the temple is a modest village shrine, but it sits above the valley with the river and the orchards below and the ridge across, and the path up through a working village is the point. It is the temple walk on our heritage itinerary because it gets you above the road.
When should I go?
Mornings from March to June and September to November, when the path is dry and the light is on the valley; October, when the orchards below are being picked, is the best. Any day the village is not at a festival — and a festival day, if you happen on one, is better still. Shoes off at the temple, covered shoulders.