Himachal Pradesh Thursday allowed a private operator to daily ply a heli-taxi to the ancient hilltop shrine of Aadi Himani Chamunda.
At present, the shrine can only be reached by an uphill trek in the Dhauladhar mountain range in Kangra district.
A six-seater chopper would ply to and fro between the famous shrine of Chamunda Devi near Dharamsala town, some 250 km from here, and the Aadi Himani Chamunda temple, a government spokesperson told IANS.
He said the two-way fare would be Rs.6,000 per person.
The heli-taxi service was inaugurated by Housing and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma.
Officials said the government also plans to link Aadi Himani Chamunda with a six-km-long ropeway with a carrying capacity of 1,000-1,200 people per hour each way. It would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.200 crore, an official said.
He said the total travel time by the ropeway would be around 20 minutes.