Dwarahat

Dwarahat lies in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand at an elevation of about 1,510 metres, where several roads once met on their way toward Almora, Ranikhet, Garhwal and Someshwar. A branch of the Katyuri kings maintained its residence above the town; their former palace occupied a rock formation on Chandragiri hill, also called Chauchari. Its position on these roads made it a regional hub.

About thirty ancient Hindu temples, generally dated to the eleventh century, originally gave the town its remarkable religious landscape. Their pyramidal roofs, mouldings and carved friezes depicted gods, humans and elephants. Local tradition credits Adi Shankara with the principal temples, while inscriptions and images around the Badrinath shrine preserve connections to earlier religious patronage. The Syalde tank provided another focus for the surrounding community, where the Syalde Rajputs gathered annually in Baisakh for bagwali, a contest fought with slings and stones until its injuries led to a ban.

Many temples suffered when the Rohillas invaded Kumaon in the 1740s and desecrated them. Even so, the skill and memory held in the carved stone of this royal and sacred centre outlasted that damage.