Kunjapuri Devi Temple

01Kunja, the chest

Garhwal’s tradition says that the chest of Sati, kunja, fell on this hill, and gives the temple its name from it. There is no murti in the human form inside; the Devi is worshipped in a pit in the rock beneath the altar, covered and garlanded, and the image set above is for darshan. The priests here come from Bhandari Rajput families of the area, an old local custom rather than the usual Brahmin line. Navratri brings large crowds, and the temple keeps a fair in its name.

02Sunrise over the range

A flight of about 300 steps runs from the road to the shrine. From the top, to the north, the snow peaks of Swargarohini, Bandarpunch and Chaukhamba catch the first light, and to the south the Ganga leaves the hills at Rishikesh and Haridwar. In winter the shrine is often above the cloud that fills the valley. Many who stay in Rishikesh for yoga or the Ganga aarti come up for the sunrise and the morning aarti together.