BAGESHWAR
Though Bageshwar is popular as a religious town yet it has ample offerings for people with varied interest. No wonder then that it is frequented by people from different walks of life. Armed with some of the prettiest locales, it relaxes the tourists and exposes them to a few days of calm and unhurried life.
Bagnath Temple: This ancient temple is situated in the centre of the town and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It witnesses a huge rush of devotees on the holy occasion of Shivratri. It holds a very important place for devotees and is a must visit for people visiting this area. It is believed that Lord Shiva has roamed here in the form of a tiger (vyaghra). It is because of this that the place was known as Vyagrehwar, which, with the passage of time became Bageshwar. A temple of that very form of Shiv was constructed long time ago. The present temple is constructed on the same place and is famous by the name of Bagnath temple. This temple was built by Chandravanshi king Lakshmichand in 1602 and has idols of deities like Shiv, Parvati, Ekmukhi and Chaturmukhi Shiv Ling, Trimukhi Shiv, Ganesh, Vishnu, Surya etc. which can date back their origin to seventh century. The presence of so many idols in the temple premises suggests that the temple must have been a splendid structure at some point of time. On the occasion of Makar Sankranti every year a grand fair is organised here.
