Uttarakhand's ancient Tungnath temple to be declared a national monument

• The central government issued a notification on March 27, declaring the ancient temple of Tungnath as a monument of national importance

About Tungnath Temple:

• Location:It is located in Rudraprayag District, Uttarakhand.
• It is the highest Shiva temple in the world nestled at an altitude of 3680 metres.
• It is one of the Panch Kedars and is believed to have belonged to an ancient era almost 1000 years old.
• It was built in the North Indian style of architecture and has a dozen shrines of other Gods surrounding the temple.

What are Panch Kedars?

• Panch Kedar is a group of five sacred shrines of Lord Shiva located in the Garhwal Himalayas, Uttarakhand.
• The five temples are the Kedarnath Temple at an altitude of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), the Tungnath Temple (3,680 m or 12,070 ft), the Rudranath Temple (3,559 m or 11,677 ft), the Madhyamaheshwar Temple or Madmaheshwar (3,490 m or 11,450 ft) and the Kalpeshwar Temple (2,200 m or 7,200 ft).

Prelims take away

• Tungnath Temple
• Panch Kedars