Tilla Jogian

Tilla Jogian, the hill of the ascetics, rises to around a thousand metres in the eastern Salt Range above the Jhelum plains and carries the remains of a monastic complex used for centuries by Nath jogis, the yogic order associated with Gorakhnath. Legend attaches the site to figures from Punjabi tradition, and it appears in the story of Heer and Ranjha, where Ranjha comes here to become a jogi. Guru Nanak is said to have spent time on the hill, and a Sikh-period structure stands among the ruins. What survives is a scatter of temples, cells, water tanks cut into rock and a walled enclosure, all abandoned since 1947 and steadily decaying, with trees growing through the masonry. The setting is the reward: a long view over the plains, the Jhelum river and the Rohtas fort in the middle distance, with almost no other visitors.

History

The Kanphata order of jogis, founded by Guru Gorakhnath, was centred here, and Guru Nanak is said to have meditated on the hill for forty days in the early 1500s; in the early 19th century Maharaja Ranjit Singh marked his visit with a stone-lined pond and a small monument. In December 1924 the mahant of Tilla Jogian helped George Weston Briggs record the lineages of the Nath order (Wikipedia, Tilla Jogian).

What you'll find

• Ruined temples and cells - the abandoned monastic buildings on the summit.
• Rock-cut tanks - water reservoirs serving the complex.
• The plains view - the Jhelum river and Rohtas fort seen from the top.
• Encroaching forest - trees and scrub growing through the ruins.

When to go

October to April. Summer is fiercely hot on the exposed hill and the track becomes difficult after rain. Winter mornings give the clearest views over the plains. Weekdays are effectively empty.

Things to know

The road up is rough and in places requires high clearance; local advice on current conditions is worth taking. The ruins are unconsolidated and in poor condition, with no interpretation, fencing or facilities of any kind. There is no water on the hill. Visitors should not go alone in remote conditions without telling someone.

Nearby

Rohtas Fort lies below towards Dina; Jhelum town is east.