Chamunda Devi Temple Nashala Naggar

Temples in Himachal Pradesh are an integral part of the culture. That’s something you will find in almost every village of the state. People there have huge faith and they follow the years-old traditions. I came across two old temples in Naggar i.e. Gauri Shankar Temple and Tripura Sundari Temple. I even came across a procession in the streets of Naggar which was a wonderful experience to witness something like that. I decided to trek to Jana waterfall and checked on Google Maps. This was a long trek and I had packed my bag with some snacks, a water bottle, Bluetooth speaker, power bank, etc. And while trekking to Jana Waterfall, I reached to Chamunda Devi Temple Nashala.

Though is a bus to Jana village from Naggar bus stop, however, I couldn’t take it. I don’t remember the bus timing. But again, I wanted to trek for at least 10 KM and Jana was the perfect destination. When I asked some people, I was told to visit Chamunda Devi Temple in Nashala which was come on the way to Jana village. And I found it a nice stoppage for the trek. These are small villages and are located at some distance from each other.

Trekking to Chamunda Devi Temple in Nashala Village from Naggar 

A small village in Naggar tehsil of Kullu district, Nashala village comes under Nathan Panchayat. Nashala is located at around 5 KM from Naggar and the road is smooth for trekking and also for driving/biking. I came across several bikers coming from Jana waterfall. Though the road is spiral and has several ups and downs but it was a nice concrete road. Passing through the dense deodar forest, it was a pleasant experience to witness so greenery. Moreover, it was rainy as it was the time of the Monsoon. After trekking for almost two hours with several pauses on the way to photograph and cherish nature, I saw the village.

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At the entrance of the village, there were apple trees on the road or probably the locals have planted there. I walked up to the temple, took off my boots, and entered the main temple area. After doing a small parikrama, I sat on the ground which was full of grass. Some locals asked me not to sit at the place where I was sitting. They told me that the stone on which I was sitting was sacred. I quickly got up, apologized, and moved aside.

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Interesting Things about Chamunda Devi Temple Nashala 

Chamunda Devi is the local deity of Nashala village. It is said that Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh along with other gods formed a Devi to kill Mahishasur who had attained immense powers. This Devi killed several other demons including Chand and Mund before killing Mahishasur. And that’s the reason she is known as Chamunda Devi. After killing Chand and Mund, she was returning and her image fell on Chamunda. That’s how she appeared in Nashala village. Chamunda Devi is said to have a slanting rath with 15 mohras. The original temple of Chamunda Devi in Nashala was built more than 500 years ago however it was reconstructed some 20 years back. Chamunda Devi temple also has Naag devta and Jamdani in its complex.

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After relaxing for a while in Chamunda Devi Temple of Nashala village, I moved to my next destination. After walking for another one hour, I realized it was late. So I dropped the plan of trekking to the waterfall and started trekking back to Naggar through Nashala village. And then it started to rain. I took shelter for a while and waited for the rain to stop. I couldn’t visit Jana Waterfall that day.

When you visit Chamunda Devi Temple in Nashala village, make sure that you avoid doing anything that may harm the sentiments of the villagers. You can easily reach the temple from Naggar in half an hour or so if you have your own vehicle or even if you book a cab from Naggar. You may even plan of trekking to Nashala village from Naggar.