Visit to Masroor Rock Cut 8th Century Temples

Yesterday I went out and about again to explore this area of Himachal Pradesh, India. The first stop was Masroor Rock Cut Temples. Similar to the rock cut temples of Ajanta and Ellora near Mumbai, this historic site was a stunning work of art and an engineering marvel. This temple complex faces the Dhauladhar Himalayan range.

Panorama photo of the Masroor Rock-Cut Temple. A water pool for religious use was part of the original design and reconstructed as part of the archeological restoration.

The main temple structure.

These rock temples were started in the 8th century and never completed. The big 8 point mega-earthquake in Himachal Pradesh in 1905 that killed 20,000 and destroyed many cities in this area also did a lot of damage to the beautiful structures and sculptures here.

 The remaining artifacts bear witness to the former beauty of the temple.

View from above looking down on the structures.

Unlike Nepal, Western visitors such as myself are a rarity in most parts of Northern India. So a part of every excursion is posing for selfies requested by almost everyone. If I don't reciprocate by taking my own selfie with them they feel disappointed. Thus I have a phone full of unknown "friends".