Prominent Holy Places in Kashmir

Besides this, the valley being sacred and called Rishi wari till now, abounds in sacred places, Tirthas and Asthans. Long ago at the dawn of civilisation when the sons of Rishi Kashyapa from plains came to settle here they brought with them their traditions, religion, mythology etc. etc. These early settlers named the confluence of river Sindh and river Jhelum as Prayag, equal to holy Prayag at the confluence of the Ganga and the Jamna in India. They named the tallest mountain peaks here after their Gods and deities such as Brahma, Vishnoo and Mahadev. These settlers must have felt surprised to see the hide and seek of water in the Spring of Trisandya; melting of snow around the spring of Bedaba Devi and other marvellous places. With the passage of time, these places became Tirthas or places of worship and has continued so upto the present time. The tradition being like this R. L. Stein who has translated Rajatarangini into English writes, "Kashmir is a country where there is not a place as large as a grain of seasam without a Tirtha. Time and conversion to Islam of greater portion of population has changed but little in this respect. " Pandit Kalhana while writing introduction to Rajatarangini names the miraculous springs of Trisandya Saraswati lake on the Bheda hillock, Self created fire at Soyambhu."

Pilgrimage to Amarnath Cave The trek to Amarnath, in the month of Shravan (July-August) has the devout flock to this incredible shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a lingam, is formed naturally of an ice-stalagmite, and which waxes and wanes with the moon. By its side are, fascinatingly, two more ice-lingams, that of Parvati, and of their son, Ganesha. >>>		The Mysterious Cave of Amarnath The most famous of the pilgrimages is the Cave of Amar Nath which is an All-India Holy Place. People visit it from every corner of India. Mention of it occurs twice in the Raiatarangini (the history of Kashmir), first where the King Ram Deva is stated to have imprisoned the debauch King Sukh Deva and .... >>>
Vaishno Devi Yatra This cave temple has a very popular following from people of all faiths. Among the most revered of shrines, and the oldest in the region, it entails a 13.5 km trek from Katra which in turn is 50 km from Jammu. The route up to the shrine consists of both tiled paths as well as steep staircases, and the devout often walk bare feet up the Trikuta mountain. >>>		Shankracharya Temple The present name of the temple owes its origin to the great philosopher Shankaracharya who visited the valley about ten centuries ago, and lodged at the top of this hill, where it appears there were small sheds of Brahmans who looked after the temple. >>>
Chakrishwar at Hari Parbat		Khirbhawani at Tulla Mulla
Mamleshwar Temple at Pahalgam Mamleshwar Temple at Pahalgam Mamleshwar Temple, Pahalgam Mamal This spot is also about a mile from Pahalgam. It stands across the Kolahoi stream up towards the mountain side. There is an old temple here the pinnacle of which was adorned with gold during the reign of one of the early kings. >>>		Rishipeer at Srinagar Reshi Pir Pandit was one of the greatest saints of Kashmir of the 17th Century A.D. He was a Karmyogin type of a Saint who helped people both in spiritual and temporal pursuits and he became famous as "PIR PANDlT PADSHAH HARDU JAHAN MUSHKIL ASAN" i.e. Emperor of two worlds and answer to difficulties of all kinds. >>>
Sharadha Tirtha The ancient temple of Sharada is located in Neelam (Kishanganga) valley just beyond the line of control in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The temple is located in a small village called Shardi near the confluence of Kishanganga and Madhumati rivers. >>>		Shree Sharika Peetham of Kashmir The valley of Kashmir is known as Deva Bhoomi i.e. the abode of gods. It is situated in the lap of the Himalayan mountains. The seat of Sharika Devi, the 'Cosmic mother', is one of such divine centres. It is the abode of three crore gods; hence in Sanskrit it is called Vaas Bhoomi of Trikoti devtas of the Hindu pantheon. >>>
Pandrethan This place is about 4 miles from Srinagar. Here was the old capital of Kashmir, which was founded by king Ashoka of Buddhist fame. The word is a corrupt form of Purana-old, adhishthan-capital. >>>

Sarada Temple in Kashmir	Ganpatyar Temple
Somyar Temple	Raghunath Temple
Sheetalnath Temple	Ancient painting of Sharika Bhagwati on the wall of Kshir Bhawani Temple
Chakrishwar (view from Hari Parbat Fort)	Temple inside Hari Parbat Fort
Avantipora Temple	Bhairav Temple
Abode of Goddess Sharda At Shardi	Raghunath Temple at Jammu
Martand (Sun Temple)	Mattan Temple
Pandrethan Temple	Harwan Temple
Rani Mandir at Gulmarg	Zeeth Ya'r Shrine
Shiv Ling at Kapal Mochan (Shopian)	Gangabal Lake
Krishnasar Lake	Sharda Mata Temple at Gushi (Kupwara)
Maha Kali Temple	Jwala Bhagwati Temple (Khrew)
Jwalaji Khrew	Vasuki Nag
Temple at Loduv	Avantisvami Temple: General View From The Rear
Avantisvami Temple: General View From The Front	Avantisvami Temple: Relief On Pilaster of Stair
Payar Temple	Temple at Narastan
Martand Temple: Ceneral View	Sanraragaurisvara Temple at Patan
Miniature Temple at Patan	Buniar Temple
Submerged Temple in Manasbal Lake	Wangath Temples
Articles
Some Marvels of Kashmir	Pilgrim Spots of Kashmir
The Forgotten Tirtha of Bheda Devi	Bujbror - An Ancient Religious Place
Sodaratiratha : Myth, Legend and History	Vitasta Annual Number: Issue year 2002