Mata Mansa Devi Mandir

One of the great Shakti shrines of North India, spread over some 100 acres where the Shivalik foothills begin at Bilaspur village, immediately beyond Chandigarh in Panchkula. The main temple was raised between 1811 and 1815 by Maharaja Gopal Das Singh of Mani Majra; by tradition the head of Devi Sati fell here, which is what makes the ground itself sacred. Twice a year, at the Chaitra and Ashvin Navratri melas, hundreds of thousands arrive daily. On an ordinary morning it is calm; come early, leave your shoes at the stand. Entry is free.

The living, crowded counterweight to the concrete geometry of the planned city