Gangotri

From Rudraprayag, we left to Uttarkashi from where we would go to Gangotri. Vegetation was again, unlike anything we had seen before. It was mostly pine trees.

From Uttarkashi, we took a jeep to go to Gangotri. The three and a half hour drive was simply beautiful.

The valley was unlike the valleys I had seen before… I must say it was a deep, well cut, V shaped valley. No! Not all valleys are V shaped… the earlier ones were U shaped and other shapes…
It was river Bhagirathi in the valley that was coming from Gangotri.



The vegetation consisted mostly of Pine in the vicinity of Uttarkashi; but as we approached Gangotri, the vegetation changed to Devdar. The road was flanked on bth sides by forests of Devdar


I am not sure if coconut tree is the most photogenic of all after seeing the Devdar…
There were forests and forests of Devdar…
What a view…
The tree emanates a divine aroma. The air was filled with the scent of Devdar.
Bhagirathi flowed in the valley below and we had a view of it throughout the drive. Bhagirathi is none other than Ganga but before her confluence with any of her tributaries.
At one point, when the jeep halted for tea, I escaped to a side alley where a narrow trail led to the river. Only when I stood on its banks I saw how fast the currents were and how deep it was.

All throughout the drive, as looked down into the valley, I thought one could ford he river on foot!
You really become devoid of perspective when you are in the mountains.

As we reached Gangotri, our vehicle seemed to take forever to actually reach the stand. Look! The bus and the Omni are scraping each other. I fear the bus will tumble into the valley!

I must admit that Gangotri was far more beautiful than other places I had seen so far. The most important reason being the devdar that you see in every direction you look. And then there are a few interesting places in the vicinity for sightseeing.

This is surya kund. The colour of rock which varies from milk white to peach to orange is most interesting.

I was walking towards Pandu Gufa. One of the bet walks of my life. Such breathtaking views all around! The music of the roaring river!

This is Pandu gufa. Some Baba lives there which is why you see the smoke coming from the cave. I entered from this side and came out of the other side :-)

On my way back…

This is gauri kund.

The river is flowing through such a narrow gorge. Can’t believe it becomes a sea in the plains!

The Gangotri temple.

We had to go back to Uttarkashi to obtain the permit to go to Gaumukh. The permit was being issued in Uttarkashi although the trek to Gaumukh began in Gangotri. This extra one day had a cascading effect on our schedule but we got to stay in Gangotri for some more time and savour the aroma of Devdar.

For more pictures do visit Gangotri