Jageshwar Mahadev - A peaceful compound of 100+ beautiful temples with great architecture, surrounded by high Deodar trees, calming water stream & stunning hills of Almora, Uttarakhand
During our visit to Binsar in Uttarakhand, we also planned a day trip to Jageshwar Dham. I had heard a lot about the group of ~125 temples and Jageshwar weather. Jageshwar Mahadev temple is surrounded by high deodar trees and hence Jageshwar temperature is usually very pleasant. There is a beautiful water stream with cold water. There is lot more than these deodar trees, water streams & temples, which we will discuss in this blogpost along with details like how to reach Jageshwar Mahadev, where to stay/eat etc.
During planning phase for this trip, we also thought of finding a hotel around Jageshwar to spend a night there, but later things changed and we decided to stay at KMVN Binsar which is inside the Binsar wildlife Sanctuary.
Jageshwar Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlings and this whole campus has approximately 125 temples of different sizes. Jageshwar Dham is surrounded by deodar trees on one side and a small village on other side. Over a period of time, lot of shops are built around Jageshwar Mahadev temple. The road which connects with the temple has water stream on one side and on other side there is a museum maintained by Archeological Survey of India, KMVN hotel of Jageshwar and a few houses/shops.
As you drive from Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, you cross through pine forests and then suddenly a cut comes of your way, which takes your down on the left. As you move 500 meters on this narrow road, Deodar forest starts. This is when you feel a huge difference in landscapes of Binsar and Jageshwar. There are rare places in Kumaun with deodar forestation. The temperature suddenly drops. Usually Pine forests are warm while Deodar forests are colder. In similar sunny conditions, both will have noticeable different in temperatures. Having spent good time in Himachal hills, I have experienced this difference in temperature clearly. I am in love with Deodar since I have spent 3 years in Shimla for my education and walking around Deodar woods.
As you move out form the temple complex, there is an ASI museum on road-side. We stepped into the museum and it was awesome. The rock cut creations kept in this museum are amazing. These idols don't match with the quality of temples. We felt great to see that ASI has preserved some of the best work from the past. If you are in Jageshwar, I would highly recommend you to take a quick look at this Museum and then you can decide, how much time you want to spend there.
We were at Jageshwar during lunch time. We had a round of the market and found various places to eat which offer paranthas, poori, thalis etc. We chose one of the dhabas near temple which offered thali. Food was ok but slightly overpriced w.r.t. quality served. That's pure demand and supply thing :). It was 70 Rs thali with rice, roti, a dal, a veg & raita. 70 rs is not much but food was almost tasteless. I would recommend to have some stuff packed with you or find a good place on your way. I am not sure if KMVN serves lunch to folks who are not staying there.
As you drive from Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, you cross through pine forests and then suddenly a cut comes of your way, which takes your down on the left. As you move 500 meters on this narrow road, Deodar forest starts. This is when you feel a huge difference in landscapes of Binsar and Jageshwar. There are rare places in Kumaun with deodar forestation. The temperature suddenly drops. Usually Pine forests are warm while Deodar forests are colder. In similar sunny conditions, both will have noticeable different in temperatures. Having spent good time in Himachal hills, I have experienced this difference in temperature clearly. I am in love with Deodar since I have spent 3 years in Shimla for my education and walking around Deodar woods.
Let's talk about how to reach Jageshwar Dham :
How to reach Jageshwar Dham by Air :
Pantnagar airport is the nearest airport to Jageshwar Dham. Jageshwar is just 150 km away from Pantnagar. Tourist/Pilgrims can also take flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport to Pantnagar airport. This is an international airway so tourist from outside India can also reach Jageshwar through Pantnagar airport.
From here on, you can take a taxi or opt for shared Tempo-traveler or luxury buses for Jageshwar.
How to reach Jageshwar Dham by Rail :
The closest railway station to reach Jageshwar is Kathgodam. The railway station is at a distance of 125 km from Jageshwar town.
Kathgodam railway is well connected with many important destinations around the country - Delhi, Howrah and Lucknow.
Trains are the major mode of transportation to one place to another in India. So, it is very important to make reservation at least 2 months before for a comfortable journey.
One can take small taxi from Kathgodam Railway station to Jageshwar. A taxi may charge about Rs. 2200 for one trip from Kathgodam station to Jageshwar.
