Churdhar

Churdhar
Churdhar Shirgul Maharaj (Himachal Pradesh)
Churdhar Location in Himachal Pradesh
Name
Other names	Churchandani (Snow of Bangels)
Proper name	Churdhar
Devanagari	चूड्धार
Geography
Coordinates	30°52′35″N 77°24′05″E / 30.8763°N 77.4013°E / 30.8763; 77.4013Coordinates: 30°52′35″N 77°24′05″E / 30.8763°N 77.4013°E / 30.8763; 77.4013
Country	India
State	Himachal Pradesh
District	Sirmaur, Shimla
Location	Sirmour, Shimla
Architecture
Architectural styles	Hinduism

Churdhar Sanctuary is located in Sirmour district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

The sanctuary is named after the Churdhar Peak. Churdhar (elevation of 3,647 metres; 11,965 feet) is the highest peak in Sirmour district and is also the highest peak in the outer Himalayas. The peak has a great religious significance for the people of Sirmour, Shimla, Chaupal and Solan of Himachal Pradesh and Dehradun of Uttrakhand. Churdhar is a holy place related with Shri Shirgul Maharaj (Chureshwar Maharaj), a deity widely worshipped in Sirmour and Chaupal. The place can be approached by lots of routes but the main routes are from Nohradhar, Sirmour of 14 km and Sarahan, Chaupal of 8 km.

The Churdhar Peak is mentioned in the book, The Great Arc, by John Keay but is referred to as The Chur. It is from this peak that George Everest made many astronomical readings and sightings of the Himalaya mountains around 1834. He was the Surveyor General of India and did the initial survey of the full length of India as well as some very accurate measurements of the earth's curvature.

The total covered area of this sanctuary is 56.16 square kilometres as notified on 15 November 1985. This is one of the newest sanctuaries of Himachal Pradesh. Fauna includes Himalayan black bear, barking deer, musk deer, langur and leopards .