As you read in last post of Jageshwar, how our new year eve was spoilt, But leaving that aside, we were ready for our next destination, the Patal Bhuvaneshwar, taking our last photo of Jageshwar.
Some info about Patal Bhuvaneshwar as gathered from net
Patal Bhuvaneshwar is one of the most fascinating places of the Kumaon region, is a limestone cave temple 14 km from Gangolihat in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It is located in the village Bhubneshwar. Legend and folklore have it that this underground cave enshrines Lord Shiva and thirty three crore Gods. The cave is 160 m long and 90 feet deep from the point of entrance. Limestone rock formations have created various spectacular stalactite and stalagmite figures of various hues and forms. This cave has a narrow tunnel-like opening which leads to a number of caves. The cave is fully electrically illuminated. There is a folklore that the Pandava brothers passed their time here during banishment. It is built due to the flow of water. It cut the rocks in such a fascinating way that it looks like that any artist had made those entire statues within the cave & on its wall. It has some cave opening and it is believed that these opening will be close as the centuries pass on. The scientific fact is that it’s still being developed due to crystallization of the minerals which are dissolved in the water. As per belief, some doors which are now closed were opened thousand of years back. It’s yet to be fully explored. It is also believed that this cave is internally connected to the four abodes /seats (Char Dham).
We left Jageshwar around 10, refreshed and forgetting the horrible incident of yesterday night. When we came out of Jageshwar road, there are two ways to go to Patal Bhuvaneshwar. The normal and shorter route is that we turn towards Almora and 5 Kms after Jageshwar turn right and passing Bare Chhina, Shera Ghat and by-passing Beri Nag, we reach Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
The other road, we were told is longer and lonely. So we decided to take this longer route, because we had enough time and I am so happy to drive on lonely roads. We turned to our left towards Gangolihat. The road was Ok for most of the parts and we hardly saw any car crossing us. Occasionally 2 or 3 trucks passed. The scene was beautiful and awesome.
Beautiful scenes on Gangolihat road
On way to Patal Bhuvaneshwar
From Gangolihat there are two roads one going to PithoraGarh and the other towards Berinaag. We turned left on Beri Nag road and a few Kms turned right towards Patal Bhuvaneshwar. We had booked 3 rooms in KMVN rest house, which is just near the cave. The rest house has only 4 rooms and as usual, had breathtaking views of the Himalayas and the valleys. About 300 meters from KMVN is the cave of Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
Path towards the cave (Right)
The entrance to the cave is very small and there are no stairs to go down the cave. If we see from the entrance… it looks like a well going down the nether lands. My wife was very reluctant to go down, but the guide, who was a young boy of 25 from the same village persuaded her claiming that no one ever fell from the stairs (?). The guide was really very helpful as he would hold feet of my wife and keep them on the correct place and then guide her to slip down slowly. I think the depth is about 90 feet down.
When we reached the cave, we were surprised to see such a huge place inside a solid mountain. Due to some volcanic eruptions molten rocks, iron, copper and zinc had carved some beautiful sculptures in the cave. The guide explained how this cave has been mentioned in Skand Puran and showed us around.
The shapes were so clear that one need not explain. We could easily figure out that it is a peacock, or a snake or a cow. The miniature Amarnath model was so clear that we all recognised it before guide could tell us. The forms were made by molten rock and metals… and I can not imagine, how perfect shapes were modeled by chaotic flow of molten mass of rocks and metals. It looked like a blue prints of all the Himalayan temples. If we go by guide’s version almost all the pilgrimage places in Himalayas were there. … some we recognised ourselves some were forced into our mind.
They do not allow cameras or mobiles inside cave, so we could not take any photo. I got one foto from net which is below
Shiv Jata made with molten rocks and zinc
We reached the main shivalinga which is called Patal Bhuvaneshwar. The legend is that this linga was so powerful that anyone worshipping it would get what ever he wished. Later Shankracharya visited here and seeing the strong energies of linga, captured the energies by putting molten copper on it with some tantrik ritual.
above shivalinga, are three idols of shiva vishnu and brahma. Suprisingly water was dripping on shiva and vishnu but Brahma’s idol was dry…. has it some connection with the fact that no where in the world Brhama is worshipped and there is only one temple of Brhama (in Pushkar).
