Bageshwar

The city of Bageshwar bedecked on the confluence of Saryu and Gomati rivers and is situated at an elevation of 1004 metres with numerous famous temples dedicated to Gods and Goddesses in the proximity of Bageshwar.

Bageshwar is a place of extreme religious and historic significance. The towering mountains of Bhileshwar and Nileshwar are dotted on the east and west side of Bageshwar, while the north and south are marked by the Suraj Kund and Agni Kund respectively.

Situated at the confluence of rivers Saryu, Gomti and latent Bhagirathi, lies the holy township of Bageshwar; also revered as the pious land associated with Lord Sadashiva, the redeemer of all sins. As the puranas state, this undoubtedly is a place capable of liberating one from the eternal bondage of births & deaths. With the east and west flanked by the Bhileswar and Nileshwar mountains and surrounded by Suraj Kund in the north and Agni Kund in the south, this land of Lord Shankar is of great religious, historic and political significance.

Bageshwar District is a district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. The town of Bageshwar is the district headquarters. The district of Bageshwar was established in the year 1997. Prior to this, Bageshwar was part of Almora district.

Bageshwar district is in the eastern Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, and is bounded on the west and northwest by Chamoli District, on the northeast and east by Pithoragarh District, and on the south by Almora District. The area, that now forms Bageshwar district, was historically known as Danpur, and was ruled by Katyuris during the 7th century AD. After the disintegration of the Katyuri kingdom in the 13th century, the area remained under the rule of Baijnath Katyurs, direct descendants of Katyuri kings. In 1565, king Balo Kalyan Chand annexed Danpur along with Pali, Barahmandal and Mankot to Kumaun.

In 1791, Almora, the seat of the Kumaon, was invaded and annexed by the Gorkhas of Nepal. The Gorkhas ruled the region for 24 years and were later defeated by the East India Company in 1814, and were forced to cede Kumaon to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816. After its annexation by British, Bageshwar was a part of the Danpur pargana in Almora district of United Provinces.

Bageshwar was made a separate tehsil in 1974, and in 1976 it was declared a pargana, after which, it formally came into being as a large administrative center. Since 1985, the demand for declaring it a separate district of different parties and regional people started, and finally, in September 1997, Bageshwar was made the new district of Uttar Pradesh.