Gangotri to Gaumukh Trek, Uttarakhand

Delhito Rishikesh: In order to travel fromDelhito Rishikesh, there are many options available with the tourists for example, bus, cars/taxi, train or by air. The airport nearest to Rishikesh is Jolly Grant airport, which is around 20km from the spiritual city.

Map fromJollyGrantAirportto Rishikesh is shown below:

Rishikesh to Gangotri:

About Gangotri: Gangotri is one of the four sites in the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit.

Gangotri along with Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, among the important pilgrimages for Hindus.

GangotriTemplewas built by a Gorkha commander in the 18th century. RiverGangaoriginates from Gangotri glacier and is known as Bhagirathi (named after the ancient king Bhagirath, who performed penance to bring her down from the heavens) till it merges with Alaknanda at Devaprayag. Onwards Devprayag It acquires the nameGANGAwhere Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda.

After Diwali (Inidian festival of lights, celebrated in October/November) the door of the temple are closed & reopened in May. During winters whenTempleis closed due to the heavy snow fall , the idol of the Goddess is kept at Village Mukhab village near Harsil.

The actual source of Holy riverGangais at Gaumukh, set in the Gangotri Glaciers and is a 19 Kms trek from Gangotri.

Please note: Permit is required to visit Gaumukh :In order to control the number of people travelling on this ecologically sensitive area, the Govt. of India has introduced the permit system to allow only 150 people per month (earlier it was per day). One doesn't need any permission to go Gangotri (only). The permissions are given on first come first serve basis.

The trek from Gangotri to Gaumukh is around 18 km, which can be split as:

Gangotri – Chirbhasa : 8 km

Chirbhasa – Bhojwas – 6 km

Bhojwasa – Gaumukh – 4km

Gangotri to Bhojwas Trek: From Gangotri as tourists move along the beaten track towards

Chirbasa, the entire trek today is along the roaringBhagirathiRiver. Beyond Chirbasa the terrain becomes really desolate and barren. It has been often referred to as Artic Tundra by many trekkers. From Chirbasa further trek to Bhojwassa is through dense forest. At Bhojwassa, there is a small temple and a potential campsite near down the river.

5 km from Gomukh, Bhojwasa is a stopover with a GMVN guest house and Lal baba's ashram.

Gomukh is source ofGangawater, in the purest form. The word Gomukh is split into two parts Gau – meaning cow, much – meaning mouth. The sages called it 'Gomukh', because it appears like a cow's mouth. At Gaumukh, tourists can find praying pilgrims and half-naked saddhus meditating along the banks of the tumultuous stream that pours out of the glacier.

Tourists are adviced not to miss the opportunity to have a holy dip in the bone chilling icy water.

For trekking lovers, trekkers may explore further destinations from Gaumukh like Tapovan, which offer beautiful views of Bhagirathi I, II and III glaciers.

The best time to visit Gaumukh is from April to June. After June, due to monsoons, the rains may spoil the trekking plans.