Temples in Dehradun: Santala Devi, Daat Kali, Prakasheshwar and more

This page covers the temples in Dehradun that sit a little outside the usual list. Tapkeshwar, the cave temple of Shiva on the Tons river, has its own page, so we don’t repeat it here. Darbar Sahib, Guru Ram Rai’s darbar in the old city, is part of our Old Dehradun heritage walk, and the Buddhist side of the valley is on our Mindrolling Monastery page.

A word on timings. None of these five temples publishes its hours on an official website that we could find. The hours below come from travel guides, and where they disagree we say so. Temples also change their hours for festivals and aartis. Treat every timing here as a guide, and keep a buffer.

Santala Devi

Santala Devi sits on a hilltop above the Nun river, in thick forest about 15 km from the city. Nagar Nigam Dehradun says the temple’s deities are Santaula Devi and her brother. The story told locally, in AstroVed’s and UK Travel Company’s retellings, is that the princess and her brother were turned to stone rather than be captured by a Mughal army. Both say it happened on a Saturday. That is why Saturday is Santala Devi’s day, and the busiest day on the hill.

The last stretch is on foot: about 2 km uphill from Punjabiwala, per the Nagar Nigam page. Wear proper shoes and carry water. In the monsoon the path gets slippery, and UK Travel Company advises against going from July to September. We agree. Hill paths here can also be hit by landslides in heavy rain, so check our roads and weather guide before any hill walk.

Confirm locally before you go. As of 1 November 2026 we found no official notice of Santala Devi’s hours or of any closure, and the timings online disagree: AstroVed says 6 am to 7 pm, while UK Travel Company says 7 am to noon and 2 pm to 6 pm. Ask at the base in Punjabiwala, or ask us on WhatsApp before you set out and we’ll tell you what we know.

Prakasheshwar Mahadev

This is the red Shiva temple on the Mussoorie road near Kuthal Gate, about 10 km from the Clock Tower (both guides say 12 km). It is known for one thing above all: it does not take your money. Travel Chardham and Discover Uttarakhand both say donations are refused, and Discover Uttarakhand says a notice at the entrance asks you not to offer any. The Shivling is crystal (sphatik). Instead of taking, the temple gives: Travel Chardham mentions complimentary tea, and both guides mention a bhandara for devotees.

Discover Uttarakhand lists its hours as 8:00 am to 8:30 pm, and notes that some sources say 9 am to 9 pm. It also says photography is not allowed inside the shrine. Mahashivratri and the month of Sawan bring the biggest crowds.

How we’d do it: stop on the way up to Mussoorie, not as a trip of its own. It fits neatly into a Mussoorie day trip. Leave the snacks in the car: Discover Uttarakhand warns about monkeys here.

Daat Kali

Daat Kali stands on the old Dehradun–Saharanpur road, at the southern gate of the valley, less than 10 km from ISBT. Its history is tied to a road. In April 2026 the temple’s management told Dainik Bhaskar that in 1804 a tunnel being dug here kept collapsing until the goddess’s pindi was installed, and that “daat” is the local word for that tunnel. Sacred Yatra and Travel Chardham also give 1804, though Travel Chardham reads “daat” as teeth, after the goddess’s fierce form.

It is the temple Dehradun brings its new cars to. Priests perform a puja for the vehicle and fix a “Vahan Durghatna Yantra” to protect it, as Sacred Yatra and Travel Chardham both describe, and Garhwal Post notes that most people who buy a new car still take it there. Travel Chardham says Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days, and Navratri busiest of all. There is a shoe rack at the entrance and prasad shops outside.

One practical thing. As Garhwal Post noted in 2024, the new tunnel and elevated road mean traffic no longer has to pass the temple. If you’re driving in from Delhi and want to stop, plan for it, because you won’t simply drive by it any more.

Chandrabani (Gautam Kund)

Chandrabani is a goddess temple in the Shivalik hills off the Delhi road, about 5 km from ISBT. It is also known as Gautam Kund. Sacred Yatra, Doon Circle and Trawell all say this was the home of the sage Gautam, and Sacred Yatra and Doon Circle add that the Ganga showed herself here. Doon Circle says a Baisakhi mela is held at the temple each year.

Many devotees take a dip in the kund. We’d leave that to them: we don’t suggest going into any pool or river here, as water levels and footing change with the season.

Laxman Siddh

Laxman Siddh is one of the four Siddhpeeths around Dehradun, according to the district administration. It is about 10 km out on the Rishikesh road, and about a km into the forest from the road. The district says a local fair is held here every Sunday, with the biggest gathering on the last Sunday of April. In 2027 that would be 25 April, but no date has been announced yet. Doon Circle says the shrine is the samadhi of the saint Swami Laxman Siddh, and that tradition links it to Lakshman’s penance after the war with Ravana.

It sits on the way to Rishikesh and Haridwar, so it pairs easily with a Rishikesh day trip or an evening at Haridwar for the Ganga Aarti.

A temple weekend, the way we’d plan it

These temples are spread around the valley in different directions, so trying to see all five in a day means most of it in traffic. We’d group them by road instead:

• South, on arrival or departure day: Daat Kali and Chandrabani are both near the Delhi road and ISBT. Go early. Avoid Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at Daat Kali if you want it quiet.
• A morning in the hills: Santala Devi, with the walk, takes most of a morning. Go on a weekday if you can, and once more, confirm locally first.
• On the way somewhere else: Prakasheshwar on the Mussoorie road, Laxman Siddh on the Rishikesh road.

If you only have time for one on a short trip, Chandrabani is the closest to ISBT. If you want to see a temple full of life, go to Daat Kali on a Sunday. As we put it on our Instagram, “We help our guests to experience the best of local places”, and a temple day is something we’re always happy to talk through.

Temple etiquette

• Shoes come off before you enter. Wear socks in winter; temple floors are cold in the morning.
• Dress modestly: covered shoulders and knees. Some families also cover their heads; follow what you see.
• Ask before you photograph. At Prakasheshwar, photography inside the shrine is not allowed.
• At Prakasheshwar, don’t offer money. At other temples, carry small notes for prasad and offerings.
• Don’t feed the monkeys, and keep food and bags closed, especially at Daat Kali and Prakasheshwar.
• Keep your voice low near the sanctum, and let people who have come to pray go first.

After an early start, it’s good to come back to somewhere calm. Fyonli Nest has two bedrooms, a courtyard that catches the morning sun and a full kitchen, and on request we make a Pahadi breakfast of mandua roti, aloo and seasonal fruit. Tell us the night before.

Sources: Nagar Nigam Dehradun: Santala Devi Temple; District Dehradun: Fair & Festivals; AstroVed: Santala Devi Temple; UK Travel Company: Santala Devi Temple; Travel Chardham: Prakasheshwar Mahadev; Discover Uttarakhand: Prakasheshwar Mahadev; Travel Chardham: Daat Kali; Sacred Yatra: Daat Kali; Yatradham: Daat Kali; Dainik Bhaskar, 10 April 2026; Garhwal Post, 4 March 2024; Sacred Yatra: Chandrabani; Trawell: Chandrabani; Doon Circle: Chandrabani; Doon Circle: Laxman Siddh. Distances are from these sources, measured from the Clock Tower or ISBT and rounded to the nearest 5 km. All checked 1 November 2026.