It's Yamunotri, and I touch the chill waters reverentially. The crystal clear water gurgles over boulders and pebbles , making its way downhill from a glacier in the lower Himalayan range in the Uttarkashi area of Uttarakhand. Yet unsullied by urban violators, the Yamuna flows forth into densely populated areas including Delhi, perhaps invoking Krishna her beloved, meekly accepting garbage and drainage before merging with the Ganga and mythical Saraswati at Prayag, Allahabad.
Trekking, palkis, pittus, mules and ponies... one path (lined with stunning snow peaks and forests) and many ways -- and you are there, at the shrine. Once there, all plans of taking a dip in the freezing waters evaporate . I walk past scores of devotees bathing in the hot springs there and muster enough energy to wash my hands and sprinkle a few drops on my head from the two faucets placed strategically near the steps that lead to the temple -- one expelling hot water from the springs and the other, water crisp and cold from the river.
It's been a long and tiring journey from Delhi to Yamunotri -- an overnight train to Haridwar , an eight-hour bumpy drive to Barkot and another two and a half to Jankchetti and finally , a 6.5 km uphill path to the shrine. And if you plan to go right up to the glacier-source just one km up the mountain from the temple, make sure you have mountaineering skills - it's a tough climb that's accomplished by few.
The black idol in the sanctorum is flanked on the outside by access to two hot springs. There's a queue at the Suraj Kund hot spring where the faithful immerse rice and potato bound loosely in muslin cloth. Once cooked, these are distributed as Devi's prasad. So much reverence and faith - yet most don't think twice before flinging trash into the river downstream or pumping toxic effluents into the waters. Why?
GOD'S GATEWAY
Next destination: Gangotri. From Barkot it's another eight hours by road via Uttarkashi town and Maneri to Harsil, a campsite set in an apple orchard by the Bhagirati River and embraced by Himalayan snow peaks, a 365 degree Imaxlike bonanza. Any which way you turn, you face the majestic natural pyramids, topped by ice and snow. A few yards from the Leisure Hotels campsite is the Kalpa Kedar mandir, built Nepalese style, a few feet below ground level, with steps leading down to the Lingam. A Kalpa Vriksh stands above, and a large Shiva statue with trident looks on benignly. The Kalpa Kedar faces the Bhagirati that flows swiftly past, with craggy precipices forming a picturesque backdrop.
Next morning, a dusty and uneven but beautiful one-hour drive later I find myself at the gates to the Gangotri shrine. You enter the place once you get past all the souvenir and puja accessories shops that also peddle trinkets and prayer books, DVDs and CDs, rudrakshas and costume jewellery. The temple is on a raised platform, and Ganga, a metallic deity, looks out at the incredible towering bluffs reaching for the skies.
et
Trekking, palkis, pittus, mules and ponies... one path (lined with stunning snow peaks and forests) and many ways -- and you are there, at the shrine. Once there, all plans of taking a dip in the freezing waters evaporate . I walk past scores of devotees bathing in the hot springs there and muster enough energy to wash my hands and sprinkle a few drops on my head from the two faucets placed strategically near the steps that lead to the temple -- one expelling hot water from the springs and the other, water crisp and cold from the river.
It's been a long and tiring journey from Delhi to Yamunotri -- an overnight train to Haridwar , an eight-hour bumpy drive to Barkot and another two and a half to Jankchetti and finally , a 6.5 km uphill path to the shrine. And if you plan to go right up to the glacier-source just one km up the mountain from the temple, make sure you have mountaineering skills - it's a tough climb that's accomplished by few.
The black idol in the sanctorum is flanked on the outside by access to two hot springs. There's a queue at the Suraj Kund hot spring where the faithful immerse rice and potato bound loosely in muslin cloth. Once cooked, these are distributed as Devi's prasad. So much reverence and faith - yet most don't think twice before flinging trash into the river downstream or pumping toxic effluents into the waters. Why?
GOD'S GATEWAY
Next destination: Gangotri. From Barkot it's another eight hours by road via Uttarkashi town and Maneri to Harsil, a campsite set in an apple orchard by the Bhagirati River and embraced by Himalayan snow peaks, a 365 degree Imaxlike bonanza. Any which way you turn, you face the majestic natural pyramids, topped by ice and snow. A few yards from the Leisure Hotels campsite is the Kalpa Kedar mandir, built Nepalese style, a few feet below ground level, with steps leading down to the Lingam. A Kalpa Vriksh stands above, and a large Shiva statue with trident looks on benignly. The Kalpa Kedar faces the Bhagirati that flows swiftly past, with craggy precipices forming a picturesque backdrop.
Next morning, a dusty and uneven but beautiful one-hour drive later I find myself at the gates to the Gangotri shrine. You enter the place once you get past all the souvenir and puja accessories shops that also peddle trinkets and prayer books, DVDs and CDs, rudrakshas and costume jewellery. The temple is on a raised platform, and Ganga, a metallic deity, looks out at the incredible towering bluffs reaching for the skies.
et
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