gangolihat haat kalika temple

mahakali temple gangolihat(patal bhuvneshwar)

Gangolihat is a small Himalayan hill town in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is tehsil and sub divisional headquarter of the district. Gangolihat is famous for its Shakti Peethas of Hat Kalika of goddess Kali.[1] Nearby at 'Patal Bhubneshwar', underground caves are major tourist attraction. Also nearby are the tiny hill stations of Chaukori and Berinag.From Gangolihat Panchchuli peaks and Nanda Devi are clearly visible.

Gangolihaat is famous for its ancient temples and underground caves. 'Haat Kalika', 'Ambika Dewaal', 'Chamunda Mandir', 'Vaishnavi Mandir' are some of the famous temples here. 'Vaishnavi Mandir' is a special one because from here one can clearly view the Himalayas. This temple is situated on a mountain that is called 'Shail Parvat', which is notable in Hindu holy books.

There are many beautiful underground caves in Gangolihaat. 'Patal Bhuvneshwar', 'Shailashwer Gufa' and 'Mukteshwar Gufa' are most notable ones. A new underground cave has been also found recently and that is called 'Bholeshwar Gufa'.

'Haat Kalika Mandir' was chosen by Sankaracharya for installation of Mahakali Shaktipeeth. It is believed that the Original Goddes Kalika Mata, which supposed to be in West Bangal, shifted her place form Bangal to Gangolihat. This Temple is very famous all over the India, specially among Indian Army Forces. Posthumous Param Veer Chakra award winner Capt. Bikram Batra was a great devotee of Goddess and had created an Army Rest House near the Temple for Army Personnel, who come Gangoihat to get the blessing of Goddess, when they are at borders and fighting against the enemy .

The Goddess Haat Kali is also the Isht Devi,, the reverred Goddess, of the Kumaon regiment of the Indian army. Once, the ship in which the officers and soldiers of the Kumaon reginement were travelling started to sink. Efforts to save the ship were proving to be in vain. Then the soldiers prayed to the Goddess Haat Kali to save their ship. As if by a miracle, the ship reached safely ashore, guided by some high waves. Since then, the members of the  Kumaon regiment  pay homage to the Goddess and provide their services to the temple.