Mansa Devi Temple

Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar

Mansa Devi sits on Bilwa Parvat above Haridwar, and it is one of the Panch Tirth — the Five Pilgrimages that constitute a complete Haridwar yatra. The temple is also known as Bilwa Tirth for that reason.

The hill is the practical story. You reach the temple either by a roughly 3 km trek or by the Mansa Devi Udan Khatola aerial ropeway, and almost everyone who is not a pilgrim on a vow takes the ropeway.

🚡 The Udan Khatola ropeway

The ropeway has been operational since 1981 and is the preferred way up, particularly for specially-abled and elderly devotees, for whom the trek is not realistic.

Published specifications differ between sources, so treat the figures as approximate:

• Ride length: about 540–576 metres
• Vertical height: about 171–178 metres
• Ride duration: reported as anywhere from 2 minutes to 5–7 minutes
• Cabin capacity: reported as 4 per cabin by the operator and around 10 by other sources

The cabins are colourful and give a bird's-eye view of the whole town and the meandering Ganga, which is a substantial part of why people choose the ropeway over the trek even when they could walk.

Ticket and booking:

• ₹145 per individual
• A yearly package is available at ₹612
• Online booking through udankhatola.com; the operator's helpline is 1800-202-4050
• Boarding point: Maa Mansadevi Udankhatola, Railway Road, Mansadevi, Haridwar 249401

Ropeway timings are published inconsistently — the operator gives 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM, another source gives 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and a third gives opening between 6:00 and 7:00 AM with closing between 6:00 and 7:00 PM. Plan around a 6:00–7:00 AM start and a 6:00 PM finish, and do not rely on an evening ride.

Wait time for the cabins is short — reported as fifteen minutes at most.

🥾 The trek

About 3 km of winding trail with gentle inclines. It is a proper walk rather than a scramble, and pilgrims do it as an act of devotion.

Choose it deliberately: it takes considerably longer than the ropeway, it is exposed, and Haridwar is hot for much of the year. If you walk up, go early, carry water, and note that the descent on loose stone in evening light is the harder part.

For elderly visitors and anyone with mobility limitations, the ropeway is not a convenience but the only realistic option — and it exists precisely for that reason.

🕒 Temple timings — seasonal, and conflicting

Published timings vary enough that the safe approach is to plan for a morning visit:

• One source gives 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, closed for lunch at 2:00 PM, with aarti at 5:30 AM.
• Another gives a seasonal schedule: winter (October–March) 5:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 5:00 to 9:00 PM; summer (April–September) 4:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 4:00 to 10:00 PM.
• The temple opens around 5:00 AM, consistent with the earliest of these accounts.

What every version agrees on is that the temple opens very early and has an afternoon closure. Do not plan a mid-afternoon arrival.

Timings are often extended during Navratri and other festive days because of the numbers of pilgrims.

🌺 What Mansa Devi is for

Mansa Devi is the goddess who fulfils wishes — the name means literally "goddess of wishes" (mansa, desire). The traditional practice is to tie a thread on a tree in the temple precincts when making a wish, and to return to untie it when the wish is fulfilled.

That return visit is the point of the tradition, and it is why the temple has a devoted repeat pilgrim traffic quite separate from Haridwar's general yatra crowds. The ₹612 yearly ropeway package exists for exactly these people — locals and regulars who come often enough that individual tickets stop making sense.

🛕 Rules

Photography is not allowed inside the main sanctum, but you are free to take photographs outside. The ropeway ride and the view over Haridwar and the Ganga are the photographic reward here.

Dress modestly — shoulders and knees covered. This is one of Haridwar's principal pilgrimage temples and the expectation is real.

Remove footwear before entering.

🍛 Prasad, including online

The temple offers an online service for prasadam — prasad can be ordered and delivered, which is a provision aimed at devotees who cannot travel. That is unusual and worth knowing if you are arranging worship on someone's behalf.

Prasad is distributed at the temple as normal for those attending in person.

🌸 Navratri and the Panch Tirth

Navratri is the temple's peak, with extended timings and substantially heavier crowds, and the ropeway queues lengthen accordingly.

The Panch Tirth — Haridwar's Five Pilgrimages — are what make Mansa Devi part of a proper Haridwar visit rather than an optional hilltop excursion. Completing all five is the traditional yatra, and Mansa Devi (Bilwa Tirth) is one of them.

📍 Pairing it with Chandi Devi

Mansa Devi is paired with Chandi Devi, across the river, as a single half-day by almost everyone who comes. Both are hilltop Shakti temples above Haridwar, both have ropeways, and the two together form the standard hill excursion from the town.

Practical sequencing: do one in the early morning and the other late afternoon, because both are exposed hilltops in a hot city and midday on either is unpleasant. Allow for the crossing between them, which is not short.

Haridwar is roughly 3 km from the railway station, and Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is about 37 km away. Nearby sites worth including: Maya Devi temple, Har Ki Pauri ghat, and Rajaji National Park.

⚠️ Practical notes

• Book the ropeway online at udankhatola.com during peak season rather than queueing on arrival.
• Go early — for the temperature, for the light over the Ganga, and because the temple opens before dawn.
• Do not rely on an evening ropeway. Published closing times range from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.
• Tie the thread if you make a wish, and plan to come back to untie it. That is the whole tradition.
• Har Ki Pauri's Ganga aarti in the evening is the natural counterpart to a morning on the hill.

Last verified: 2026. Ropeway specifications are published inconsistently (540-576 m length, 171-178 m height, 2 to 7 minutes duration, 4 to 10 per cabin) and are given as ranges; the Rs145 fare, Rs612 yearly package and udankhatola.com booking are consistent. Temple timings are given three ways with an early opening and an afternoon closure common to all of them.