On the outskirts of the Jim Corbett National Park is the Garjia temple in Ramnagar and no visit to Ramnagar can be complete unless one goes for a darshan to this temple. Situated on a hillock on the banks of River Kosi, it is reached by a flight of steps. It is considered as one of the Sakti sthals and people believe a lot in its potential to fulfill ones desires and shower blessings on the pilgrims. If ones desire is fulfilled people come and tie a bell or a chunari. In fact many temples in the hills can be seen covered with a lot of bells and chunari. This is a picturous spot with the hills on one end and the calm flowing river at the other. I have a memory of visiting this temple many years back with my grandmother. At that time nearly fifty years back one had to wade through the river to reach this temple and I remember the lower half of all the Women's sarees becoming drenched with water as they waded the river. Now there is a bridge which has been constructed. There is a small cave underneath the hill where a Siva temple is found. Inside the temple is the photograph of the first poojari of the temple Pandit Keshv Dutt Pandey in 1935. There is a Shri Narayan statue in black granite dating back to 9th century. Like the hills there is a lot of calmness in the area though a lot of commercial establishments have come around it. Since we visited early in the morning, none of the shops were open and one found a lot of peace and quiet in the temple.
