Jageshwar at Almora

Day 2 of our Adventure tour in Uttaranchal. We have cycled almost half the way from Kathgodam and are now a day long journey to the start of a 5 day Rafting expedition on Kali river. By sheer luck we chanced upon this Shrine on our way and asked the guide for a brief halt. We ended up spending a couple of hours on the photo shoot

Situated at an altitude of 1870mts in the heart of Uttaranchal lies this first of the 12 Jyotirlings. A short distance away from the town of Almora (37km), it is an important tourist destination for pilgrims every year. It is situated amidst thick deodar forest in the lap of nature and acts as a center for meditation. You may find fewer tourists coming here as compared to other more popular religious sites in Uttaranchal and has relatively few hotels and accommodations to offer but is definitely worth a visit considering its religious sanctity

The bylanes leading to the temple complex has a handful of shops selling religious books, idols and trinkets. Unlike some of the more popular pilgrimage sites in Uttaranchal, this has a low key tourism so you may not be hassled by beggars or ascetics as well as the local Shopkeepers.

There are 125 temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in the complex. Most of the temples enshrine a stone lingam, surrounded by stone sculptures of various deities. The cluster of temples depicts an ancient culture and design, renovated and reestablished by Adi Shankarachary while on his way to Kedarnath.

The main temples of Jageshwar include Dandeshwar Temple, Chandi-ka-Temple, Jageshwar Temple, Kuber Temple, Mritunjaya Temple, Nau Durga, Nava-grah Temple, a Pyramidal shrine, and Surya Temple. Mrityunjaya Temple is the oldest and Dandeshwar Temple is the largest shrine of Jageshwar

A Plaque outside the shrine mentions the date of its establishment and creation details, further ahead a few 100 meters away is a small Museum set up by the Archaeological Survey of India. It has displayed some precious Idols and Artifacts from the Temple vicinity herein but Photography is not permitted

  

An Ascetic in Deep Study inside the Shrine