The Ancient Temples of Jammu and Kashmir: Lost and Found

We have all heard about the Amarnath temple, the Raghunath Mandir and even the Dargah of Peer aba. All of course, in Jammu & Kashmir. But, what about Bumzava, Krimchi or Martand? No? Well then you are like many of us who have forgotten the great temples of the J&K region, which scholars believe were way ahead of their contemporaries in the plains and in peninsular India.

Mercedes GL 350 CDI is a modern day SUV, but with all the charm, ability and sense of occasion of a celebrated old-school SUV.

These temples have been cast away from their past grandeur, and for all purposes forgotten. Auto Bild India celebrates their third anniversary by going in search of these old, unexplored temples and delving deeper into their heritage and architecture.
The first in the list of destination was the Martand temple at Mattan, close to the Anantnag district in Kashmir. The 8th century Martand temple was dedicated to the sun god, Bhaskar. But, to get there we needed a drive. And it arrived in the form of the Mercedes GL 350 CDI. It's a modern day SUV, but with all the charm, ability and sense of occasion of a celebrated old-school SUV. Perfect for what were doing; mixing our modern day life with the glorious past of great temples.

Built around 724 AD to 761 AD by King Lalitaditya and dedicated to the sun god, Bhaskar, the temple is an imposing structure placed on top of a hill plateau.

The GL is a large SUV. In fact, it's as full size an SUV gets in the Indian market, but it's so easy to drive, even around the hills and one can cover kilometers on end without feeling any fatigue. And after hours of driving, mostly through some awesome natural beauty including long stretches of untouched orchards of apples and walnuts, we had arrived, and believe it or not were feeling as fresh as the fruits we had passed.The Martand temple is built on top of a plateau and is a sight to behold. One reaches the top abruptly and the sudden view of the magnificent temple leaves one spellbound. The whole temple complex has 84 columns, built of hard and square limestone's. Huge rocks have also been used for its construction and these are joined together with lime mortar. It's a must visit to see the complexity of temple building in that ancient era.
After spending hours marveling at the architectural genius on display all around the temple, we left for Verinag. Situated at a distance of  approximately 80km from Srinagar, it is one of the largest natural spring sites in India. Getting there we faced narrower mountainous roads and turns of all shapes and sizes. Now, for a vehicle this large and weighing in at over 2-tonnes, the last thing you'd expect is some hard cornering action.

This temple is located just off the highway to Pahalgam and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It's cut into a rock face and can be tricky to enter. However access to the temple complex itself from the highway is relatively easy.

But, the GL managed it so well, even over undulated and broken roads, that we couldn't stop having fun. But, yes, I did feel it was best to use the paddle shifters as the automatic 'box on the GL seemed to struggle to find the right gear for quick corner exits and overtaking. After two hours of enjoying the GL we were at Verinag springs. The ever flowing waters of the springs end at the Jhelum river.There is an octagonal covered passage around the spring with many Shivalingas placed on it. The original circular shape was changed to an octagon during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1620, to resemble a more Mughal architecture. The pictorially perfect rose garden with shade all round and the serene surroundings made for an ideal resting place for us before we drove forward onto the Krimchi temple.
Krimchi is just 8km from Udhampur but it requires a long trek of about a kilometer to get to the temple. Once you are there though, is seems well worth every drop of sweat. It is one of three oldest temples of Jammu and of high mythological significance. There are four large and three small temples in the complex and each is equally breathtaking.

The Krimchi temple is something people who love art must visit. The carvings all round the temple are simply gorgeous and the walk to the temple from the Krimchi village is tremendously scenic too.

After a couple of days of visiting some more of these forgotten temples in the J&K region (please see pictures for reference), away from all the noise, the touts, the throng of tourists and devotees, we were rejuvenated. These temples in Jammu & Kashmir are, in our opinion, lovely getaways and not just for the religious minded, but for anyone with an interest in art and beauty.