History of Shirgul Temple at Churdhar Peak (The Highest Peak of outer Himalayas).

Churdhar is said to be the 7th Kailash which is the abode of Lord Shiva and Devta Shirgul Maharaj. There are two Shivalingas here, in which the Shivalinga present on the peak was established by Adiguru Shankaracharya during his stay in Kailash and the second Shivalinga is present in the temple which is worshiped in the name of deity Shirgul Maharaj and whose origin is said to be Patal. Churdhar is also called the third stair of heaven which is made by Ravana. Due to the bangle of Mother Draupadi falling at this place, this place was named Churdhar. There is also a path to Patal which is situated on the Churdhar peak and is currently closed. When Hanumanji was taking Sanjeevani to Lanka, Sanjeevani and other medicines fell here. From this place you can see various peaks of Kailash. In Churdhar, the deity Shirgul Maharaj brought divine water from Mansarovar and gave recognition to Churdhar as a place of pilgrimage, here deities from different areas of Sirmaur keep coming for bath. Bijat Devta comes to Churdhar from "Sanrah(Chopal)" every year on the festival of Devthan to meet his elder brother Shirgul Maharaj.
There is also a story related to the Mahabharata period, Lord Krishna had placed Barbarik's head on this peak, and from this peak Barbarik witnessed the war of Mahabharata. After the war was over, the five Pandavas along with Lord Krishna came to this peak and there are some stone symbols made by them here.
The sanctuary is named after 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 Uttarakhand. Churdhar is a holy place related with Shri Shirgul Maharaj (Chureshwar Maharaj), a deity widely worshipped in Sirmour and Chaupal. The main routes for arrival are from Nohradhar to 18 km, (Sirmour)and Sarain, Chaupal of 8 km.[1]
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.

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Jai shri shilgur maharaja ji