It was a Wednesday evening when we realized that staying in Hartola was not complete without a visit to Neem Karoli Baba’s Kainchi Dham Mandir. A couple friend of ours too were staying with us, so it was decided that the next morning we will be visiting this highly regarded temple of Lord Hanuman.
For those who are not aware of the temple, Kainchi Dham is a Hanuman temple and ashram which was established by a saint Shri Neem Karoli Baba (also known as Maharajji) in the 1960s. He is also considered an incarnation of Lord Hanuman.
It is a holy temple surrounded by lush mountains of Kumaon and the Kosi river flowing besides it. It was here that Ram Dass and other westerners spent a lot of good time with Maharajji. Notable devotees who have visited this temple are Steve Jobs and Mark Mark Zuckerberg. Of late Bollywood actress Anuksha Sharma and her cricketer husband, Virat Kohli had visited the Kainchi Dham Mandir along with their daughter, Vamika. In fact like millions of devotees, Majarajji is also the actresses’ guru.
Neem Karoli Baba’s Kainchi Dham Mandir is very near to Katie’s Abode, Hartola. It took us one and half hours to reach the temple. We took the road that takes you to the temple from Talla Ramgarh, which was full of potholes.
Nevertheless, once we reached the temple it was a different experience altogether. One can feel the presence of a divine force all around. With the Kosi river flowing adjacent to the temple and the green mountains that surrounded it, one is transported to a state of peace and calmness. And thankfully for us, the temple that day was not crowded, helping us to sit in peace and soak in the atmosphere.
While coming we came via Bhowali, because we had to take our friends to Mukteshwar. The condition of this road was much better and took us a little over two hours with a couple of stops in between.
I can safely say that a visit to Neem Karoli Baba’s Kainchi Dham Mandir when you are at Katie’s Abode, Hartola is a must. I will highly recommend this holy place to everyone.
