We had a very rare opportunity to live in the dense jungle of Binsar in an old English outhouse. It is a town dedicated to Bindeshwar Mahadev Temple, also known as Binsar Devta. It is an ancient Hindu rock temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. And a verypopular deity in this region.
This temple is set amidst dense forests of birch, deodar etc. The central chamber of the temple features the idols of Ganesha, Shiva-Parvati and Mahishasuramardini. A fair is organized there on Vaikuntha Chaturdashi every year.
Then we visited Katarmal which is located at a little distance from Kosi village in Nainital. Katarmal is known for a relatively rare Surya temple, constructed by the Katyuri Kings in the 9th century CE. Katarmalla, a Katyuri king constructed this temple, which has 44 smaller temples around the main deity of Surya, which called as Burhadita or Vraddhaditya. Other deities like Shiva-Parvathi and Lakshmi-Narayana. are also established in this temple complex.