Chehni Kothi — Attraction in Himachal Pradesh

At a distance of 60 km from Kullu, 7 km from Banjar and 66 km from Mandi, Chehni Kothi is situated at Chehni village of Banjar valley in Kullu Manali. Chehni is also famous for its twin tower temples.

Chehni Kothi is a 1500 years old structure and it was the fortified residence of King Raja Rana Dhadhia. Chehni is 57 km from Kullu by road followed by 3 km uphill trek. The fort was partially damaged during earthquake in 1905. At present the fort is 60 feet high. A restoration program carried out by the locals helped in the restoration of this temple.

The tower temple of Chehni is the tallest standing structure of its kind in Western Himalayas. The Bhagwati temple more popularly known as Chehni tower is nine tier structure with four storeys of stone structure holding the top five tiers of the temple. A wooden staircase is fixed near the entrance, which can be used to reach the upper levels of the temple. A projected balcony, 12 meters above the ground, serves as the intermediate point to the tower. The topmost storey houses idols of few gods.

Right across this temple is the temple of the Shringa Rishi, presiding deity of the Tirthan - Banjar valley. This tower is about 30-35 meters tall and only locals are allowed into the temple. These two towers are separated by an...

Visited Chehni Kothi two days back. I did walk from Jibhi village to Chehni kothi. It was almost 8km one side walk. The Chehni kothi comes under Jibhi valley and almost 8 km far from Banjar village. It was my first time when I was there. The weather was amazing. The tower is situated on 2125 meter above the sea level. It is a fort built in 17th century with wood and stone. This tower is tallest tower in western Himalayas and almost 45 meter tall.It is believed that this temple was built around the 17th Century by a local King Dhadhu and that’s why this temple is locally known as Dhadhiya Kothi as well. The entire area is totally offbeat and one can give this valley or place a try. Great place to visit with less crowd. Locals saud that there is mountain pass just above the Chehni kothi which is locally know as Sakirn Jot, which follows to other side of the valley to Jhanjaili. There is also an another temple, which is dedicated to Hindu Lord Krishna. Few people told me that I can go inside the Chehni tower but when I was there villagers said that no one is allowed to go...

Please don't go by the websites that tell you to visit the kothi. Even locals tell you the same so my advise don't listen to them except for directions. Our bad experience started from the badly maintained roads which leave for heaven once your altitude increases. My questions is when you're trying to improve tourism then why let roads be alone, they are equally important right?. Once you take few turns roads not only turn into kaccha but also dangerous and seriously. Our car got stuck on one road full of mud and sludge and refused to climb. Local drivers simply honk and bully you. Roads are so narrow that you wished you had never taken the road. If some vehicle comes from other direction your are in a royal soup. My advice take a taxi or a local who can drive you up there as they know how to navigate these dangerous roads. Do.make a personal complaint to himachal tourism ministry for providing false info and not making proper roads for such important tourist place. IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK AND...