Champavati Temple, Chamba
temple · 193 m away
temple1 min from Chamba
Lakshmi Narayan Temples, Chamba
The Lakshmi Narayan group in Chamba is a row of Vaishnava temples built from the 10th to 19th centuries, with a metal Garuda and pinnacles gilded in 1678.
What it is
A group of Vaishnava temples in the old town of Chamba, built between the 10th and 19th centuries. The main temple is the oldest, from the 10th century under Raja Sahil Varman, and has a shikhara and wooden chatries that keep the hill weather off the stone.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
They stand in the old town, a minute from Champavati Temple and facing the Chaugan, so you reach them on foot.
The visit
A metal Garuda stands on the pillar at the gate. In 1678 Raja Chhatra Singh gilded the roof pinnacles. Walk the row slowly: the towers are different ages and the carving changes from one to the next.
When to go
Any time of year works; mornings are the quietest. See when to visit Chamba.
Around it
Champavati Temple is next door and Chamunda Devi Temple is up the hill. The one-day old-town plan links them with the Chaugan.
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
How old are the Lakshmi Narayan temples in Chamba?
The group was built between the 10th and 19th centuries, so the temples span nine hundred years. The main temple is the oldest, dating from the 10th century in the time of Raja Sahil Varman, and it has a shikhara and wooden chatries over the stone.
Who gilded the roof pinnacles?
Raja Chhatra Singh gilded them in 1678. The gilded pinnacles are one of the things to look up for from the courtyard, and they catch the light well on a clear morning, which is a good reason to arrive early in the day.
What is the metal figure at the gate?
A metal Garuda, the bird that carries Vishnu, stands on a pillar at the gate of the main temple. It is easy to miss on the way in, so look for it at the entrance before you walk into the courtyard, where the temples begin.