Kalpeshwar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is the nearest airport, 272 km away.

• By train

  Rishikesh is the nearest railhead, 255 km away.

• By road

  Road access runs from Rishikesh to Urgam, 253 km on the Rishikesh-Badrinath road.

Why devotees come here

Kalpeshwar Temple stands at about 2,200 m in the Urgam valley of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. It is the fifth of the Panch Kedar, the five Shiva temples, and the only one open throughout the year. Devotees worship Shiva here as his matted locks, the Jata.

Kalpeshwar is the fifth of the Panch Kedar, the five temples of Shiva, and pilgrims visit it last in the order of worship. Legend says Shiva hid as a bull in Garhwal to avoid the Pandavas after the Kurukshetra War. In this legend, his hair appeared at Kalpeshwar after he split into five parts.

The shrine is a small stone temple. You reach it through a cave passage, and inside, the matted locks of Shiva, called the Jata, are worshipped. According to legend, sage Durvasa meditated here. The priests here are Dasnamis and Gossains, disciples of Adi Shankara.

The temple stands at about 2,200 m in the Urgam valley of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state. It is the only Panch Kedar temple accessible throughout the year. The Panch Kedar are sacred to Shiva across the Garhwal Himalayas. The valley is a dense forest area, with apple orchards and terraced fields. The Kalpganga river, a tributary of the Alaknanda, flows through it. After the Panch Kedar, the custom is to worship Vishnu at the Badrinath temple.

Tips for your visit

• The road is very rough and not suitable for normal cars.
• Only skilled drivers should drive on it.
• Bicycles and small cars can use the road, except in monsoon.
• The Dhyan Badri temple at Urgam village, one of the Sapt Badri temples, is also seen on the route.

Questions people ask