Glacier's edge
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The trek up to Gangotri is through beautiful mountains and valleys.
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Follow the river: Enroute to the source of the Ganga.
IN the hinterland of the Himalayas is Gangotri. It is believed that the Ganga, the stream of life, touched earth for the first time.
According to the Hindu religious scriptures, goddess Ganga manifested herself in the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Sagar's sons. After three generations of severe penance, performed over several centuries, Ganga conceded to descend to the Earth. At the legendary source of the river, goddess Ganga is worshipped. The Gangotri temple was built in the early 18th Century by a Gorkha commander, Amar Singh Thapa, and later rebuilt by the Maharaja of Jaipur.
By November, Gangotri is snowbound and so the deity is taken 25 km downstream to Mukhba so that worship continues. Despite the severe cold, several sadhus remain at Gangotri all the year round even through the severe winter.
Gomukh, the identified source of the Ganga, is 18 km further uphill. The trek to Gomukh is gradual and several pilgrims undertake the journey to pay homage to the river at its known source. The landscape is quite different from Kumaon (Uttaranchal). The roads are narrower but generally follow the high banks of the river. The slopes are steep and mountains high though one often lands up in the valleys. People live in these areas only for six months a year with even the local residents shifting to the lower plains during winter.
The Nelong valley, the original route of the silk traders, still has some bridges, used by travellers hundreds of years ago. The landscape in the Nelong Valley, close to the China border, is like the typical Chinese paintings, with steep rocks textured with dwarfed trees growing on it.
TEXT AND PICTURES BY RAJAN KAPOOR
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