The Western Himalayan region conjures up a vision of vast moutainscape, withits snow-crested lofty peaks, verdant mountain slopes, cascading streams andsub-bathed glens and valleys. Temple Architecture Of The Western Himalayastrives to discover those racio-culturalstrains, and presents a kaleidoscopic picture through the study of woodentemples of this region as a living and organic entity of the socio-culturalwhole. For proper understanding of the Western Himalayan wooden temples, it isessential that these are evaluated as the living and dynamic institutions of thesociety. This study, divided into two parts, deals with thesocio-geographical mosaic, the racio-cultural background and discusses thefactors responsible for the development ofthe wooden temple architecture in this region. The classification of the woodentemples on their elevational peculiarities etc. has been attempted. Typologicalanalysis of these temples forms a very important component of the study. Attempthas also been made to set right certain glaring incongruities that have croppedup in the writings on the temple architecture and related topics of this region.