Gangotri

Sacred site (tirtha) in the Himalayas at
the headwaters of the Bhagirathi River,
one of the Himalayan tributaries of the
Ganges. Ritually speaking, Gangotri is
considered to be the source of the
Ganges, although the river’s actual
source is the glacier at Gaumukh,
another twelve miles upstream. Its high
altitude also means that it is only accessible between late April and October,
after which it is closed for the winter
months. One ritual center in Gangotri
is the river itself, in which pilgrims
bathe (snana), braving the frigid
waters. The other center is the temple
to the goddess Ganga, first built about
250 years ago by the Gurkha monarch
Amar Singh Thapa and restored in the
late nineteenth century by the royal
house of Jaipur. By the side of the river
is a large stone slab, on which the sage
Bhagirath is said to have performed his
austerities to bring the Ganges down to
earth. As with all the places where the
Ganges makes some transition,
Gangotri is considered particularly
holy. Its sanctity is amplified because it
is difficult to get to and is only accessible during the summer months.
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Gangotri
Temple in Gangotri. Located in the Himalayas,
Gangotri is traditionally considered the source of the Ganges River.