Chehni Kothi

The standard route. Park near the Shringa Rishi gate at Bagi village, off the link road between Banjar and Jibhi, and start walking. The trail climbs through pine and apple orchards for roughly 1 to 1.5 km, depending on which spur you take. Steady uphill, never punishing. Forty five minutes to an hour at a relaxed pace, less if you are fit. This is the more devotional approach because pilgrims use it for the Shringa Rishi temple too.

The gentler alternative. Bihar village is the other access point, slightly longer in distance but with an easier gradient and more time spent in the orchards. Locals often recommend it for slower walkers and for anyone who wants to see more of village life on the way up. About an hour at a relaxed pace.

On the way up from Bagi, the Shringa Rishi temple is itself worth the stop. Three storeys of stone and wood, prayer flags strung across the courtyard, apple orchards on every side. Shringa Rishi is the presiding deity of the Banjar valley and the temple is in active use. Remove shoes and caps before going up the steps. Photographs of the exterior are fine, the inner sanctum is off limits.

Honestly the main moment. Once you reach the courtyard at the top, walk slowly around the base of the great tower. The lower courses are heavy stone, the upper levels mostly deodar wood, and you can see the horizontal timber beams interlocking the corners that give Kath Kuni its name. The slate roofs step down in tiers. Try to spot a single nail or piece of metal anywhere on the structure. You will not find one.

The shorter tower right next to the great Kothi is the Dev Bhandar, the temple treasury, traditionally guarded by a hereditary keeper called the Bhandari. It is roughly 30 to 35 metres tall in its own right and built in the same Kath Kuni style. Locals usually keep this tower closed to outsiders. Photograph the exterior, do not try to enter without permission.

A small temple to Lord Krishna in the same complex, with carved Tankri script inscriptions on the walls. Tankri is the old script of several Himachali languages and even local experts struggle to translate parts of it. Worth a slow look if you find old scripts interesting. The carvings on the door frames repay close attention.

Chehni village itself is a working Himachali settlement of 30 or 40 traditional homes, most built in the same stone and timber method as the great tower. Walking the lanes for half an hour gives you more sense of how Kath Kuni actually houses people than the kothi itself does. Children may say hello, dogs nap in patches of sun, and the flat roof spaces dry chillies and grain in season. Walk slowly, do not photograph people without asking.

If you are here in September or October, the apple harvest is in full swing on every slope around the village. Local growers are usually happy to chat for a few minutes and sometimes hand a fruit to passing walkers, though it is polite to offer to pay for anything you take more than a single tasting bite of. The fruit is mostly going to wholesale markets in Banjar and beyond, do not assume picking is free.

If you have legs left after the kothi, a path continues up from Chehni to Myagi village, another small Kath Kuni cluster on a higher shoulder of the ridge. The reward is a much wider view across the Tirthan side toward the Great Himalayan National Park boundary. Roughly an hour each way of steady climb on top of what you have already done. Hire a local guide from Chehni if you want to do this, the path is not always obvious.

The first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset are the windows that work for the great tower. Side light catches the stone and wood layers and the slate tiers, where midday tends to flatten everything out. Dawn is calmer and emptier than dusk, when local devotees come up for evening prayers. A 35 to 50 mm lens covers the full tower from the courtyard. A wider lens helps inside the village lanes.