Pithoragarh

Excursions


Chandak : Situated 7 Kms away by bus through an uphill climb Chandak constitutes the northern of Soar Valley.The famous temple of Mostamanu
is 2 Km. from Chandak. Chandak offers a fascinating view of the Himalayan ranges and the sprawling Soar Valley. It is a potential hang gliding resort
and the magnesite mining factory is located too here.

Thal Kedar : Known for its famous temple of Mahadev. 16 Km from Pithoragarh. Jayanti Temple of Dhwaj 21 Km via Totanaula. Cave temple of Kapileshwar. Cave temple at Rai , Ulka Devi Temple, Kailash Ashram Wadda , Hanuman Temple etc.

Gangolihat : An important religious place and rich in folk culture and ancient myths , is situated 77 Km from Pithoragarh . It is particularly well known for the famous Mahakali temple where the Shakti Peeth was installed by Shankaracharya himself. During Navratries a fair is held on the occasion of which devotees offer pujas-along


with sacrifices. 2 Km from Gangolihat near the Mankeshwar temple are the ruins of the fort which once belonged to the Mankotis -an obscure
dynasty of Kumaon region. 2 Km away is Uprara, the native village of poet 'Gumani', the first Kumaoni poet, who also wrote in Hindi, Sanskrit
and Nepali with great dexterity and command. 4 Km east from Uprara, near the village of Tamanauli is the Bharbhyo cave.

An old temple at Gangolihat Accommodation : P.W.D. Rest House, Gopal Tourist Lodge, Shah Tourist Lodge.

Places of Tourist Attraction : Mahakali Temple , Chamunda Temple , Mankeshwar Temple , Cave Temple of Patal Bhuvneshwar.

Berinag : A small township facing the glorious snow clad pieces of Himalayas. Berinag is situated at a distance of 102 Km from Pithoragarh at an elevation of 1720 meters.

Accommodation :Tourist Rest House(Chaukori), P.W.D. Rest House, Hotels Kailash Darshan and Kamal Vihar.


Places of Tourist Attraction : Snake Temples, Tripura Devi Temple, Cave Temple of Koteshwar, Tea Gardens of Chaukori,
Chaukori : Eleven Km away from Berinag, Garaun water falls four Kms to the east of
the Berinag, Musk Deer Farm at Kotmanya,
Him Darshan Kutir at Dharamghar.

Thal : An important transit station for Mun-
syari and Chaukori (Berinag). Thal is 62 Km away from Pithoragarh and is situated
on the banks of Ram Ganga.

Places of Tourist Attraction : Ek Hatiya
Temple, a monolithic shrine in Amiya
village is 2 Km away from the motor road.


Kot Gari Devi : Situated about 9 Kms from Thal the temple of Kotgari is held to be the final divine court of appeal for the deprived and the victim
of cruelty and injustice.

Didihat : 55 Kms from Pithoragarh, Didihat is situated at an elevation of 1725 meters.
Accommodation : P.W.D. Rest House, Tourist Rest House.
Hotels : Anand Hotel, Kumaun Hotel, National Hotel, Sharma Hotel.
Places of Tourist Interest : Seerakot fort cum Temple : 3 Km from Didihat Govt. Sericulture Garden is situated near G.I.C.

Munsyari : Munsyari, the center as well as the gateway of Johar region is situated 154 Km from Pithoragarh at an elevation of 2298 meters
and is snuggled in the folds of snow clad mountains.



Accommodation : P.W.D. Rest House, Tourist Rest House.
Hotel : Himani Tourist Lodge, Zara Residency.

Places of Tourist Interest : Munsyari is the base station for traks to Millam, Ralam and Namik Glaciers.

Dharchula : Situated at the banks of Kali river at the border of Pithoragarh district, Dharchula is 94 Km from Pithoragarh and is an important camp
along the Kailash Mansarovar, Chotta Kailash and Narayan Ashram route.
Narayan Ashram Photo : Deep Chauhan Accommodation : N.H.P.C. Guest House , P.W.D. Rest House , Tourist Reception Centre and Hotel Yash.

