Monuments of Uttarakhand are the most frequented destinations of India that play a prominent role in the Indian tourism economy. Uttarakhand is famous for its divine beauty, leisure, adventure, and is popularly known as `the Land of the Gods`. This state has a great mythological value and is famous for the presence of the numerous numbers of Hindu pilgrimage spots. Other than the mythological value and Hindu pilgrimage spots, Uttarakhand or Uttaranchal has rich historical value of its own. Rulers like Pauravas, Guptas, Palas and British have ruled here and constructed lots of monuments to several cities of the state.
Monuments of Uttarakhand include several religious monuments and beautiful colonial structures that have historical importance and promote the state tourism. The entire state is dotted with religious monuments and the nearby hill-stations of Dehradun, Mussourie, Nainital, Almora, Bhimtal, Kausani and Ranikhet consist of many resorts and colonial monuments of the British province.
It is a sacred state and has been blessed with tremendous ancient temple constructions to its almost every town that attracts million of tourists from all over the world. The major religious monument of this province is the accumulation of 160 temples famous as Jageshwar temple. It is located 38 kms from Almora. The famous sun temple is present in the town of Almora itself. The historical Baleshwar Temple is located in the city of Champawat. It was constructed during the period of 10 to 12 century AD and is a wonderful example of stone architecture. The other famous religious monuments are the Badrinath temple and the Kedarnath temple. Hrishikesh and Haridwar are also famous for different religious monuments and their deities whereas Hemkund city of this state has a major significance to Sikhs.
The abundant numbers of temple monuments are constructed in a typical provincial architectural style of that state which is slightly different from other parts of India. The best examples of this architectural style are the ancient temples located at Jageshwar. Apart from the Hindu monuments, this province has also experienced Tibetan Buddhism monuments whose major examples are Mindroling Monastery and its Buddha Stupa located to the southwest of Dehradun.
Another major monumental attraction of Uttrakhand that depicts the historical value is the Deogarh Fort in Dhanaulti. This 16th century fort is a popular structure comprising several palaces, decorated with frescoes and outstanding Jain temples. Uttarakhand also represent the Britisher`s colonial imprints to its major hill stations. The major monuments present in these British colonies are the churches and mansions. These are considered as heritage monuments and have been converted into lavish museums, hotels and institutes. Some of the major colonial monuments of Uttarakhand are St. John`s Church, Children`s Lodge at Mussourie, and Forest Research Institute of Dehradun.