Then we saw a big round plate of rock which had a pointed stone nail in the center. As per guide, this pointer represents our yuga and this is growing upwards. The day it touches the roof, the gates of cave will be closed automatically and our yuga will end. We were relieved to see that there was still enough distance left between the pointer and the roof …. at least enough for us to get out of the cave :).
One more suprising thing about this cave was that there was water dripping all around, but the water was not collecting anywhere. There must be some hidden outlet for the water. Another surprising thing was that the air inside was pure and full of oxygen..we did not feel any bad smell or difficulties to breathe. There must be some natural outlet and inlet for air, hidden from the eyes. Whatever it was, Nature had done her all duties well !
We thanked the guide and paid him his charges… my wife was so happy with the boy’s help that she tipped him extra for letting her see that wonderful place.
Bhandari the good guide
My daughter Kan really liked the place and counted it as one of the natural wonders in the world. We remembered our visit to Jetta-gretto caves in Lebanon which had rock formations too. They were fascinating too but the religious stories attached to Patal Bhuvaneshwar caves gave it an extra thrill, as watching the stories of hindu mythology with some natural rock formation was something like a special treat.
We came back to rest house, slept there and next day morning had a stroll in the village. The Himalayan peaks are so beautifully visible from KMVN rest house that you see them with mouth open.
B’ful Himalayas as seen from Patal Bhuvaneshwar
Can you name the peaks ?
I could only locate Nanda Devi peak due to its peculiar shape. If someone knows name of other peaks, please tell.
In the village we met a group of young village boys, who showed us small temples around, which had ancient artifacts…some of which looked like more than 500 years old.
the team of good village kids
Info about the caves
The boys and gals were so happy with us that they chanted Aum Namo Shivaye with us and our chorus echoed in the valley.
Click on play button to listen
We left Patal Bhuvaneshwar happily, this time via Beri Nag, Sheraghat and Bare-chhina. In the way Shan got a friend who seemed to be very fond of him
Shan with his new friend – PILLU
On the way we stopped at Kainchi Dham and enjoyed the Jal-jeera there after seeing the temple.
Around evening we reached Nainital. The mad rush of new year walas was gone and Nainital looked peaceful. We got 3000 wala rooms for 1000 each and enjoyed our cosy evening chatting about the experience. Unlike Mussorie & shimla, Nainital has still lot of charm left and the Naini lake adds beauty to it. Nainital is also becoming a concrete jungle but the Nature still has upper hand on it.
Gang in Nainital Hotel
Now some photos of Nainital !
Panoramic view of Naini lake
Beautiful Naini Lake
Another view of Naini lake
beautiful sun rays on Naini lake
Naini Lake from our Hotel room
After cooling our heels in Nainital, for two days, we finally returned to Delhi.
नमस्ते जी – फिर मिलेंगे.. इंडिया बोत अच्चा है
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hanji andar pics khichna mana hi, lekin andar ja kr jo adbhut najare hain dekh kr aisa lagta hi jaise swarg ke darshan ho gaye ho… sach mein bhagwan shiv ka vaas lagta hi wahan……..
Very well described, pictures are beautiful.
Patal Bhuvaneshwari is in my wish list , lets see when the dream come true.
Keep writing.
Tks Maheshji.. it is surely a place worth visiting many times
The images of the Himalayas are simply awesome. Uttarakhand is a veritable paradise. Thanks for showing us the sights and sounds of that beautiful state.
tks Narayanji…. when is your next story on chasing waterfalls coming ?
So you noticed it, SSji…I am actually working on two stories at the moment. Unfortunately, I have been busy at work of late and hope to submit the drafts for review in a couple of days, God willing.
doosari choti (other peaks) nanda peak ke sath wali ka nam shayad neeraj ji hi bata payenge.
bahut hi aachi jankari paatal bhubneshwar ki.
gaon ke bachon ke photo unko bhej doge to wah bahut prassan honge.
tks Vashishta ji… I did send all the fotos of children alongwith CD of their clip to them soon after i returned to Delhi. I am sure they would be happy to have got that and now their foto is on Ghumakkar… surely one day someone will show them to make them more happy !
