Jammu - Himachal Yatra (Part 10 of 10)

The last day of the yatra (31st May, 2022) started like all other days. Before I describe the day, let me give you a brief description of the hotel where we were staying - Anand at the Sutlej. It is one of the premium properties in Sri Anandpur Sahib. We got to know about this property from various hotel booking sites and were impressed by its ratings of 4.5 out of 5. The pricing of the property is also premium which we were OK with as it was the last leg of a strenuous and long yatra. 

The property is located a few kilometers away from the main Gurudwara just besides the river Sutlej (or one of its streams). All residences in the property are in form of cottages - either one bedroom or two bedroom plus a hall. The rooms are well furnished but has a rustic feel when it comes to the walls, flooring, ceiling etc. The furniture also are not the modern plush variety but rather like vintage stuff. The food served was decent but service was slow and quantity was a challenge - a few times they went out of stock of an items which everyone liked.

The sound of birds was always there and we could see / hear a variety of birds. The early mornings were especially beautiful as it was cool and the silence interrupted by the call of the birds was pleasing. Evenings were not as good as there were many mosquitoes and other insects to disturb us besides the heat. The flowering plants, the fruit bearing trees and the other vegetation of the farms were nice to behold. Overall, this place is worth a visit, although slightly expensive, especially in the winter or rains.

On the last day of the yatra, we had a good breakfast as always, packed (rather cramped) our luggage into our vehicles and began our ride towards Chandigarh. We were forced to keep all 20+ pieces of luggage inside the vehicles due to some local rules as explained by our drivers. We first drove towards Mansa Devi temple at Panchkula. The drive was long and at times through uneven roads. We arrived in the peak of the hot afternoon at this temple. Constructed by Maharaja Gopal Singh about 200 years ago, the complex spreads over an area of about 100 acres. It is considered and important shrine for worshipping Devi in Shakti form. A hundred meters away is another attractive temple called the Patiala temple.

We had to climb up one storey to reach the main temple. As the crowd was less at that time, we had a comfortable and easy darshan. We also visited a small Shiva temple in the premises and offered water to the Lingam. Some of us also visited the Patiala temple. As it was getting very hot, we rushed back to the vehicles. Some of us had sugarcane juice near the parking area and left immediately for the airport.

Arriving at the airport a little early, we checked in and had something to eat at the lounge there. Our flight was direct to Mumbai and arrived before time, much to our delight. 

Thus ended one of our longest, most hectic & tiring but satisfying yatra which was focussed on visiting Devi temples and Shakti Peethams. Hope you enjoyed the virtual journey and feel free to comment with your thoughts as well as questions, if any.

See you here again after the next yatra.