Champawat

Rich in Heritage and culture, Champawat was the first capital of Chand Rulers of Kumaon. It derives its name from Champawati, King Arjun Deo’s daughter. Champawati was a sister of Nags, and now Baleshwar temple stands at the place where she used to pray. Champawatpuri was the capital of nine naag kings as mentioned in Vayu Purana. Pandavas of Mahabharata also spend their some part of 12 years of exile at this place. Champawat is regarded as the place where Kurmavtar or the turtle incarnation of Lord Vishnu took place. Champawat is also noted as the home of the Champawat Tiger. Champawat is famous for its intrinsic natural beauty and historic temples.

The people of Champawat are rich in cultural heritage and they still perform the rituals and fairs with equal interest, which they used to perform in 10th century. Champawat is one of the easternmost town of Uttarakhand state perched at an elvation of 1,670mts above sea level.

Champawat has a wide variety of fauna and flora as almost 65 per cent of the district is covered with fauna and flora. Teak, Babool, Eucalyptus, Sagon Bail and Jamun are some of the important trees found in the district. A large variety of minerals are ores are available in the hills of Champawat. The important attractions are Baleshwar temple and Nagnath temple which displays fine architectural excellence. Another popular attraction of Champawat is 'Ek Hathiya Ka Naula' which is 4-5 kms from Champawat. Other notable attractions are Mayawati Ashram at Lohaghat, Reetha Sahib on the Lohaghat -Devidhura road. You can visit Champawat any time of the year but try to avoid the monsoon months.