Himachal Pradesh
The Raj Mahal occupies a century-old palace annex, part of which is still lived in by Mandi's ex-royal family. Especially at night, the garden and entryway is enchanting, and the guest-only upper hall-lounge has a plethora of old family pictures. While the scrappily maintained guest rooms fall well short of regal, they too exude a certain degree of olde-worlde charm.
The hotel's Copacabana Bar & Restaurant offers the appealing option of eating out on the large, tree-shaded lawn.
25.62 MILES
Unspoilt Chehni village is one of the most magical villages imaginable. Surveying a wide sweep of valley and ridgetops from 2110m, its antique core…
29.04 MILES
Between Palampur and Bir, don't miss a stop in Baijnath, whose uninteresting main-street buildings hide one of Himachal's most exquisite ancient temples…
23.5 MILES
On a clear November day, it's hard to imagine a more perfectly framed view than that of Bahu's remarkably preserved village core, perched on a ridgetop…
19.52 MILES
A popular day trip from Kullu starts with a 20km uphill drive southeast to Chansari followed by a 2.5km uphill hike to the Bijli Mahadev. The temple…
8 MILES
Dominating Rewalsar's western flank is an enormous, 12m-high statue of Padmasambhava. He's dressed in brown with a gold face setting off his trademark…
28.44 MILES
At the top of the Banjar Valley, Hwy 305 climbs over the panoramic 3223m Jalori Pass, marked by a couple of dhabas and a Mahakali temple. In calm weather…
16.62 MILES
Sitting amid young orchards beside a holy peepul tree, this 9th-century stone sikhara is a small but ornately carved national monument. Niches on the…
8.39 MILES
Padmasambhava reputedly meditated in a location high on the ridge above Rewalsar. The supposed sites are almost 10km by road (bus ₹30, taxi one way/return…
0.17 MILES
At the entrance to Bhootnath Bazar, 100m northwest of Indira Market, Mandi's most active historic temple is a small 16th-century stone structure with…
0.23 MILES
This intricately sculpted stone Shiva temple stands on the spit of land at the junction of the Beas and Satlos rivers, 150m east of Victoria Bridge.
0.23 MILES
This highly colourful 'temple of eleven gods', fronted with musicians and elephant heads, features 10 incarnations of Vishnu in its niches along with the…
0.32 MILES
Across the Beas River from Panchvaktra Mandir is this matching Shiva temple, dating from 1520 and similarly carved from bare stone with considerable…
7.7 MILES
On the northeast side of the lake, this gold-domed Sikh temple was built in the 1930s but commemorates the 10th guru's month-long stay here in 1701 during…
7.79 MILES
Painted red and purple, this Tibetan-style Buddhist monastic academy for Buddhist monks has a central temple that features a large, central Sakyamuni…
7.82 MILES
At the lake's southwest corner, visitors gather beneath a Himachal Tourism open pavilion throwing balls of atta (flour) or puffed rice into the water. The…
7.89 MILES
Conspicuous by the giant trident rising on the west side of the lake, this group of smallish Hindu temples are dedicated to Krishna and Lakshmi (white, in…