Mahakal Mandir, Observatory Hill

Getting there

• By air

  Bagdogra Airport is about 90 km away and is the nearest airport to Darjeeling.

• By train

  The narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway runs 88 km from Siliguri to Darjeeling.

• By road

  National Highway 110 runs 77 km from Siliguri to Darjeeling, and buses leave from Tenzing Norgay Bus Stand in Siliguri.

Book and check

Official pages only. We do not sell darshan passes or tours.

• Observatory Hill & Mahakal Temple (Darjeeling district administration)darjeeling.gov.in

Rules to know

• Short dresses and skirts are not allowed for women, according to a news report, so check locally before you go

Why devotees come here

Mahakal Mandir stands on Observatory Hill, behind the Chowrasta on the ridge of Darjeeling town in West Bengal. It is a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Buddhists, and its three gold-plated lingams represent Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is reached by a narrow uphill road from the Mall.

Mahakal temple is dedicated to Shiva, and it is a religious site where Hindus and Buddhists both come. Legend has it that three Shiva lingas, representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, appeared at the site in 1782. Those three forms are honoured inside the main temple today, and pilgrims of both faiths visit the shrine.

The site first held a Buddhist monastery called Dorje-Ling, which Lama Dorjey Rinzing built in 1765. He built the temple itself in 1782, atop Observatory Hill. Inside the main temple, three gold-plated lingams stand for the three gods. Within the complex is a white chorten, a Tibetan memorial shrine.

Observatory Hill is a hill near Chowrasta square, also called The Mall, in Darjeeling. Darjeeling town lies at an average elevation of about 2,045 metres (6,709 feet).

Tips for your visit

• Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, can be seen in full from the temple complex.
• Chowrasta and The Mall, close by on the ridge, sit at about 2,134 metres (7,000 feet).

Questions people ask