Chitai Golu Devta Temple, Almora — the temple of the god of justice
temple · 14.9 km away
temple1 h 17 min from Almora
Jageshwar Temples, Almora — a deodar valley of old stone shrines
The Jageshwar temples are ancient stone shrines in a deodar valley 77 minutes from Almora, dated 7th to 14th century and protected by the ASI.
What it is
Jageshwar is a valley of old stone temples in the Kumaon hills, about 36 km north-east of Almora, in a forest of deodar beside the Jataganga stream, at about 1,870 m. Wikipedia counts 124 temples in the main Jageshwar group and 15 in the Dandeshwar group nearby, dated between the 7th and 14th centuries, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects and manages them. Most are small, and a few are large. They are mostly Shiva shrines, with Vishnu, Shakti and Surya shrines among them, and the valley has long been thought of as a northern Kashi.
Photos: Harsh7284 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · RFIndia (CC BY-SA 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
About 36 km and 77 minutes by road from Almora, by our routing, which matches Wikipedia's 36 km. The Dandeshwar group lies 73 minutes out, a little before the main complex, so the two are usually seen on one visit. We have not measured the walk between them, so allow time for both rather than treating this as a short stop.
What you see
The shrines stand packed close together, with ribbed towers, under tall deodars. The Survey describes several by name: the Mritunjaya temple, a Nanda Devi or Nau Durga shrine, a Chandika temple of the eighth or ninth century, and a Kuber temple, and at Dandeshwar a Shiva temple that it dates to the 9th or 10th century. A small Sun shrine in the main group is attributed to the 14th century.
Wikipedia adds a point from an art historian. The sanctums are too small for a priest to sit inside, and most lingas lack a drain for ritual washing. So many of the shrines may have been memorials to monks or saints, and there is no record of their use for worship. The origin of the site is unclear, and Wikipedia says the common stories about who built it have no inscriptions to back them.
When to go
Wikipedia says the site holds a monsoon festival in the month of Shravan, in July and August, and a Maha Shivaratri fair in early spring. We found no published opening times or entry rules, so we give none. The best-time guide sets out what is published about the seasons.
Around it
Katarmal and Kasar Devi fill the first day of the two-day plan, and Jageshwar takes the second. Things to do in Almora lists every stop with distances.
Plans that include this
All 1 plans that stop here →Nearby places
Questions people ask
What are the Jageshwar temples?
A valley of ancient stone Hindu temples about 36 km north-east of Almora, in a deodar forest by the Jataganga stream. Wikipedia counts 124 temples in the Jageshwar group and 15 in the Dandeshwar group, dated between the 7th and 14th centuries, and says the Archaeological Survey of India manages the site.
How far is Jageshwar from Almora?
About 36 km and 77 minutes by road from our reference point in Almora, by our routing, so it is a full half-day outing rather than a short stop. Wikipedia gives the same 36 km. We have not measured the walk between the Dandeshwar and Jageshwar groups, so allow time for both.
Why are the Jageshwar temples unusual?
Wikipedia reports an art historian's observation that the sanctums are too small for a priest to sit inside, and that most lingas have no drain for ritual washing, so many of the shrines may have been memorials or part of grants to monasteries. It notes there is no record of how they were used.