Haat Kalika Temple

History

H. G. Walton’s Almora gazetteer (1911), following E. T. Atkinson’s The Himalayan Districts (1882–86), describes a temple dedicated to Kali close to the Gangolihat travellers’ bungalow, “more remarkable for the grove of noble deodars within which it stands”. To the south-west lay the remains of a few old temples and a masonry well bearing an inscription that appeared to be of some age.

Atkinson lists land grants to the Kalika temple in Gangoli preserved in the Almora records from the time of the Chand kings of Kumaon: one in 1693 under Raja Udyot Chand, another in 1752 and a third in 1777. He also notes that Kali in Gangoli once received human sacrifices under the Chands, a practice long since ended; in his day and in 1911, kids and buffaloes were still offered.

Local tradition credits Adi Shankaracharya with establishing the goddess here, and the temple is revered by the Kumaon Regiment; these traditions are not recorded in the gazetteers. Navratri brings the largest gatherings of devotees.

Stories

Grants From the Chand Kings

The colonial gazetteers describe a temple of Kali at Gangolihat, standing in a grove of deodar trees close to the old travellers' bungalow. E. T. Atkinson, whose volumes on the Himalayan districts date from the 1880s, lists land grants to the Kalika temple in Gangoli preserved in the Almora records.

They date from the time of the Chand kings of Kumaon: one under Raja Udyot Chand in 1693, another in 1752 and a third in 1777. H. G. Walton's Almora gazetteer of 1911 repeats the account, so the temple's royal patronage is a matter of record.

Shankaracharya and a Regiment's Goddess

Local tradition credits Adi Shankaracharya with establishing the goddess at Gangolihat. This is a belief handed down in the region and is not recorded in the old gazetteers, so it should be read as tradition. The temple is also said to be especially revered by soldiers of the Kumaon Regiment, and the largest gatherings of devotees come during Navratri. It is often visited together with the Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave temple, a short distance to the north.

Good to know

Kali temple in a grove of deodars

Endowed by the Chand kings of Kumaon

Visited together with Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave

Getting there

Nearest airport: Pantnagar. Road from Almora–Pithoragarh highway to Gangolihat.