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??????? ???????… ???? ?? ?????? 2008 ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??.. ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?????????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?????.. ??????? ??? ???? ???? ????
?? ??? ??? ??.. ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??.. ?? ???? ???? ?? ???.. ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????
Thank you SS for the lovely photographs and refreshing my trip to this place, in the summers of 2010.
For some reason, it is getting difficult to name the peaks by looking at the photo and I am feeling very poor for this. It is Trishul, Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi range.
Someone needs to confirm it again.
tks Nandan.. may be ???? ??????? will be able to confirm names of peaks. Nanda devi is clearly visible.. one may be Nanda Ghunti.. or trishull dont really able to locate
???? ??, SS ???? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ????? ??? ????????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???? extreme ??? ?? ?? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ???
??????? ?? ??? ??????? ????…?? ?? ???? ???? ??… ???? ?? 1947 ?? ??? ??? ???… ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??
???? ?????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?????+???? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??, ??? ??? ????? ???-???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???????
LOL
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S.S. ji, _/\_
Thanks for detailed & good narrated post about Patal Bhuveneshwer.
Picture of Patal Bhuvneshwer & Mountain range are awesome.
I know only, This is nandadevi Mountain Range But don’t know the name of peak alongwith Nandadevi.
Once again Thanks of goods story & Beautiful Pictures…………………..!
Ritesh…………….
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tks again for your kind comments
Well written post.
Pics are compliment to each other.
Please come soon on Ghumakkar with another travel story.
tks vinay ji.. yes i will continue posting. Hope you read my posts on Iceland
???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????????? ??????? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ?? ??????? ???? ????????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ???- ?????????, ????????, ????????, ?????????? ????
????????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ???
??????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????
Neeraj which one is trishul among them ? the one with the most pointed peak ?? why they call it trishul.. are there 3 peaks ?
Dear SS jee
This Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave is now on my hotlist . Your description was great and pictures are very beautiful…………….
What to say along with you Sir, I just read the post from Manish Khamsera also . I am now very much inclined to go there. Himalayas from that place really look beautiful as if ??? ??? ??? ??????? ??…………….
And About Nainital my view is that this is the place where I and my wife to settle ASAP…………………
We both are tired of Fast Mumbai life and climate and the negativity that floats here in the Air..
Full MAYA JAAL hai……………………..
Now its upto Lord whether its in our destiny or not……………………..
Thanks SS fro posting this …………………….
And sorry for late commenst and my forgetfulness………………..
tks vishal ji… Himalayas have so high spiritual energies that one gets re-energised while visiting there.
Delhi bombay and other big cities have lot of negativity… and at least once a year I have been visiting Himalayas to ward off that negativity.
Idea of settling in Himalaya is good for you… i have already planned for my post retirement stay there
AuM Namoh Shivaye
I want to see this place. can anyone help me plz.
Nilima you can gather info about this place from my above article. The route from Delhi would be Delhi – kathgodam -bhimtal-almora-Barechhina-Jageshwar – Patal bhuvaneshwar.
This place is a wonder in the world and worth visiting to see the miracles of nature and beauty of himalayas
any querries send mail bhutnath@gmail.com
tks
Hello sir,
need your help, we are planning to go Patal bhuvneshwar and jaageshwar kindly guide where to stay where to visit,
we are leaving delhi on 3rd April by Ranikhet express and returning with the same train on 5th april 2015
also from where we can hire a taxi.
thanks & REgards
Suman SIngh
Dear Suman singh. You will get plenty of taxis outside the railway station…but you have to negotiate a lot, as taxi people normally give higher rates for new comers. Take a taxi direct to Jageshwar Dham it is around 130 Kms from Kathgodam stn. There is a KMVN rest house, price is ok but check bathrooms etc… also there are many private hotels in the market… they give good deals and offer food in the room too.
Next day you can go to Patal Bhuvaneshwar. There is a KMVN rest house just near the caves and is very comfortable.. food is also available. There is one Parwati resort too (abt 2-3 Kms before)… you can stay there also as views are magnificent there. If you need any other info..pls feel free