Krishna Shrine
A Hindu-named summit beside Vishnu Temple on the North Rim's Walhalla Plateau
About
Krishna Shrine is a 6,131-foot summit rising roughly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the Walhalla Plateau, part of the North Rim's eastern reach near Cape Royal. It sits about a mile southeast of the much larger Vishnu Temple massif, to which it's directly attached, with its twin formation, Rama Shrine, occupying the opposite side of Vishnu. The peak's upper triangle of red-orange Supai Group rock sits on a Redwall Limestone base, with a band of Esplanade Sandstone forming its cliff face.
The name
Clarence Dutton, who led the first geological survey of this part of the canyon in 1880, named Krishna Shrine and its neighbor Rama Shrine after two of Vishnu's best-known incarnations in Hindu mythology, extending the temple-and-deity naming scheme he applied across the Vishnu Temple group. It's a formation you view from a distance rather than hike to directly; Harvey Butchart made the first recorded summit climb in 1962, a serious scramble, not a maintained trail.
Best Time to View It
Cape Royal Road access is seasonal, so North Rim operating status determines when this viewpoint is reachable.
Good to Know
- Clarence Dutton, who led the first geological survey of this part of the canyon in 1880, named Krishna Shrine and its neighbor Rama Shrine after two of Vishnu's best-known incarnations in Hindu mythology.
- Look for Rama Shrine on the opposite side of Vishnu Temple to spot the twin formations together.
- This extends the temple-and-deity naming scheme Dutton applied across the Vishnu Temple group.
Where to See Krishna Shrine
It's a formation you view from a distance rather than hike to directly, best seen from the Cape Royal area. Harvey Butchart made the first recorded summit climb in 1962, a serious scramble, not a maintained trail.
What You're Looking At: Krishna Shrine
Krishna Shrine is a 6,131-foot summit rising roughly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the Walhalla Plateau, part of the North Rim's eastern reach near Cape Royal. It sits about a mile southeast of the much larger Vishnu Temple massif, to which it's directly attached, with its twin formation, Rama Shrine, occupying the opposite side of Vishnu. The peak's upper triangle of red-orange Supai Group rock sits on a Redwall Limestone base.
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