To travellers, Jageshwar is as familiar as pahad to a pahadi. It is the home of Lord Shiva nestled about an hour away from Almora. The magnificent Jageshwar Dham, a temple complex home to several big and small temples datable to 9-13th centuries, is an archaeologically protected site where one can discover oneself. But more on Jageshwar in a separate post. What I discovered a few years ago are these quirky trails beyond Jageshwar.
One such trail is nothing but a small serpentine path that leads to a nearby village. Reach Almora, take a right turn before Almora on the Jageshwar road, reach Jageshwar and have a cup of tea across the temple with pakoras. Jageshwar is numbingly cold between October and March and very pleasant during the rest of the year. What you notice while sipping tea are other smaller temples like the ones dedicated to the nine planets or the Nav Graha. Propitiating the planets is as significant as pleasing the gods. It is said that a small puja here can take care of any bad luck happening in your life. And since we associate most of our luck with money, there is small and equally ancient temple dedicated to Lord Kuber nearby, the god of wealth.
Walk beyond Lord Kuber and take the road that is never taken by travellers. You wont even need to look for the turn, the most beautiful right turn is right there. A beautiful serpentine path or as we call it pagdandee takes you deep inside a Deodar forest. The path begins with a small temple that has lovely paintings by an American painter who came here to holiday and ended up spending a few years, painting the temple and shelter walls.
Each Deodar tree here invites you to hug it and never leave its side. So majestic are they in their appearance. Of course, the path leads somewhere..to the nearest village where children can be seen swinging from the trees and men and women going about their daily chores without much ado. Jageshwar and the road beyond is laced with such small paths that demand you walk, walk silently and reach a point from where you can catch enormous natural beauty.
That these paths are crisscrossed by streams are an added experience. The combination of bird calls and gushing water is lethally meditative! Come to Jageshwar and take these off-tracks with minimal possessions. Just carry your water bottle, camera and energy. They are short, walkable and truly blessed tracks. Meet the villagers, exchange notes on the mountains and do ask them about the Van Panchayats. More on those next time. And needless to say, no footprints to be left behind! Take yourself, get back memories.
