Today I will take you through an interesting pathway which goes up till beautiful Jakhu hills, Shimla and you won’t have any scars of tiredness after climbing it with me. So here we go !!!
 Shimla offers some of the most fascinating treks and the town can be easily called “The Trekkers Paradise”. We both as a couple did early morning treks on all three days during our stay in Shimla, making the most of our trip. We were missing this activity in Aurangabad as it was extremely hot there.
Jakhu, the most famous temple, situated on the top of Jakhu hills at an altitude of 2455m above the sea level, is a steep 30-minute uphill climb from the east end of the Ridge, It is one of the most refreshing and strenuous hike I had done in last six months. The trek serves two purposes: you can check your physical fitness by calculating how much time you take in completing it as well as it has spiritual flavor as you visit the temple also. The sound of bells and chanting of shlokas fills you with peace and tranquility at that height.
The temple is dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman. O yes, you guessed it right !  Hundreds of  monkeys loiter around, looking for prasad packets in devotees hands(temple-blessed food offerings), never leave an opportunity to snatch anything be it  glasses,binoculars,caps,meal packets etc. leaving harassed devotees, tourists stunned and helpless.
Outside the temple premises 108 feet world tallest, orange statue of Hanuman looms above the treetops and watches Shimla day and night like a protector of the city. The  illuminating statue looks amazing at night.
This trek was around two and a half kilometers but very steep and exhausting one. The view was fantastic. The smell of pine was refreshing and the green forest was a soothing scene for eyes. Lord was much closer to us now.
Thankfully we were just eighty meters away and had to take few more steps to reach at the destination on top. The stairway was about to finish.
Finally we did this trek in record 30 minutes, Tarun literally dragged me enroute whenever I was tempted to relax on a bench, being totally out of breath. Actually he does everything as if he is on his army mission,phew !
You can see the parking lot for those who prefer driving over walking on foot.They come up till the temple entrance without huffing and puffing but cannot enjoy the way trekkers do.
On the way up to the temple, one comes across the gates of Rothney Castle , built for colonial reformer and naturalist Allan Octavian Hume, the founder of Indian national Congress party, He gathered the world’s largest collection of stuffed Asiatic birds here, later he donated it to the British Museum.
Word of caution: the monkeys on this route can be a menace, so walking stick would be the best thing to carry along to drive them away. Enjoy the full snap shot of Lord.
We both were spellbound by the fabulous view at the top, felt rejuvenated, happy and believe me there were no scars of fatigue on our faces. We kept on clicking pictures to cherish beautiful memories later on !
16 Responses
I love the fact that the sign encourages people of all ages to make the trek uphill. When I saw the breakdown of ages, the first thing I thought of was how in America, that sign would be so chock full of legal disclaimers warning anyone older than 30 or less fit than a triathlete not to hike up the trail without first consulting a physician! We encourage laziness through liability in this country!
You won’t believe I came across such oldies climbing effortlessly. It was so inspiring to see the locals who climb on daily basis just to reach their houses built on the way.
Very inspiring walk, so fascinating – very well captured even you were totally out of breath… 😉 🙂
To tell you frankly I was, Drake 😉 but it was worth.
What a beautiful place to walk/hike! The statue is stunning, Wow! You took great photos, Rashmi. 🙂
Thank you Amy. Your words are always so encouraging😊😊
Beautiful pathways. But I’ll let you do the hiking and tell the story for me, if you don’t mind. I’d probably never make it past the first quarter-kilometer.
Haha I don’t mind at all super mom! 😊😊
sounds like you had a good time……
yes, undoubtedly ! Thanks for the visit and feedback.
Very well written to inspire to go on treks…
Thanks a lot Medhaji.
Thank you so much 💓 keep visiting for more
I visited the temple last year in December.
Nice blog post.
Thank you so much Gautam.