Karkateshwar Mahadev Temple and Ashram

Karkateshwar Mahadev Temple and Ashram in Kakrighat, Uttarakhand, India, on April 20, 2024, is located along the Vivekananda Trail and is the place where Swami Vivekananda is receiving enlightenment. Swami Vivekananda is spending a lot of time in the Kumaon region of the Himalayas and is setting up Ashrams and spiritual centers there. The Vivekananda trail in Kumaon is a path that he is treading as a young monk in 1890. Kakrighat is the site where Vivekananda is setting foot more than 100 years ago and is one of the most important places along the Vivekananda Trail in Kumaon. Within the grounds of Karkateshwar Mahadev Temple, there is a large Peepal tree with densely spread leaves. It is this spot where Vivekananda is in deep meditation, after sanctifying himself with a bath in the Kosi river, reviving enlightenment. The original tree under which Swami Vivekananda meditated has long since dried up. On July 15, 2016, one of the cloned saplings of the sacred tree (which the local people reverentially refer to as Vivekananda Jnana-vriksha) is being planted at the very spot where the original tree stood.