Kainchi Dham: The Complete Guide to Neem Karoli Baba's Ashram

Kainchi Dham is the Hanuman temple and ashram founded by Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji) in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. It sits beside the Shipra stream on the Nainital–Almora road, 17 km from Nainital, and is open to everyone, every day, free of charge. Its foundation day, 15 June, draws lakhs of devotees for darshan and malpua prasad; around 2.4 million people visited in 2024.

Kainchi Dham at a glance

What is Kainchi Dham?

Kainchi means “scissors”. The name comes from two sharp hairpin bends in the mountain road here that cross like the blades of a pair of scissors. In 1962, Neem Karoli Baba and Purnanand, a man from Kainchi village, chose a patch of forest by the stream. A platform was built on land leased from the Forest Department, and on 15 June 1964 a life-size idol of Hanuman was installed. The ashram opened that month, and 15 June has been its celebration day ever since.

Maharaj-ji spent much of his last decade here and at his ashram in Vrindavan. After he left his body in September 1973, his ashes were enshrined at Kainchi, and on 15 June 1976 a life-size statue of him was consecrated in its own shrine. Read his full story in Hanuman Ansh and the real life of Neem Karoli Baba.

Why do so many people visit Kainchi Dham now?

Three reasons. For decades, Kainchi was known mostly to Kumaoni families and to the Western devotees who had met Maharaj-ji in the 1960s and 70s: Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), who wrote Be Here Now, the kirtan singer Krishna Das, and Dr Larry Brilliant. Then came the famous visitors: Steve Jobs in 1974, Mark Zuckerberg later on Jobs’s advice, and Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma in November 2022. And in 2026, the film Hanuman Ansh brought Maharaj-ji’s life to crowds across India. Visitor numbers rose from an average of about 800,000 a year to around 2.4 million in 2024, and they are higher still this year.

What to see and do at Kainchi Dham

• Hanuman ji’s temple, the heart of the ashram, where most devotees recite the Hanuman Chalisa.
• Maharaj-ji’s shrine, with his life-size statue and the blanket he is remembered by.
• The other temples in the complex: Lakshmi Narayan, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Vindhyavasini Devi and the Shiva linga.
• The Shipra stream below the ashram, where you can sit quietly before or after darshan.
• Prasad: chana and halwa on most days; the famous malpua on 15 June.

How to reach Kainchi Dham

By train: The nearest station is Kathgodam, about 37 km away, with direct trains from Delhi (the Shatabdi and overnight trains take roughly 6 to 7 hours), Lucknow and Dehradun. From Kathgodam, shared jeeps, buses and taxis go up via Bhimtal and Bhowali in about 1.5 hours.

By road: From Delhi it is about 320 km (8 to 9 hours) via Moradabad, Rampur, Haldwani and Bhowali. From Nainital it is 17 km (40 minutes), and from Almora about 45 km.

By air: Pantnagar airport is about 70 km away, with limited flights from Delhi. Many travellers fly to Delhi and continue by train.

Parking: The road is narrow, and parking along it fills up by mid-morning on weekends. On busy days police run one-way traffic and shuttle arrangements from Bhowali.

The 15 June Kainchi Dham mela

On 15 June, the pratishtha day, Kainchi becomes one of the busiest places in the hills. Queues start before dawn, the bhandara serves malpua prasad to lakhs of people, and the Nainital district administration diverts traffic and runs shuttles. If you want to be there on the day, arrive very early, carry water, travel light and expect several hours of walking and waiting. If you want a peaceful darshan, choose any other day.

Rules and etiquette

• No photography or video inside the temple area. Keep your phone away during darshan.
• Dress modestly, and remove shoes before entering the temples.
• Maintain silence in the shrines; this is a place of prayer.
• Offer what you like (flowers, a coconut, sweets); there is no compulsory offering or VIP darshan.

Where to stay near Kainchi Dham

Rooms inside the ashram are few and are given only with prior permission. Most visitors stay in:

• Bhowali (9 km): simple hotels and homestays, the closest practical base.
• Bhimtal (about 20 km): quieter, lake-side hotels, good for families.
• Nainital (17 km): the widest choice, but traffic is heavy in season.

Visiting Kainchi Dham with elderly parents

• Go on a weekday, and reach by 8 AM before the day-trippers arrive.
• Avoid 15 June and the week around it unless your parents are fit for long queues.
• The path from the road down to the ashram is short but has steps and a bridge; hold hands on the way and take it slowly.
• Carry a shawl even in summer; mornings in the valley are cool.
• Don’t plan Kainchi, Nainital and Mukteshwar in one day. Kainchi plus a quiet afternoon in Bhimtal is plenty.

Nearby places to combine

Naina Devi temple on Nainital’s lake, the Golu Devta temple at Chitai near Almora with its thousands of bells, and the ancient Jageshwar group of Shiva temples beyond Almora. See our guide to the temples of Uttarakhand for the whole region.

Sources: Wikipedia’s entry on Kainchi Dham; Nainital district administration traffic advisories for the 15 June mela; accounts by Ram Dass and other devotees. Timings and rules change; please confirm locally before you travel. Photo: “Early morning glimpse of Kainchi Dham, Nainital, 2023” by 25 Cents FC, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.