Sarahan Temple

Before setting off today we visited the Sarahan temple that was located by our hotel. In fact, the hotel itself did not have space for the organisers, so they had stayed in the temple hostel (there's an interesting story attached to their stay, but that won't make it to print I'm afraid).

We were allowed inside the inner temple after security checks. The Foreigners. lined up to be frisked while the locals passed by. When it was my turn the security guard waved me on with a "local heh", I refrained from shaking my head in agreement.. With roots in the subcontinent and a year round suntan, it is easy to see why he thought that.

Like all hill temples the one at Sarahan is built skywards, and you climb many floors to reach the inner sanctum at the centre of the top floor, where the local worshippers offer their prayers in candle light with the aroma of incense hanging thick in the air. The structure is composed of thick wooden beams, in-filled with cut stone. The guide said no sand or cement had been used and the temple had withstood earthquakes without damage; outside in the courtyard some of the walls were vertically displaced, suggesting this might be true. The many low beams and dim lighting also meant some of us left minus a few brain cells - and therefore even keener to ride the roads of India!

In another part of the courtyard stood a small building that supposedly contained an escape tunnel for the temple VIPs leading to the valley floor. We were told it was 7km long, but even though it was an endless dark looking in, that was hard to believe.

Sorry no pictures of the view from our hotel balcony as we were shrouded in cloud this morning. But trust me, it was nice.