Maharani Temple

Situated on a small hillock at the centre of Gulmarg, a unique thing about this Royal temple is the fact that it is seen from all the corners of Gulmarg. The Maharani temple also known as Mohineshwar Shivalalaya was built by Mohini Bai Sisodhia, the wife of the erstwhile ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh (the last king of Kashmir) in 1915. Mohini Bai Sisodhia was the daughter of Maharaja Mohandev of Dharampur. When the last Dogra king would spent his time in Gulmarg in his royal palace which is situated a couple of kilometers from this temple, the Queen would come here to worship Lord Shiva. Infact, she would stay here for months and worship the Lord in this temple. The temple which houses a Shiv Lingam and an idol of Goddess Parvati is now being looked after by Ghulam Mohammad Shiekh, a Kashmiri Muslim. After the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in early 90's, there was nobody to look after the temple. The Shiekh's father Gulam Rasool Shiekh was the Chowkidar of the temple for about 40 years. That is how he starting taking care of the temple in the absence of a regular priest. Besides performing his duties as a "Pujari" offering the "Prasad" to the devotees and army personnel who throng this ancient temple in big numbers, especially in summers when the place comes alive, he also performs Aarti at the temple.

Address : Shiv Mandir, Gulmarg Road Gulmarg, Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir-193403