Vacation - Summer of 2010 - Part 3 : The trail of three rivers

For us, the Uttarakhand trip turned out to be a trail of three of the longest rivers in the state (Bhagirathi, Mandakini and Alaknanda), following them almost to their source. In the process, we nearly covered the whole state, or atleast the Garhwal part of it, traveling atleast 1500 kms by road over 12 days - but then, this State has so many natural riches, anything less would have been injustice.

Uttarakhand was carved out of the Himalayan districts of the Uttar Pradesh state and came into existence on Nov 9, 2000, becoming the 27th state of the Republic of India. The state was referred to as Uttaranchal for a period of about 6 years before a bill was passed by Parliament in 2006.

Called 'Devbhumi' for its many religious (Hindu) sites, Uttarakhand is a place of plenty as it has :

a) Panch Prayags (5 confluences)
b) Panch Badri (5 holy shrines dedicated to Lord Vishnu)
c) Panch Kedar (5 holy shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, supposedly built by the Pandavas)
d) Char Dham (4 holy Hindu Yatra destinations - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath - the order being important)
e) Multiple Hill Stations (Nainital, Almora, Mussorie, Ranikhet, etc.)
f) Multiple rivers (Ganga [Bhagirathi], Yamuna, Alaknanda, Mandakini, Pindar, Dhauliganga, etc.)
g) Multiple National Parks (Jim Corbett, Nanda Devi, Valley of Flowers, Rajaji,  Gangotri, etc.)


Apart from the religious visitors, Uttarakhand also attracts the adventure sports enthusiast and the casual holiday seeker - taking a summer break in one of the many hill stations in the state.

To be continued : Part 4: Bhagirathi & Alaknanda - The rivers that become the Ganga