01Maharaj-ji’s Kainchi
Kainchi means scissors, for the two sharp bends the road makes here. In 1962 Neem Karoli Baba, whom devotees call Maharaj-ji, chose the spot with Purnanand of Kainchi village: a stretch of forest where the sadhu Sombari Maharaj had once done his yajnas. A platform was raised on land taken from the Forest Department, and on 15 June 1964 a life-size murti of Hanuman was installed. Over the next ten years the shrines of Lakshmi-Narayan, Vindhyavasini Devi, Shiva and others came up one by one. This was the ashram where Maharaj-ji spent most of his last decade, sitting wrapped in a plaid blanket on a wooden takht, feeding everyone who came.
02After 1973
Neem Karoli Baba left his body at Vrindavan in the early hours of 11 September 1973, on his way back to Kainchi; his last words were Jaya Jagadish Hare. A temple with his life-size murti was consecrated at Kainchi on 15 June 1976. Through his Western disciples, Ram Dass above all, whose books told of him, Kainchi became known far beyond Kumaon. The crowds have grown fast in this decade: the Uttarakhand government put the visitors of the year before mid-2025 at about 24 lakh, against some 8 lakh a year earlier. On 15 June the whole road fills, and malpua prasad is given out from dawn.
The life of this place
- 15 June 1964The Hanuman murti is installed and the ashram opens.
- 11 September 1973Neem Karoli Baba leaves his body at Vrindavan.
- 15 June 1976His murti is consecrated in a temple at Kainchi.
Kainchi is 17 km from Nainital and 9 km from Bhowali; Kathgodam is the nearest railhead. Avoid 15 June unless you want the mela, and dress for the hill cold in winter.