How to reach Jageshwar Dham by Road :
Jageshwar is well connected with many towns of Uttarakhand and roads of Kumaon are pretty good. Jageshwar is well connected with Haldwani, Pithogarh, Almora.
Jageshwar is just 37 km away from Almora.
There are buses available from Delhi ISBT to Almora and then one can take local bus to Jageshwar.
If you have driven in hills, you can comfortably plan to drive to Jageshwar as roads are decent.
Above photograph is clicked from a little high point which is opposite to the temple complex. On the right you see a very old house and seems like no one is living in this house these days, while ground floor is being used for shops which are facing the street you see in this photograph. The middle of this photograph shows the entry to Jageshwar Temples and you can see tops of some of the temples in this compound, with high deodars in the background.
Jageshwar is not only a popular tourist destination but also an old pilgrimage. Across the year, there are millions of pilgrims and tourists visit Jageshwar Dham & some of the nearby tourist places of Kumaon.
As you move out form the temple complex, there is an ASI museum on road-side. We stepped into the museum and it was awesome. The rock cut creations kept in this museum are amazing. These idols don't match with the quality of temples. We felt great to see that ASI has preserved some of the best work from the past. If you are in Jageshwar, I would highly recommend you to take a quick look at this Museum and then you can decide, how much time you want to spend there.
Above photograph shows the road which goes to Jageshwar Mahadev Temples.
We noticed few guest-houses around the temple complex. KMVN hotel is there in Jageshwar and it's near to the temples. If you like trekking and exploring the lesser know place, you can plan to stay here for a night. No one would be able to offer you any itinerary, but walking & trekking around these deodar trees would be fun. During day time, it can a bit hot as compared to Binsar but in the middle of the forest, that would not be the case. Check out more reviews by folks who stayed at Jageshwar and take the final call. I strongly felt like staying there and walking these deodar woods to the core.
There is a huge hawan-kund in this campus where families can plan pooja. From the whole setup it seemed like a pre-booked setup and another revenue generation stream for the temple. At Jageshwar, you would see kids sitting in smaller temples and greet you with smile. If you avoid entering into their temples, they would pass some comments. It was interesting to hear the conversations of these kids. Most of the them were about money & money :). It seemed like each family has acquired a temple in this complex and try to make money out of it. In main temples you would enter in three stages. You would find a priest sitting at gate, who would tie a mauli around your wrist and then indicate to put some money in front of the idol. While visiting such temples or preserved places, one should contribute as per the wish for sustainability, but deliberate efforts put me off. And at times you end up coming out with bad mood.
Interestingly we noticed that Jageshwar temple complex has two groups and both of them tell you about 2 different temples as main temple in this complex. All these things were not very important for us, but it was sad to know these things. The gentleman in above photograph is making pudiya of holy ashes and you can very well guess the real goal.
There is another small temple complex on road side when you go towards Jageshwar. We didn't stop here, but it looked more serene and peaceful. Personally I like to take my time at such places but when you are with a group or family, you need to respect other aspects while on the road.
Above photograph shows view of Jageshwar village on opposite side of the temples complex. This photo is clicked while standing close to one of the bigger temples of Jageshwar. Jageshwar temples get harsh sun and hence these stones get pretty hot & harsh. That's why you see those blue coloured carpets. Visitors can walk on these to go to different temples without hurting their feet on burning stones of Jageshwar temple complex.
Let's talk a little about places where you can stay in or around Jageshwar.
We haven't stayed in Jageshwar so please take this information as indicative information and do your research to finalise the place. If you need help, please feel free to drop a comment in the bottom of this blog and we will try to address them as soon as we can.
Hotels or Homestays to stay around Jageshwar : <We will update this section after our research is done.>
Jageshwar Temples show evidences of different architectural styles and these are built over a longer period of time. According to the Archeological Survey of India, some of these temples were built in post-Gupta era.
Another belief is that Adi Shankara built some of these temples, but there is no textual or epigraphical evidence to support this claim.
This valley of Almora in Uttarakhand has two major clusters of Hindu temples and a number of roadside shrines, which you can see in one of the photographs of this blogpost. The two largest groups are locally called as the Dandeshwar group temples and the Jageshwar group temples . In the historic text, Jageshwar is also referred to as Yageshvara.
It was a good ride from Binsar to Jagwshwar and back to KMVN Binsar via Almora.
Other places to explore around Jageshwar Dham :
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
- Manage your waste well and don’t litter.
- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
- Don't play loud blaring music in forests or jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.
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