Bathu ki ladi- Nature’s best kept secret

By Akriti Mahajan

“Heaven is a myth, Dharamshala is for real”

Himachal Pradesh, known as the land of Gods and Goddesses, has many hidden treasures for explorers in the form of lesser-known historic sites.

One such Nature’s best kept secret is Bathu temples popularly known as ‘Bathu ki Ladi’, a string of 8 temples with towers and outer protection walls. The temples are located near Dhameta in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. It remains immersed in Maharana Ptratap Sagar, the reservoir of Pong Dam for almost eight months of the year. The unique thing about these temples is that they are  only  visible during four months (from March to June) in an year when the water level in the reservoir drops.

The beauty and color of Bathu stone used for construction is mostly intact except that some plaster and bricks have washed out.  Despite being submerged in 50 to 180 feet of water in the reservoir for the last nearly 50 years, there have been no substantial harm to these historic buildings so far.

The temple is made of very strong stone and even after 30 years of being submerged in water it is standing tall and beautiful. The big Pillar next to these temples is the only visible thing you get to see when the Pong Dam Lake is very much in water as all the temples are submerged in the water.

It is said that the temple  have been built around 14th to 16th Century A.D. by Raja Hari Chand Guleria and his descendants just when other forts in the area came up around this period.

The temples receive an influx of tourists during the time when it is visible. As , the temples are in the midst of river, one has to ride a boat to reach the temple complex.

Spending a slow day at Bathu ki ladi, can be the most sought-after weekend where on one side you have vast meadows devoid of any plantation and a little further there is a water body so huge that seems to have no end. The water in the lake is crystal clear and blue giving a similar glimpse of Pangong Tso river of Ladakh.

You can spend few hours at the bank of the water body, enjoying boating or just gazing at the sheer beauty of the lake. Sunlight falling on the blue water of the lake makes the sight even more enticing. One may spend a hushed afternoon here by just sitting at the bank where the light breeze kisses the face and get mesmerized by the serenity in nature.