Kotdwar is a municipal city in Pauri Garhwal, and it is also one of the oldest railway stations in India. It is one of the largest cities in Uttarakhand with area of 84 Kms Sq. with elevation of 454 meters above from sea level.
The Kotdwar Originally Kootdwar which means High hills and Dwar means route. The city of established in 1890 and become municipality in the year 1952.
History of Kotdwar
Kotdwar has been under different rules from the History of India and Uttarakhand. In ancient time it was the part of Maryan Kingdom during the reign of Great Ashoka, then in Garhwal region it came under the rule of Katyuri Dynasty followed by Panwar Dynasty of Garhwal.
After Garhwal Kings Gorkha took over the whole region of Uttarakhand and reigned over 12 years in Kotdwar. Then Britishers came and defeated Gorkha and took over the control of this region. They established the train station here during 1890 and the first passenger train starts here in 1901. After the independence of India Kotdwar became Municipality and under the district of Pauri Garhwal.
Places to Visit near Kotdwar
There are many amazing places and temples you can visit while your trip to Kotdwar.
Lansdowne: Lansdowne is an amazing hill station located at the distance of 37 Kms from Kotdwar city. Lansdowne is also known for Garhwal Regiments and amazing temples and scenic beauty which attracts tourist throughout the year.
Read more about: Lansdowne Hill Station.
Sidhbali Temple: The Sidhbali Temple is dedicated or Lord Hanuman and very famous in Uttarakhand. It is located around 3.5 Kms from main market of Kotdwar City. The Sidhbali temple is located bank of river Khoh.
Kanvasharm: It is one of the historically important places located about 14 Kms from Kotdwar City. Kanvasharm is located near bank of the river Malini and famous for various historical figure of Hindus. It is said that God King Indra was scared of meditation of a sage Viswamitra, and then sent a beautiful angel named Menaka from heaven to disrupt the meditation of Sage Viswamitra.
She succeeded in this and then they had a daughter, whom Menaka left at the bank of Malini River, after that a Sage Kanva found the child and took her to the Ashram, her name of Shakuntala and she married to the region King Dushyant and then son name was Bharat after which the country named Bharat Varsha.
The Kalidasa also meditated here and wrote the Abhigyan Shakuntalam book on the love story of Shakuntala and Dusyanta.
Durga Devi Temple: This is one of the famous temple and important place of worship of the town Kotdwar. It is located around 10 Kms from main market of the Kotdwar. Here you can take blessing of Maa Durga Ji.
St. Joseph’s Chruch: It is located at the distance of 1.3 Kms from city and also known for Asia’s second largest church at this height.
Corbett National Park: Jim Corbett National Park is an oldest national park in India, covers around 1318 Km Sq. of the area is known for Bengal Tiger, Leopards, Elephants, Musk Deer and more wildlife animals. It is also known for amazing Jungle Safari and in 2017 the gate to the National Park is also opened from Kotdwar.
Read: Corbett National Park Travel Guide.
There are many other nearby places which are Medanpuri Devi, Koteshwar Mahadev temple, Tarkeshwar Temple, Soonya Sikhar Ashram, Charekh Danda and more which you can visit while your trip to Kotdwar.
How to Reach Kotdwar:
Kotdwar can be reached by various transportation option which are follows:
By Air: The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun, which is about 105 Kms from Kotdwar.
By Train: Kotdwar has one of the oldest railway stations in India and the Code for Kotdwar Railway Station is KTW (Kotdwara), You can get trains from Delhi to reach Kotdwar.
By Road: Kotdwar is well connected with roads transportation from different cities of India. So, you can take a cab from Haridwar or Nainital to reach here or book a full package tour from us (Gokeys Haridwar) to visit Kotdwar.
Distance to Kotdwar from different cities of Uttarakhand
- Delhi to Kotdwar: 216 Kms.
- Haridwar to Kotdwar: 72 Kms.
- Rishikesh to Kotdwar: 102 Kms
- Dehradun to Kotdwar: 116 Kms.
- Srinagar Garhwal to Kotdwar: 135 Kms.
- Pauri to Kotdwar: 106 Kms.
- Nainital to Kotdwar: 204 Kms.
So, if you are planning a trip to Kotdwar or nearby places you can send us query at gokeysindia@gmail.com, helpdesk@gokeys.in or you can also call or WhatsApp us at our contact no, for any trip of Kotdwar, Lansdowne, Corbett and more you can tell us and we will make a perfect trip package for you.
