About Mandi

The town or city of Mandi is located on the banks of the River Beas, and it has become a main commercial center, where the sage called ‘Mandava’ meditated at this place. Wherein, the Mandi is renowned for the 81 temples which vary in its fine carving. It is very well-known as the Hills of Kashi. The town has also become a great notable example of the colonial architecture. Mandi is also considered as the gateway to the valley of Kullu and thereby acts as a base for many exciting expeditions.


Mandi is a pretty fast developing city which gets developed without even losing its original charm and character. Due to this reason, Mandi has been known as the ‘Varanasi of the Hills’.

History of Mandi

The city got the name as ‘Mandi’ from the earlier name ‘Mandav Nagar’; while, the ‘Mandav’ is a name of the Great Sage called 'Mandav'. This sage who has done meditation on the rocks in this Mandi region, have turned black due to his great power of Penance. At the same time, the common name of Mandi has been arrived through the Hindi word called ‘Mandi’ (a market). It is mostly connected through the Sanskrit word called ‘Mandaptika’ (an open hall or shed).

The current Mandi district had been formed due to the merging of two princely states such as the Mandi and Suket, in the year 1948, when the State of Himachal Pradesh was established. Till the mid of 20th century, the Mandi was found to be the trade route between the ‘Yarkant County’ and ‘Ladakh’ till the Hoshiarpur, which are served as the commercial hub and the trade center.

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Business and Economy in Mandi

Mandi is said to be a commercial land, where there are several businesses goes on all over the city. You will find different shops from boutiques to jewellery to furniture, the electronics and electrical products, from stationery to provisional stores, footwear shops and many more. However, the main business which has made Mandi a developed city is the Agriculture.


The Economy on Mandi has been growing every year because of the Farming and Animal Husbandry. The record says that, the Milk sold per day is around 8000-9000 liters. Also, the main crops that made Mandi to remain on top in the Economy are the increase in the crops such as the maize, wheat, as well as the paddy, and so on. Apart from these, people also grow groundnuts, millet, sesame seeds, and even the silk too. Even fish markets are the cause for the growth of economical results.

Shopping in Mandi

Before shopping in Mandi, tourists are suppose to get knowledge about all the Himalayan products which are basically made out of woollen items especially Tibetian wool is very popular here. Such kinds of Tibetian wool are very soft and are of standard quality and have a great demand. Thus, traders have established many Tibetian shops as well as the Tibetian Bazaar to make the Tibetian items easily available for the Tourists. There are also certain famous handicraft items like the ‘Pahari wooden works’. These items are probably made out of either the ‘Deodar’ or ‘Sheesham Wood’. You can find all these items at a very reasonable price.

This type of art works are made out of the detailed sculptures of the Hindu deities, which are carved as per the rules of the iconography. Such art looks too quite ugly to the naked eyes, but only a true art lover would appreciate this kind of art works.
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Art and Culture in Mandi

The art and sculptures of Mandi is awesome, which is acquired by the whole Himalayan Regions. The kind of wooden work called Pahari, as well as the garments which are made out of the soft woolen, are the few art of Mandi. Also, one can observe the great art of the Mandi Palace. This beautiful Palace which is in white color, has a ‘Pagoda’ in the form of Roof.  Even you can watch the eighty one temples of Mandi where you can see the Shikharas.


While the Culture of Mandi, includes the tribal men wearing turban to their head, and tribal women who came here from various places such as the Rajasthan, Gujarat, Ladakh, etc. used to wear the Silver Ornaments to their head, nose, and to their neck along with the ornaments all over their hand. The dresses of these people vary as they arrive from various parts of India, also includes people from Tibet and Ladakh. Apart from this, the local girls wear sharara, etc. and commonly worn dresses of boys and girls are tees and pants.
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Fairs and Festivals in Mandi

There are some major fairs and festivals celebrated in Mandi, and people from all over Mandi and the surrounding towns participate in such fairs and festivals. These festivals are such as the Lossar, Shivratri, Nawala, and Baisakh are the four very popular festivals, where people will sing, dance and enjoy these fairs and festivals.
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Geography of Mandi

Mandi is located on the banks of the River Beas, and surrounds with certain important hills an mountains like Ghugar Dhar, Dhar Kot and so on... There is always an extreme variation in the climatic conditions due to the hills and icy mountains. Climate of the Mandi is similar to the entire Himachal Pradesh. There will be too cold during the winter, and too hot during the summer season.
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Services in Mandi

Mandi is famous for providing excellent services. These services include hospital services, banking services, telephone and electricity services, transportation services, laundry and home cleaning services, catering services, automobile services, electronics sales and services, courier services and so on.
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Transportation in Mandi

To reach Mandi, one can take any means of transport, as all types of transportation facilities are available to reach this city. You can either catch a bus, or a train, even you can choose the airways to reach the location of Mandi. However, Roads are the main means of transport in Mandi, as the Roads have been developed since few years.
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How to Reach Mandi

By Road
All the Roads which are connected to Himalayas, and thus, the HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation) runs several buses all through the state including the Mandi Region. Apart from buses, the travellers can even catch some private vehicles like taxis, etc. to reach the city of Mandi. 

By Rail
There is a nearest broad gauge which is just 55 Kms, located along the railway line and connects both the Pathankot and Jogindernagar. Wherein, the narrow railway is connected to the Joginder Nagar, from the Pathankot. Hence, you can reach Joginder Nagar which is just 56 Kms from Mandi.  
To reach Mandi, you can catch the train from any of the metros or private vehicles in Joginder Nagar, Kalka, Shimla or Chandigarh.

By Air
The nearest airport is the Bhuntar airport which is around 62 Kms; while, the closest airport is located at Bhuntar is 59 Kms. The Bhuntar airport located in Himachal Pradesh is the found to be the nearest airport in Bhuntar, which has the regular flights from the Delhi to Chandigarh.

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Hotels in Mandi | Munish Resort in Mandi | Raj Mahal Palace Hotel | Regent Palms Hotel in Mandi | Tourism in Mandi | Bhootnath Temple in Mandi | Madhav Rai Temple in Mandi | Weekend Getaways From Mandi | Triloknath Temple in Mandi | Administration in Mandi | Art and Culture in Mandi | Fairs and Festivals in Mandi | Geography of Mandi | History of Mandi | Sanjeevan Hospital in Mandi | Sports in Mandi