Gangolihat is a small Himalayan hill town in the Pithoragarh district

Pithoragarh District

Pithoragarh district is the easternmost Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is naturally landscaped with high Himalayan mountains, snow capped peaks, passes, valleys, alpine meadows, forests, waterfalls, perennial rivers, glaciers and springs. The flora and fauna of this area...

 of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is tehsil

Tehsil

A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

 and sub divisional headquarter of the district. Gangolihat is famous for its Shakti Peethas

Shakti Peethas

The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...

 of Hat Kalika of goddess Kali

Kali

' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...

. Nearby at 'Patal Bhubneshwar', underground caves are major tourist attraction. Also nearby are the tiny hill stations of Chaukori

Chaukori

Chaukori is a tiny hill station in the Pithoragarh district set among the lofty peaks, of the western Himalayan Range in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, India. To the north is Tibet and to the south is Terai...

 and Berinag

Berinag

Berinag, a tiny hill station, is located 10 km from Chaukori in the Pithoragarh district, the most eastern Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand , India. It is accessible by road. Closest prominent villages include Dhanoli, Bana, Bhattigaon, Banoli,quarali,tripuradevi and Sangarh...

.From Gangolihat Panchchuli

Panchchuli

The Panchchuli peaks are a group of five snow-capped Himalayan peaks lying at the end of the eastern Kumaon region, near Munsiyari, in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand state, India. The peaks have altitudes ranging from to . They form the watershed between the Gori and the Darmaganga valleys....

 peaks and Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India and the highest entirely within the country ; owing to this geography it was the highest known mountain in the world until computations on Dhaulagiri by western surveyors in 1808...

 are clearly visible.

Geography

Gangolihat is located at 29.48°N 80.05°E. It has an average elevation of 1,760 metres (5,773 feet). It is 78 km from Pithoragarh

Pithoragarh

Pithoragarh, is a city with a Municipal Board in the Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, was carved out of district of Almora in 1962.-Geography:...

.

Gangolihat is native of Pant Brahmins

Places of interest

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 .