Pithoragarh, Apr 20 (PTI) Uttarakhand tourism department in collaboration with the Indian Railways will start the 'Manaskhand Corridor Yatra' next week to popularise the ancient temples of the Kumaon region, officials said on Saturday.

A special train will be run from Pune to Tanakpur in Pithoragarh district for the yatra from April 22, District Tourism Officer Kirti Chand Arya said.

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The train will carry over 600 pilgrims in two batches to the famous temples of 'Manaskhand', a phrase used in ancient Hindu scriptures to refer to the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.

The tour package to Manaskhand temples will be for 7 days and 6 nights, the DTO said.

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The pilgrims will have to alight the train in Khatima, about one km from Tanakpur from where they will be taken to the temples by road, he said.

One train will start from Pune on April 22 and reach Khatima on April 24, Arya said.

Another train carrying pilgrims will start from Pune on April 24 and reach Khatima on April 26, he added.

Khatima has been chosen as the last stoppage as it has better facilities, such as hotels, compared to Tanakpur, the officer said.

The devotees will be taken to temples and other religious places of Tanakpur, Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora as part of the tour package and briefed on the mythological significance of these temples, he said.

Visits to Baleswar, Maneswar and Mayawati temples in Champawat, Hat Kalika , Patal Bhubaneswar temples in Pithoragarh, Jageswar and Golu devta temples at Chitai, Nanda Devi, Kasar Devi, Katarmal in Almora, Nanakmatta Sahib Gurudwara in Udham Singh Nagar and the Naina Devi temple in Nainital are part of the itinerary for the pilgrims.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)