//
Photo: Sananda Lal Ghosh, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Mahavatar Babaji's Cave is the place where the immortal Babaji initiated Lahiri Mahasaya into Kriya Yoga in 1861 (as described in the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda).
Mahavatar Babaji is a legendary immortal yogi and guru, who is said to be living in the Himalayas. He is said to have taught multiple revered historic yogis, including Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895), appearing to Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples between 1861 and 1985, as described in various publications and biographies. Babaji's existence was first claimed in the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote a chapter of his Autobiography of a Yogi about Babaji and founded Self-Realization Fellowship, a modern yoga movement that Babaji is associated with. According to Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji is said to have resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others. The cave near Ranikhet where Lahiri Mahasaya said he met Babaji became a tourist attraction and pilgrimage site in India.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
One of India's oldest observatories with a number of telescopes and other astronomical equipment for wondrous stargazing. The guides present freely share their knowledge, making the experience informative and educational as well.