Camping at Hatu Temple(Narkanda)

Complete image gallery(flikr.com image gallery) available at :
https://flic.kr/s/aHskgHze1r

Last week we friends made a camping plan to somewhere in Himachal. We were planing a trip of 3 days and 2 nights(including travel). Then it was time to decide some good location. We were looking for a neat place for camping. We shortlisted few places:

1. Jalori Pass.
2. Chansal Pass.
3. Solang Velly.
4. Manali.

Following were the requirements:

1. A plane where we could put our tents.
2. A place maximum of 5-7 hours away from Chandigarh.
3. Place should be safe.
4. We were on Thar. Thar does not have proper safety locks(one can easily enter in locked Thar). So we were looking for a camping place not far away from our vehicle.

Keeping all these points in mind we shortlisted Jalori Pass & Chansal. Final decision was to taken once we reach Shimla. We left early morning from Chandigarh. whether was not much friendly that day. It started raining heavy. Stones were falling on the road. We parked our Thar at a safe place. Due to which we were late on our schedule. Suddenly someone suggested Hatu temple. We all agreed to visit Hatu temple. Hatu is a highest peak in Shimla region. Which is approximate 70 KMs from Shimla and 5 KMs from Narkanda. Narkanda is on National Highway so roads are good till Narkanda. Road to Hatu from Narkanda is good enough to reach the peak. This is a single road with few points in between to give pass to the Vehicles coming from other side. On Hatu temple is on the peak. This is a wooden temple and is dedicated Hatu Mata, which is said to be Ravna's wife Mandodari. They also organize a fair on first Sunday of Jyeshtha month(which is 3rd Sunday of May month). We reach the top on time. This is a beautiful place. We spent a big time there. And started back to Narkanda. We find a roadside shop. We had evening snacks there. There was a place land which was meeting all of our requirement from Camping. So we parked our vehicle there and put our tents approximate 100 meters off road. We arranged some wooden sticks and a huge wooden log for bonfire. Place was safe and whether was cool(a bit cold in night).

PS:
1. We were with family and girls did not face any problem there.
2. We were surrounded by dense forest.
3. We got a change to capture few vultures there. Which is not easily possible anywhere else.

The endangered species:

The wooden temple of Hatu Mata:

Me in my tent: