Legend, Importance, Travel Guide of Gangotri – Source of Sacred River Ganga – Char Dham, Uttarakhand
Gangotri, the small town on Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand is one of the major pilgrimage destination for Hinduism, one of the Char Dham of Uttarakhand. The origin of the sacred river Ganges is at 'Gaumukh' located in Gangotri glacier located 19km away from the Gangotri temple. It is original source of 'Holy River Ganga' which is one of important Chota Char Dham pilgrimages in Hindu Religion and as per the text of Hinduism, Gangotri temple is the place from where river Ganga descended from heaven after being released by Lord Shiva from his locks. It is known as Bhagirathi till it merges with Alaknanda at Devaprayag, from Devprayag, it is known as Ganga. Gangotri's original temple was built by Nepalese general Amar Singh Thapa.
Gangotri temple Darshan open on sacred day “Akshay Tritiya” generally falls in end of April or first week of May, which is the beginning of Char Dham Yatra and Closed on Diwali falls on October or November. Along with Gangotri temple, Bharionghati, Jalmagna Shivlinga, Surya Kund , Bhagiratha Shila, Pandava caves, Tapovan etc. are other important place which attracts the devotee and adventure lover as trekking as well.
King Sagara's grandson – King Bhagiratha wanted to free his ancestors from the curse of Sage Kapila, undertook penance for 1000 years to please Ganga to descend on earth, at last, his endeavors proved to be fruitful, River Ganga satisfied by his commitment arrived on earth and for this reason, it's also called Bhagirathi. The intensity of River Ganges was such that the whole earth would got submerged under its waters. To save the earth from such destruction, Lord Shiva caught River Ganga in his locks. Thus to please Lord Shiva, King Bhagirath again meditated for a very long time. Lord Shiva being pleased with Bhagirath's immense devotion and released River Ganga.
How to reach – Gangotri: It is usually visited after Yamnotri located within the western region of Garhwal hills, where pilgrims generally make Uttarkashi as their base camp, time taken to visit Gangotri from Uttarkashi temple is about 4 hours by road. Gangotri can be visited by airways nearest airport from Gangotri is Jolly Grant, Dehradun. Gangotri can be visited by railway's where station is located at Rishikesh, about 249 km away, Gangotri is easily accessible by road with most of the major cities of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and NCR region which is located at a distance of 452 Km from Delhi & 229 Km from Rishikesh.
Taluka / Tehsil: Bhatwadi, District: Uttarkashi, State: uttarakhand-uttaranchal, Country: india.
Religious Importance: Hindu
