Panch Kedar — 5 Himalayan Shrines of Shiva

The Panch Kedar are five temples of Shiva high in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. After the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas sought Shiva's forgiveness for the bloodshed of their kinsmen; he eluded them by taking the form of a bull and diving into the earth, resurfacing in five parts — the hump at Kedarnath, the navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar. Pilgrims traditionally visit them in that order, ending at Kalpeshwar. Four of the five stand above 3,000 metres and close through the winter, when the deities are carried down to valley temples at Ukhimath and Gopeshwar; only Kalpeshwar stays open all year.