Badrinath Kedarnath Gangotri Yamunotri

Holy shrine of Gangotri (3,140 m) positioned in the high Himalayas, is dedicated to goddess Ganga. According to tale, 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 trip 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, ultimate ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the 'Yogya' (worship with fire) done it and after that 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 lastly found it tied near the meditating sage. 60.000 angry sons of King Sagar stormed the ashram of sage Kapil. When he opened his eyes, 60 thousand 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 back 60 thousand sons into life. The Bhagirathi, 'Shila' is situated near the temple of Ganga where the holy Ganga 1stt descended on earth from heaven. Hence the place is recognized as Gangotri. The temple of Bhagirathi was put up by the Gorkha General, Amar Singh Thapa in 18th Century at the source of Ganga.

Other places of pilgrimage are Brahma Kund, Surya Kund, and Vishnu Kund situated in the vicinity of Gangotri. Bhaironghati (2743 m) is a halting place if one wants to reach up to the height of Gangotri. Gangotri glaciers (4238.6 m) begins from Chaukhamba cluster of snow peak and extends up to Gaumukh which is connected by a track from Gangotri. Also one believes in these myths or not, the properties of Ganga water are well recognized all over the world. The water of Ganga contains no impurities and remains uncontaminated even after being kept over many years.