Places of Tourist Attraction

Narayan Ashram : Established by Narayan Swami in 1936 , Narayan Ashram is situated at a distance of 17 Kms from Tawaghat. The Ashram is a spiritual cum socio-educational centre.






Jauljibi : A point of confluence of the river Gori and Kali and of three different cultures, is situated at a distance of 77 Km from Pithoragarh.
During the autumn season Jauljibi pulsates with an important trade fair which is an indication of the cultural and commercial prosperity of

Kalapani Near Gunji Photo : Deep Chauhan Jauljibi, the confluence of the rivers Kali & Gori


the region. Along the Kailash Mansarovar route, from Gunji (3500 m), one can move along the quieter Kali to walk to 10 Km to reach
Kalapani (3600 m). There are pine, bhojpatra and juniper forests in this region. Although the river has been coming all the way from Lipulekh pass,
the small pool formed under a huge rock is considered to be the source of the Kali. There are snow -clad mountains all around and Vyas's cave is
to be found on the mountain in front of Rishi Vyas that the region is known as Byans. There is also a hot water spring at Kalapani.

Adventure Spots : The department of tourism proposes to create and provide necessary infrastructure, equipments and the allied facilities for
adventures sports like:

(a) Hang Gliding, (b) Para Gliding
Hang Gliding


Gliders can be made available on hire and conveyance to the gliding point and first aid facilities can be provided. Chandak, Munakot and Dwaj have
been proposed into gliding points.



Temples

Mahakali Temple of Gangolihat : Tehsil and block Gangolihat is at a distance of 77 Km. from Pithoragarh. It is rich in folk culture, music and
religious traditions and had been chosen by Sankaracharya for the installation of Mahakali shaktipith. Amidst the cluster of pine trees is situated

Maha Kali Temple, Gangolihat


the shakti temple. The Goddess Kali as represented in her fierce form conquering the demon, is offered sacrifices of lambs and goats. In the
direction opposite of the Kali temple about 2 Km. away is situated the Chamunda temple which is believed to be in the centre of an area of
wilderness exclusively possessed by spirits and demons conquered by the Goddess in her fierce aspect. The temple has an aura of mystery and
weird charm and during the dark hours of night the spirits are believed to have a free sway outside the temple premises.

Patal Bhuvaneshwar : The exposure of Patal Bhuvaneshwar (Lord Shiva in the underground temple complex) is one of this unique way to help
mankind. 16 Km. to the north-east of Gangolihat and 20 Km. to the south of Berinag is situated the Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave temple. It is 91 Km.
away from the district head quarter and situated at a height of 1350 meters above sea level. The temple place comes under village Bhuvneshwar
which is in the tehsil Didihat.The way to the temple is through a narrow tunnel shaped cave, giving a very thrilling experience. The main passage
way opens into several small caves which have in them the stone carvings of many traditional Gods & Goddesses and can evoke weird romantic
fancies and images in the religiously inclined person. The cave temple of Patal Bhuvaneshwar is traditionally believed to be the abode of thirty three
crore deities.
Bhuwneshwar Cave Temple


Mostamanu : Some six Km. by bus and then 2 Km. on foot to the north of Pithoragarh is situated the temple dedicated to Mosta God. The
temple premises are a center of a big lively fair held in August - September every year.

Mostamanu Temple


Nagmandir of Berinag : About one Km uphill to the south of Berinag proper in a romantic setting flanked in the north by a cluster of trees and
to the further south by a ravine, is the location of the famous snake temple which is dedicated to one of several manifestations of Lord Vishnu.
Legends say that the place was named Berinag after the Nagveni King Benimadhava. It is believed that when the pants from Maharashtra
came to settle here they saw coiled snakes of allcolours in a very large number and as a mark of reverence to them they built a snake temple
sometimes in the fourteenth century. It is a popular belief that Lord Krishna after conquering Kalinag advised him to leave river Jamuna and settle
somewhere amidst the snowy peaks, and that, Kalinag followed by many others came to a place somewhere around here.

