GANGOTRI TOURS

Gangotri, close to the source of Ganga (Ganges river) and seat of the goddess Ganga, is one of the four sites in the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. At an altitude of 3,042 m, a Gorkha Commander, Amar Singh Thapa, constructed the temple in the early 18th century AD. The Gangotri temple can be reached in a full day's travel from Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun, or in two days from Yamunotri, officially the first site in the Char Dham circuit. More popular and important than its sister site Yamunotri to the east, Gangotri is also accessible directly by car and bus, meaning that it sees many more pilgrims than Yamunotri.

The ritual duties at Gangotri temple are supervised by the Semwal family of pujaris. The Aarti ceremony at the Gangotri is especially impressive, as is the temple, a stately affair that is located on the banks of the rushing Ganga. Adventurous pilgrims can make an overnight 17 km trek to Gaumukh, along the Gangotri Glacier, the actual current source of the Ganga.

Gangotri is also the name of a series of 3 mountain peaks around 6,600 m AMSL in the region between the Gangotri Glacier and the Khatling Glacier. The river is called Bhagirathi at the source and acquires the name Ganga from Devprayag onwards where it meets the river Alaknanda.

Gangotri is closed from November to around April/May due to heavy snowfall. During wintertime the Goddess retreats 12 km downstream to the winter abode at Mukhba.

According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Ganga - the daughter of heaven, took the form of a river to asolve the sins of the King Bhagirathi predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. Lord Shiva received Ganga into his matted locks to minimize the impact of her fall.

According to another legend, King Sagar, after slaying the demons on earth decided to stage in Ashwamegh Yagya as a proclamation of his supremacy. The horse which was to be taken on an uninterrupted journey around the earth was to be accompanied by the King's 60,000 sons born to Queen Sumati and one son Asmanjas born of the second queen Kesani. Indra, supreme ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the 'Yogya' (worship with fire) succeeded and then took away the horse and tied it to the ashram of Sage Kapil, who was then in deep meditation. The sons of the King Sagar searched for the horse and finally found it tied near the meditating sage. The sixty thousand angry sons of King Sagar stormed the ashram of sage Kapil. When he opened his eyes, the 60,000 sons had perished by the curse of sage Kapil. Bhagirath, grand son of King Sagar, is believed to have meditated to bring down the Ganga which brought the sixty thousand sons back into life. The Bhagirathi 'Shila' is located near the temple of Ganga where the holy Ganga first descended on earth from heaven.