Sometime in June 2025, Rumno and I went on a road trip to Uttarakhand. We hired a car in Delhi and stopped at Corbett, Mukteshwar, Kasardevi, a drive by Katarmal Sun temple and back to Haldwani and Delhi.
Kasardevi was definitely the discovery of the trip. Perched on a ridge near the more well known Almora, Kasardevi sits on the Van Allen belt. Van Allen belt is an enormous geomagnetic field and also found at Machhu Picchu in Peru and Stonehenge in UK. It is thus a magnet for both spiritual and scientific knowledge seekers! It has had many famous visitors. Vivekananda meditated in a cave there and George Harrison and Bob Dylan have visited it too amongst other celebrities.
Ma Kasar Devi sits in a simple shrine and the original temple is believed to be from 2nd century. This beautiful off beat trail of Dev Bhoomi should definitely not be missed. Our hotel room faced towards the Binsar forests and the mornings were absolutely beautiful.
Despite all the worries about crowded mountains, its still better than the plains especially in Summer. Rumno did the majority of hill driving. For someone who drove from Delhi to London and across 25 countries just the previous year, don't think it was too much of a challenge!
From our hotel, which we had booked online, we walked almost a kilometer (quite unthinkable in the plains in June during daylight hours due to excessive heat and humidity) to the temple. The temple itself is in many layers. From the top there is a splendid view of the mountains and one can sit down and meditate (if not disturbed by the monkeys). Beware: There will be plenty of reel makers during holidays! We took the pleasant walk back and sat down for a cup of coffee facing the mountains and swirling clouds in another alpine resort.
All in all, this part of Uttarakhand was a refreshing experience.
