Religious/ Spiritual

The sacred shrine atop the Poornagiri hill is 20 kms from Tanakpur and 92 kms from Champawat. Large number of devotees visit the shrine from all over the country, especially during the Chaitra Navratri in the month of March - April. The area reverberates with the holy chants of devotees climbing the hill. River Kali flows from here and is known as Sharda in the plains. A motorable road is built upto Thuligarh, which is 14 kms from Tanakpur. From Thuligarh one has to trek upto the temple.

Winter home of the deity at Kedarnath temple and the seat of the Rawal of Kedarnath. Connected by bus services to Rudraprayag and other major centres. This is the winter seat of Lord Kedarnath and worship is done here during the winters when the temples of Kedarnath remain closed. The temples of Usha and Aniruddha, Lord Shiva and Parvati are worth visiting. Ukimath is at a distance of 41 km from Rudraprayag and 13 km from Guptkashi. It is situated at an elevation of 1311 m. The Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath features superbly crafted and carefully maintained icon of Lord Shiva.

It is set on the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhyundar or Lakshman Ganga. There is a big gurudwara here. Situated between Joshimath and Badrinath, Gobindghat is the starting point for the trek to the valley of flowers.

Hemkund ( Lake of gold), is situated nearly 29 kms from Joshimath via Govindghat, is set in one of the famous beauty spots of the central Himalayas and has a lake of crystal clear water located in beautiful surrounding. The glaciers from Hathi Parvat and Sapt shring peaks feed the lake and a small stream called Himganga flows out of the lakes.

A unique pilgrim centre where, the Hindus and the Sikhs go hand in hand, Hemkund Sahib boasts of a rich tradition of religious tolerance. Placed at an altitude of 4329 meters, the Hemkund Lake houses Lakshman temple and a Sikh Gurudwara. It is believed that guru Gobind Singh and Lakshman meditated on the banks of this majestic river.

Roopkund is situated in the eastern part of Chamoli district (in the lap of Trishul Massif, 7122 mts.). The high-altitude (5029 mts.), kund is on the Nanda Jat route to Homkund. It is not a very large kund and is rather shallow, having a depth of only about 2 metres. The edges are snow covered for most parts of the year. When snow melts, one can see human and equine skeletal remains, sometimes with flesh attached; well preserved in the alpine conditions. It is found that about 300 people died about 500-600 years ago.

At the junction of the rivers, Gomti and Saryu stands a large temple with it's conical tower. Here is the shrine of Bageswar or Vyagreswar, the, "Tiger Lord", an epithet of Lord Siva. This temple was erected by the Kumaun king, Laxmi Chand, about 1450 A.D., but there is an interesting Sanskrit inscription there of a far earlier date. Th temple is flooded with devotees on the annual occasion of Shivratri. This place has a cluster of temples.

The temples at Baijnath proper are situated on the left bank of the Gomti. On the way to the main temple, just below the house the Mahanta, is the temple of Bamani (A corrupt form of Sanskrit Brahmani). Tradition of the place says that it was built by Brahmin widow and was dedicated by her to God Shiva. Another story states that a Brahmin woman who was kidnapped by a Kshatriya built the temple in favour of Shiva for the expiation of her sins. There is an idol of Shiva inside the temple. It has no inscriptions.

A beautiful temple dedicated to Goddess Chandika stands at a distance of about half a kilometer from Bageshwar. Every year, the temple bustles with activity as the devout congregate here to offer pujas to the deity during the Navratras.

Another important temple, the Sriharu temple, is situated at a distance of about 5 kms. from Bageshwer. The devotees believe that prayers for wish fulfilment here never go in vein. Every year, a large fair is organised on the Vijya Dashmi day following the Navratras.

Brahma Kapal Ghat is a flat platform on the banks of the Alakananda River, where Lord Brahma is believed to reside. The devotees pay homage and rituals to the departed souls and it is conventional to proffer sraddha to ancestors here. It is situated just 100 meters north of the Badrinath Temple.