Himalayan Temple in Dhaboi Village - What is so special about this temple which is built by Bollywood Actress Kangna Ranaut in Sarkaghat region of Himachal Pradesh?

The famous bollywood actress Kangna Ranaut's ancestral house is in this village called Dhaboi, which is close to a small town called Baldwara in Mandi district. Later on her father build another one in nearby town called Bhambla and now Kangna has even bigger house around Manali hills of Himachal Pradesh. Kangna and her parents still visit Dhaboi village and last year she built a beautiful temple there. During our visit to Himachal last week, we planned to visit Dabhoi and see this temple. 

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Above video shows the location of this temple in Dabhoi and the views of Himalayan mountain ranges around this temple. 

How is the road to Dhaboi Temple in Mandi? 

There is a town Baldwara which is on State Highway 19 and the temple is 4 kilometers away from this town which takes 15-20 mins. This road is pretty narrow and it's a steep climb. There are lot of turns on the way and some sharp ones as well. So going slow and keeping a watch at longer stretch is important. If any vehicle comes from other side, one of the vehicles has to take back to a spot where they can cross each other. But this is a rewarding drive in many ways - with every few meters you see new terrains and landscapes. And you find lot of birds on the way. 

The Video below shows Kangna Ranaut talking about this temple and why she built it - 

Also, another interesting part is that from this temple you can also see the small green village house where Kangana Ranaut grew up. We met an old lady from the village who told us that the Ranaut family still visits the house and stays there occasionally, though the family has built another home in Bhambla and has moved there. Kangana has also built a large home in Manali. So yes the family has progressed financially.  

We were there to explore this part of Himachal Pradesh and one part which I liked the most is the panoramic view of valley around Jahu/Baldwara of Mandi region in Himachal Pradesh. And beautiful blue sky made the environment even more interesting from top of the temple in Dhaboi. 

If you look closer on the walls of Dabhoi temple in Mandi, you will find some beautiful carvings and nice red stone work. This is not usual in Himachal Pradesh. Most of the temples in Himalayan State of India are made up of wood, stone or some of the modern ones with bricks. This red stone of the temple is brought here from Rajasthan and it seems that architect of the temple also belongs to Rajasthan. When we were at the temple, one of the worker had come from Rajasthan for some repair work. It seems there were some complaints about seepage after monsoons of 2020 and that had to be taken care. 

There are these 2 lions at the gate of Kuldevi temple in Dhaboi. Main stairs of the temple are in front of these lions and this entry & lions are visible from road connecting this temple with Mandi or other parts of the state. The carving of these lions is also very beautiful and modern. It's impressive work all around the temple compound. Above photograph also shows the boundary which is again a net style carving out of red stone. 

If you look up, the top of Dhaboi temple looks beautiful against blue sky and there are beautiful designs on the top with flag on the top of the structure. 

Apart from the thrill of the drive, there was another silver lining to the cloud - the amazing scenery throughout. Yes, you can see a great distance from here and the rivers flowing in Jahu and beyond, make this very scenic. While going from Baldwara to Dhaboi, the temple is on your left and it is built in red stone, very unlike the regular Himachali temples - so you would know that this is the temple that you were looking for. 

The temple is rather pretty actually and peaceful. There are idols of Maa Mahisasurmardini and other usual deities here and from the courtyard you can admire the scenery to your heart's content.

Maa Mahisasurmardini temple is certainly something villagers feel proud about. Throughout the year, there are different ceremonies take place in this temple and family of Kangna Ranaut keeps visiting the temple. And it seems the family is taking care of temple and it's maintenance. 

It you are in this region of Himachal or driving through this road, it's worth taking a stop and appreciate this place and it's surrounding landscapes apart from peaceful moments around the temple. 

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling - 

1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.

2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin. 

3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem. 

4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits. 

5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.