Kasar Devi Temple, Almora — the ridge village above the town
temple · 17 min from Almora
1 night · 2 daysFirst visitTemples & heritagebalanced
Two days in Almora — Katarmal, Kasar Devi and the Jageshwar temples
A two-day Almora plan: the Katarmal Sun Temple and Kasar Devi on day one, then the ancient Jageshwar and Dandeshwar temples on day two. Free copyable plan.
Two days for the heritage outings around Almora. Day one takes the Katarmal Sun Temple in the morning and Kasar Devi in the afternoon. Day two is the long drive up the valley to the Jageshwar temples, with the nearby Dandeshwar group. The one-day plan covers the town and the closer temples instead. See also when to visit and how to reach Almora.
Photos: rrdarvesh (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Itsmalay~commonswiki (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Harsh7284 (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Anyone with two days in Almora who is more interested in old temples than in views alone.
Day by day
Day 1
Katarmal and Kasar Devi
The Sun temple in the morning, then the ridge village for the late afternoon.
- 09:00Surya Temple, KatarmalThe large stone Sun temple the Survey calls Bara Aditya, with 44 smaller shrines on a platform around it.
- ↓ 49 min by road · 23 km13:30Kasar Devi TempleThe ridge village above Almora, for the temple, the lanes and the long view in the afternoon light.
Day 2
The Jageshwar temples
A long drive up the valley and a slow walk through old stone shrines.
- 09:30Jageshwar temple complexThe main cluster of ancient stone temples in a deodar forest, 36 km from Almora.
- ↓ 4 min by road · 2 km12:45Dandeshwar Group of TemplesA second group of old stone Shiva temples in the same valley, before the drive back.
Getting there
Almora is reached from Kathgodam by car or bus, about 88 km and 175 minutes by road, and from Delhi it is about 365 km. See the hub guide for the full arrival table.
Where to stay
Stay in Almora or at Kasar Devi both nights; Jageshwar is a day trip of about 77 minutes each way, not an overnight move.
Know before you go
- Jageshwar is 77 minutes each way, so leave early on day two and carry water.
- We found no published opening times or entry fees for any stop, so ask locally before you set out.
- Check the road in the monsoon before driving to Katarmal or Jageshwar.
Places on this route
Other ways to do it
All Almora itineraries →
Questions people ask
Is Jageshwar worth the drive from Almora?
For anyone interested in old temples, yes: it is a valley of ancient stone shrines in a deodar forest, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is 77 minutes and 36 km from Almora by our routing, so give it a full morning and keep the afternoon for the drive back.
Why are the dates of the Katarmal temple disputed?
Wikipedia says the Katyuri king Katarmalla built it in the 9th century, while the Archaeological Survey of India says the existing stone temple replaced an earlier brick-and-wood one in the 12th or 13th century. Wikidata gives 9th to 13th century, and we use that range.
How long is the drive between the stops?
Katarmal is 44 minutes from Almora and Kasar Devi 17 minutes, and Jageshwar is 77 minutes, with Dandeshwar a little before it. Each leg is measured on the road network, but hill roads are slower in rain, so leave a margin, particularly on the way back from Jageshwar.