Bageshwar district is an administrative district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It lies in the Kumaon division and is named after its headquarters town, Bageshwar, which sits at the confluence of the Sarayu and Gomati rivers. The district is known for its mountainous terrain, the historic Bagnath Temple, and the annual Uttarayani fair held in January.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Uttarakhand |
| Division | Kumaon |
| Headquarters | Bageshwar |
| Region | Central Himalaya |
| Major rivers | Sarayu, Gomati |
The district is situated in the Himalayan belt of Kumaon and is characterised by deep river valleys, terraced agricultural slopes, and high-altitude ranges that rise towards the greater Himalaya in the north. It shares boundaries with Pithoragarh to the east, Almora to the south, and Chamoli to the west, with the higher Himalayan reaches lying to the north. The Pindari, Kafni and Sunderdhunga glaciers, which feed tributaries of the Sarayu, fall within the district and are popular trekking destinations.
Bageshwar district was constituted on 15 September 1997 by separating territory from the erstwhile Almora district, when the area was still part of Uttar Pradesh. With the creation of Uttarakhand (initially Uttaranchal) in November 2000, it became one of the districts of the new state. The district is administered by a District Magistrate and is divided into administrative tehsils and development blocks, with Bageshwar, Kapkot and Garur among the principal sub-divisions.
The region has a long association with Kumaoni history and was earlier part of the Chand kingdom of Kumaon before coming under Gorkha rule in the late eighteenth century. Following the Anglo-Nepalese War, it passed to the British East India Company under the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 and was administered as part of the Kumaon Commissionery. The Uttarayani mela at Bageshwar, held on Makar Sankranti, has historically served as a major trading fair where communities from the higher Himalayan valleys exchanged goods with those from the lower hills.
The economy is predominantly agrarian, with terraced cultivation of cereals, pulses and millets, alongside horticulture and animal husbandry. Tourism, centred on pilgrimage sites and Himalayan trekking routes such as the Pindari Glacier trail, contributes to local livelihoods. Kumaoni is widely spoken alongside Hindi.
The Bagnath Temple, dedicated to Shiva and located at the Sarayu–Gomati confluence in Bageshwar town, is the most prominent religious site in the district. The Uttarayani fair draws pilgrims and visitors from across Kumaon. Folk traditions, including Kumaoni music, dance forms such as Chholiya, and local crafts, remain part of the district's cultural life.