The Baijnath Temple is located 16 km from Palampur in the Beas valley and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shiva is worshipped here as Vaidyanath or the Lord of Physician. The temple has lent its name to town as well which earlier was known as Kiragrama. The history of the temple is stated on stone slabs. According to it, the temple foundation was laid down by two local merchants in the 9th century. The date of inscription is itself given in two eras - Saptarshi and Saka. The Saka year 1126, which corresponds to 1204 AD, is considered more authentic. Renovation work in the temple was carried out by Raja Sansar Chand in the 19th century.Today, the temple is still very much in use and attracts a number of visitors year round. The unique feature of the temple is its architectural style, which is very different from the rest of the temple in the state. Actually, the architectural style is Orissan which is far away from Himachal.

The ancient Baijnath temple is constructed in the Shikhara style and is located within a well maintained complex of gardens, lawns and pathways in a single walled courtyard. The outside of the temple is beautiful with some exquisitely carved floral pattern and images of deities.

The adytum or the sanctum is 8 feet square inside and 18 feet outside. A conical shaped spire crowns it. The adytum is entered through a small anteroom and contains a linga called Vaidyanath. There is a 20 sq feet mandapa or front hall, the roof of which is held by four huge pillars. The pillars are joined by elevated benches which together form a passage leading upto the entrance of the sanctum. The architraves of these pillars segregate the ceiling into nine compartments. Right infront of the mandapa is a stately porch which is supported by four columns.

Though a major portion inside the courtyard of the temple is occupied by the main structure, still there are two other noteworthy shrines as well. Moreover, there are two pretty attractive statue of Nandi Bull (vehicle of Lord Shiva) too. Apart from the fact that the the two statues are nicely carved, what makes them unique is a rather peculiar feature - a small human figure is depicted holding Nandi's tail.

Legends

As per a legend, it is believed that the King of Lanka, Ravana had worshipped Lord Shiva in the main Baijnath Temple. He sacrificed his head ten times at a place marked out in the temple. And because of this, the people here do not consider it right to celebrate Dussehra which remembers the day when Lord Rama killed Ravana. The people here think that celebrating Dussehra can offend Lord Shiva a lot. In past too, whenever any attempt has been made to celebrate the festival, the organiser died within years. Though the fact is that the deaths were in no way related to the celebration of Dussehra, the people here linked the two. Currently plans are again on to start the celebration of Dussehra in a nearby stadium.

Places of Interest

Bir and Billing - This village is famous for its Buddhist monasteries. Hang gliding pilots use it as their landing site. Bir, surrounded by tea gardens and an amphitheater of low hills, is an ideal landing around for para-gliders. Bir has Buddhist Monasteries that are worth visiting. Fine Tibetan handi craft are also produced here. Billing, up in the hills 14 kms. from Bir with an arena of 200 kms. for high altitude and cross country flying, is one of the best aerosports sites in the country.

Punyagiri - Punyagiri is situated at Pithoragarh, not far from Palampur.One of the most important religious centres around Pithoragarh, the Punyagiri temple, dedicated to Maa Punyagiri is atop a rocky pinnacle.

Kanda - The charming site on Bageshwar Chaukori road is a nature lover's delight. Nearby is an ancient temple of Bhadrakali.

Bageshwar - Near to Baijnath lies Bageshwar, the 'Abode of Gods' is an important pilgrim and tourist centre. It is located about 90 kms from Almora on the confluence of the rivers Saryu and Gomti. The town is famous for ancient Bagnath Temple and the annual Uttaraini fair held in January. The beautiful town is also a delight for adventure sports lovers. The famous Pindari, Sunderdunga and Kafni glaciers can be reached via Bageshwar.Bageshwar gets its name form this ancient temple of Lord Shiva set in the heart of the town. According to mythological legends, sage Markandey lived here and the place was visited by Lord Shiva in the form of Bagh or tiger.

Bagnath Temple - Bageshwar gets its name form this ancient temple of Lord Shiva set in the heart of the town. According to mythological legends, sage Markandey lived here and the place was visited by Lord Shiva in the form of Bagh or tiger. The sacred shrine was built during the reign of the Chands and it is believed that no one could install the Shivlinga in the sanctum, finally, Shri Manorath Pandey of Palayn village performed penance and succeeded in installing the Shivlinga on Shivratri. Since then a massive fair is held here on 'Shivratri' to mark this auspicious occasion. Large number of pilgrims flock to the shrine, especially on Shivratri and on every Monday of the holy month of'Sharvan'.There are also group of temples dedicated to various Hindu deities. The main shrines among them arethe Bhairav temple, Dattatrey Maharaj, Ganga Mai temple, Hanuman temple, Durga temple, Kalika temple, Thingal Bhairav temple, Panchnam Junakhara and the Vaneswar temple etc.

Chandika Temple - This beautiful shrine of Goddess Chandika attracts large number of devotees during the holy Navratras.

Shri Haru Temple - This important shrine lies about 5 kms from Bagheswar. It is believed that the wishes. of the devotees are fulfiled here. A large fair is held here on the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dashmi.

Gauri Udiyar - The sacred site is 8 kms from Bageshwar and has a large cave enshrining idols of Lord Shiva.

Getting there and Around

By Air - Nearest airport is Gaggal airport located 50 km. from Palampur.

By Rail - Nearest broad gauge railhead is Pathankot 95 km from Kangra. A narrow gauge railway line between Pathankot and Jogindernagar passes through Kangra. Nearest railhead is at a distance of 5 km. from town.

By Road - Almost each and every part of the state is linked by roads. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation is running its buses covering the whole state. There is huge network of HRTC to cater the needs of the people.

Accommodation

Accommodation at Baijnath is limited to a few dharamshalas, a few tea houses which offer 'rough accommodation' in the form of tiny rooms, and a PWD Rest House which can be booked at Palampur through the Executive Engineer, PWD. Therefore, most knowledgeable visitors to Baijnath prefer Palampur as a base. The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) runs a Tourist Bungalow at Palampur. Both ordinary and deluxe rooms/suites are available at prices ranging form Rs. 150 to Rs. 600. Neat, fairly clean rooms are also available at the many small hotels around the bus terminus in Palampur. For Bir and Billing, fiber glass tents and tented accommodation can be arranged through the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.