Gangotri

Gangotri, at 3,415 metres in the Uttarkashi district, is the site where the Ganga is believed to have descended from the heavens, and the closest road-accessible point to the river's glacial source at Gaumukh (18 km further by foot). The temple, built in the 18th century by Amar Singh Thapa, a Gurkha general, houses the goddess Ganga in her form as Ganga Mata — the river personified as a daughter of the Himalayas.

The Bhagirathi river (the Ganga's upper reach) flows directly below the temple, fed by meltwater from the Gangotri glacier upstream. The glacier has retreated significantly in recent decades, now ending some 18 km from the temple rather than the 5 km of a century ago — making the pilgrimage to Gaumukh a poignant encounter with one of the earth's great glaciers. Bathing in the Bhagirathi at Gangotri is considered equivalent to bathing in all sacred tirthas simultaneously. A large dark rock near the temple, called Bhagirath Shila, marks the spot where King Bhagirath is said to have meditated for thousands of years.

King Bhagirath performed tapas for thousands of years to bring the Ganga from heaven to earth, seeking liberation for his 60,000 ancestors burned to ash by Kapila Muni's curse. When the Ganga agreed to descend, the force threatened to shatter the earth. Shiva received the river in his matted locks, releasing it in seven streams. The Ganga, now tamed, flowed to meet the ashes of Bhagirath's ancestors and grant them liberation — the river's eternal purpose.