Chandi Devi Temple

Overlooking Har Ki Pauri from the top of Neel Parvat, one of the hills flanking Haridwar, the Chandi Devi temple ties its location to an episode from the Devi Mahatmya: after the goddess Chandi defeated the demon generals Chanda and Munda, lieutenants of the asuras Shumbha and Nishumbha, tradition holds that she rested on this hilltop, giving the site its name and its standing as a Siddh Peetha, a place where sincerely made wishes are believed to be fulfilled. Temple tradition further credits Adi Shankaracharya with installing the original image here in the 8th century CE, though that claim rests on continuity of tradition rather than a surviving inscription or independent record from that period.

What is well documented is the temple as it stands today: it was built in 1929 by Suchat Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, replacing or rebuilding whatever earlier shrine had stood on the hill. The climb to the temple can be made on foot via a path of roughly three kilometers or, since the introduction of the Chandi Devi Udankhatola ropeway, by cable car — a convenience that has helped make the temple, alongside neighboring Mansa Devi, one of the two hilltop shrines most visited by pilgrims passing through Haridwar, with the largest crowds gathering during Navaratri, Chandi Chaudas, and the periodic Kumbh Mela.