Lateshwar Temple, Barabe Photo : Deep Chauhan


Sirakot : Built by Reka Kings, the Sirakot fort cum temple is situated at a distance of 2 Kms away from Didihat town which is some 52 Kms from
the district headquarters.The outer part of the fort was used by the King as household accommodation

Sirakot Temple Photo : Deep Chauhan where the temples of Shiva & Bhairab were built in the inner part. They are now in a state of ruins. The hilltop on which the fort is situated offers a remarkably clear and fascinating view of the Himalayan ranges.

Ghunsera Devi Temple : The Ghunsera caves are located in the middle of a lofty hill on the top of which is situated the Asurchula temple. The stone images of Gods and Goddesses are believed to have been installed by the Khol kings of Kartikeya pura. Two of the stone images found here are said to belong to the Gupta period.

Thal Kedar : Eight Kms on motor roads to the south of Pithoragarh and thence after a climb along a narrow pathway flanked by dense vegetation is reached the Kedar temple situated at a height of 2000 meters.


Nakuleshwar Temple : This temple has its location at a place about two km. removed from the village Shiling which it self is about four Km away
from Pithoragarh. The word Nakuleshwar is derived from a combination of two words : Nakul
meaning Himalaya and Ishwar meaning God and hence, Shiva the Himalaya God. The architectural design of the main temple is splendid and appears to have been modeled on the stylistic pattern of Khajuraho. In all, there are some thirty eight stone images of Shiva-parwati, Uma-Vasudev, Nauvarga, Surya, Mahishasur mardini, Vaman, Kurma, Narsingh etc. many of which are broken and disfigured because of neglect and age.

Kamaksha Temple : To the north east of Pithoragarh at a distance of about 7 Kms near the army contonment base is situated the Kamaksha temple on the top of a hillock over looking the surrounding mountain ranges.

Kapileshwar Mahadev : In the Soar Valley right above the villages of Takaura and Takari overlooking Pithoragarh town, is situated the cave temple dedicated to Mahadeva. The legend goes that the great sage kapil meditated here. The passage through the cave is very long and branches out to several indeterminate destinations and has hence been closed. The temple is situated some ten meters deep inside the cave. There is another cave temple of this kind also dedicated to Mahadev at a place called Rai which is about half a Km to the north-east on Dharchula-Pithoragarh road.


Ulkadevi Temple : On Pithoragarh chandak motor road close to where the tourist rest house is situated stands the Ulkadevi temple besides
which has also been built a memorial for the martyrs who laid down their lives in defense of the mother land. The temple offers a remarkable view of
the sprawling Soar Valley.


Jayanti Temple Dhwaj : Eighteen Km from Pithoragarh on Didihat road is situated a place called Totanaula from where after a 3 Km long steep
and tough climb is reached the Jayanti temple. On the way, some 200 ft. below the main
temple, is situated the cave
temple of Lord Shiva. From
the hill top where the Jayanti
temple is situated the Panch-
chuli and Nandadevi peaks
of Himalayas in all their
splendour can be clearly sighted.

Arjuneshwar : Ten Km from
the west of Pithoragarh town
on the top of a hill at a height
of 6000 ft. is situated the
Shiva temple called Arjune-
shwar believed to have been
built by Arjuna the great
warrior & the supreme archer.
Dhwaj Temple Photo : Mrigesh Pandey


The principal among them are Laxminarayan temple and Shivalaya in the town and Shiva, Hanuman, Chatkeshwar, Gurna Devi and Igyara
devi around the town.

Buddha Temple, Sukoli (Pithoragarh)


Then again there are temples dedicated to local Gods like Gangnath, Bhumia, Airi, Chamu, Badan, Haru, Balchan, Churmal, Gabila, Chipla and
so on. These latter Gods are a class apart from the divine order and are Gods restricted to specific areas, families and castes.

KOT GARI Devi : Situated about 9 Kms from Thal the temple of Kotgari is held to be the final divine court of appeal for the deprived and the victim