Gangotri

---

Chota Char Dham Yarta



Gamukh, Origin of the Ganges.



Chota Char Dham Yarta are 4 pilgrimage destinations of the Hindu religion located all at 'ends of roads' in the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand. They are - Yamnotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The first one I visited was Gangotri.



Approaching Gangotri the mountains become bigger, the valleys deeper, the water and waterfalls more abundant and the roads worse. Gangotri itself is a small village, popular only at the beginning of the summer, while during the winter it is unreachable. The village facilitates the Gangotri temple and is the exit point to some trekking destinations. From Gangotri there is a 16 km trek to the origin of the Ganges, the glacier Gamukh - mouth of the cow.



After 12 km we reached the ashram where we slept on the floor in rooms for 6. Rice, beans and potatoes were served on the floor, eaten with our hands and we needed to wash are own plates with cold water outside while it was snowing.



The next day we took the short hike to the glacier itself. Trapped between two mountains rests the largest glacier in India, Gangotri glacier. People standing below it, close to where the river emerges, are dwarfed by the wall of ice. From here the water that shapes the lives of millions of Indians, living on the banks and relying on the Ganges, melts.



From Gamukh you can reach Tapovan, a beautiful meadow situated at the altitude of 4,300 meters, 3 km away. Although it's a short distance it's a tough hike, crossing the cracking glacier with no direct path, climbing ice walls, and avoiding falling rocks or stepping on loose ones. Once past the ice it's straight up alongside a waterfall that needs to be crossed halfway up. It took nearly 3 hours.



Tapovan, 19 km from Gangotri, is not accessible during most the year And mules can't climb up there at all. In the summer there are very few campsites there. Porters carry up supplies for the camps, and a Baba who spends all year there, on his own for a few years already. During the winter he is completely cut off, and does not have enough wood or gas for heating, so only turns the gas on a little bit when it gets "extremely cold". He offers backpackers food and a place to sleep.



Riding to Gangotri I picked up a Baba hitchhiker on the way to his pilgrimage. The following day we met at the ashram and walked together to Gamukh while he was still barefoot. Coming down from the glacier the clouds started covering clear blue skies and the thunder was becoming loud. By the time we got back from Tapovan the drizzle became heavy snow. We were lucky to enjoy a beautiful morning with a thin sheet of fresh snow on the mountains around us as we walked back to Gangotri after the second night in the ashram.

---

Photos

Baba Ji
The Baba that runs the Ashram.

The Ashram
View my room at the Ashram at sunset. Camp sites are also set up.

The Snout
A pilgrim looking up at the massive glacier.

Gamukh and Shivling
The red-coated pilgrim is barley noticeable in this massive landscape, Mt. Shivling is the peak on the left.

Bare-foot Baba
Baba Ji with most his possessions.

The pilgrim
A man completing the Chota Char Dam Yarta

Climbing Gamukh
These big rocks are on the glacier, and any one of them can shift while you stand on them

Tapovan
Tapovan, the river just started flowing after the winter freeze. The Baba's residence is the blue to the right of the photo. A porter is bringing supplies for a group not far behind.

Trekking to Gamukh
Permits to trek to Gamukh are limited to 150 a day, so the paths are relatively empty.