It is one of the panch Kedars. The face of Lord Shiva is worshipped at Rudranath temple in a natural rock temple as Neelkantha Mahadeva. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Neelkantha. The temple is situated amid thick forest at a height 2286 mtrs. From Gopeshwar 4 kms motorable road is available upto village Sagar from where 20 kms. trek leads to Rudranath and can be approached from Joshimath as well, by trekking about 45 kms. The temple provides magnificent view of Hathi Parvat , Nandadevi, NandaGhunti, Trishuli and many other.

There are numbers of holy Kunds (Tanks) near Rudranath temple namely Suryakund, Chandrakund, Tarakund etc. The Baitarini, the divine river flows pass behind the temple.

The Mahabharata is one of the oldest epics in the world and was written by the sage Vyasa. There is no subject on which it doesn’t deal with. However all the various subjects are woven into the story of the Kuru dynasty which ruled over India about five thousand years ago. Modern Delhi is built over their capital city of Indraprastha.

The epic deals with the rivalry between the cousins known collectively as the Pandavas and the Kauravas. It ends in the internecine war between the two factions. The Pandavas were five in number and are said to be the sons of the gods in as much as they were all extremely noble. Arjuna, the hero of the epic and the middle one amongst the Pandavas is the one to whom Lord Krishna gave the discourse of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. This discourse comes in the middle portion of the Mahabharata and deals with the human problem – how to attain liberation from the coils of material life. However it also deals with the very practical aspect of how to deal with our day-to-day life.

Shiva's face is worshipped at the Rudranath temple. It is about 2,286 m above sea level and is 23 km from Gopeshwar. 5 km of the distance is motor able and 18 km is on foot. The trek passes through wild orchards and picturesque bugyals (meadows) and involves trekking over high ridges (sometimes 4,000 m). The temple site provides magnificent views of Hathi Parvat, Nanda Devi, Nanda Ghungti, Trishuli and many other peaks. There are a number of holy kunds or ponds near the Rudranath temple like Suryakund, Chandrakund, Tarakund. The entire area is utterly enchanting and unmatched in scenic beauty. Anusuya Devi temple is located on the trek to Rudranath involving an additional trek of 3km.