Hanuman Dhara

About Hanuman Dhara

At Hanuman Dhara a stream of water falls onto the image of Hanuman and releases into a kund below. Langoors live around the area, which devotees associate naturally with the monkey god. Hanuman Dhara is the name of the spring itself, and the story behind it is that it sprouted from the rock when Rama shot an arrow into it, in order to calm an enraged Hanuman who had come to this place to put out the fire that had caught his tail after he returned from burning Lanka.

At the shrine

The falling spring and kund

The water comes off the rock directly onto the Hanuman image and collects in the kund below. This is the heart of the site, and devotees take the water from the kund.

The langoors

Troops of langoors live around the shrine and are long associated with it. They are habituated to visitors, so keep food and loose bags out of reach rather than feeding them.

The view from the top

The shrine sits high on the hillside, and the climb is repaid by a wide view back over the Chitrakoot landscape, which is the part most visitors photograph.

Planning your visit

Hanuman Dhara is reached by a climb up the hillside, and the ascent is the main physical demand of a Chitrakoot itinerary.

• Climb early in the morning, before the steps heat up.
• Carry water; vendors are not reliable all the way up.
• Keep bags closed and do not carry visible food because of the langoors.
• Tuesdays and Saturdays are busy days at Hanuman shrines, so allow extra time.

Best time to visit

October to March is the right season for the climb. Early morning is the best hour in any month. Summer makes the ascent genuinely hard by mid morning. In the monsoon the steps are slippery, though the spring itself is at its strongest.