Yamunotri temple

        This time around I have planned to visit the sacred temple of Yamunotri. The tickets to the Ac chair car had been booked and I was enjoying the ride on the Shatabdi express to Haridwar. I really love this train for cleanliness and service that is provided. The climate outside the train was fantastic. There is no trace of sun and  through the window of the train everything looked green, this made the scenery outside look  divine.

                                                                Yamunotri Temple  

        We reached Rishikesh at 2.00 pm in the afternoon. There I got to know that no bus was available at that time to go to Yamunotri temple. The bus would leave early in the morning tomorrow. We tried our best to arrange transport for our ride to Yamunotri temple but nothing could be done. At last we were helped by a local policemen to hire a cab to drop us midway at Chiyali saur. We enjoyed the journey in the vehicle ,soaking the scenery outside. We reached Chiyalisaur at 7.00 pm in the evening and had to stay there for night.(No traffic runs after dark in Uttarkashi). We had to reach Dharasu band in the morning to continue our journey at yamunotri. We slept at 9.00 pm and were awakened by the knock on the door. It took us a hour more to dress up and get ready to move there.

         We waited at Chiyalisaur stand for taxi to take us to Dharasu band but nobody vehicle stopped, at last one jeep stopped at our signal but he demanded exorbitant price to take us nearest Bus stop. We waited a bit long and then I saw a truck coming our way. I had never travelled in the truck before but there was no way out. I signaled the driver to stop and to our surprise the truck halted. We boarded the truck with our heavy luggage. The truck was going to Uttarkashi but he promised to drop us at Dharasu band.

Trees at Barkot

                                                                             
         We reached Dharasu band at 8.30 am in the morning and had breakfast there. The dhabawala told us that a bus would be going to Janakichatti at 9.30 am, I was very excited to hear this. We waited for the bus in his dhabba. In no time ,bus was standing in front of our eyes. My wife occupied the seats in the bus while I had the breakfast in the Dhabba. We traveled in the bus and kept admiring the view outside. We reached Janakichatti at 3.00 pm and had our tea as soon as we got down from the bus. We decided not to waste the time and started the climb in the evening only. We continued our journey with our bags on our back. We had come to Yamunotri Dham Yatra  for trekking and we resolved not to take a pony ride to the Yamunotri temple. People were being carried to the temple on all sorts of things like baskets and wooden platforms and off course the pony back. The most amusing of all was the kandi ride where a person was being carried by another person  in a wooden basket.

View at Janakichatti-Yamunotri

                                                                                   
            The path to the temple was fairly plain in the beginning but as the yatra continued the route became more and more steeper. We resolve not to take too many breaks as it breaks the rhythm. The trek was 6 km long and we kept marching without any tea breaks. At last after three and a half hours of continuous effort we reached the Yamunotri temple. The snow capped mountains looked majestic in the night.We searched for the hotel at night and finally landed in Yamuna niwas hotel near the temple. It was chilling cold in the night my eyes developed black circles around them. I could not sleep the whole night as air was thin there. I could not breathe properly and the night became and long.

Bharav mandir-Yamunotri

                                                                                   
          In the morning we dressed up to visit the temple early otherwise rush would soon follow as the day progressed. We took the holy bath in the kund where hot water spring was refreshing everyone who took bath in it. My whole fatigue vanished as I came out after taking bath. We went to the main temple and offered prayer at 'Divya shila' with the help of a local priest. Inside the temple were two idols of yamuna river.I clicked so many pictures of the beautiful surrounding there. The river flowing along side the temple was absolutely amazing. We soaked some sunlight on the bridge along the temple ,had some aloo paratha with tea.Now was our time to move on and get down to janakichatti. We went to our hotel and handed out the room keys to attendant.

Bazaar at Yamunotri

                                                                                 
          It was truly beautiful place and my heart was saddened by the fact that I may not be able to come back at this place soon. We started out descent from the temple. It was heavy rush that was coming up that day as summer holidays had begun. We were walking down on foot but were caught the jam created by ponies come from both sides and Kandies and the people on foot. It took us more time to get down the hill than what took us to get up on the Yamunotri temple. Still we managed to get down to janakichatti, then rain and thunderstorm shook the place. It started to rain along with hailstorm. We thought it would be better to take a shelter now. We hired a local hotel at Janakichatti and had our dinner there only. We bathed in the river after the rain settled down. We decided to come to Delhi the next day and so spent our night at Janakichatti enjoying the cool night near river Yamuna. It was a pleasant experience trekking on the mountain and praying to river Yamuna for our happiness and health.

Peaks at Yamunotri
For video of Yamunotri click here

                                                                             

This temple is around 3165 meters from the sea level and the temple is dedicated to River Yamuna. The shrine is open from April to October and lakhs of devotees visit it.  Yamunotri is the source from where river Yamuna arises from Champassor glacier that is around 1 km ahead of temple. It is very difficult to reach the glacier.

  The temple has 3 hot springs ,one of the important one is Surya kund. Here the tank is filled with boiled water and rice are dipped into it. The cooked rice is taken as Prasad by the devotees. a sulfur spring is also there where men can take bath. A Draupadi kund is also present in the temple.

How reach there Yamunotri

 

Air- Jolly Grant airport is around 17 kilometers from Rishikesh.

Train - The nearest station is Rishikesh and Dehradun

Road - Rishikesh to Yamunotri is around 222 km via Narendernagar, Chamba, Tehri, Barkot, Janakichatti.

History of Yamunotri

Legend has it that at Banderpoonch , Lord hanuman quenched the flames of his tail in the frigid waters of Yamuna after burning Ravan's Lanka. This is how the peak got its name Bander( monkey) Ponnch ( Tail). Another tale tells of Yamunotri being the abode of the ancient sage Asit Muni. The sage used to bathe in both the Yamuna and Ganga rivers, but as he grew older, he could no longer make the journey to Gangotri . In response to his problem, a stream of Ganga began to flow alongside the Yamuna.

FAQ

1. How long is the Yamunotri trek?

Ans. Yamunotri trek is around 7 to 10 kilometer long.

2. When does aarti start at Yamunotri?

Ans. the aarti starts at 6.30 am in the morning and &.30 pm in the Evening.

3.At what time does Yamunotri temple opens?

Ans. The Yamunotri temple opens at 6am and closes at 8 pm in evening for visitors.

4. Why is Yamunotri temple Famous?

Ans. Yamunotri is considered a sacred pilgrimage site to Hindus as it is one of the four locations that make up the Chota Char Dham which includes Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri. It is believed to be the origin of the Yamuna River and is revered as the dwelling place of Goddess Yamuna. The location of Yamunotri is in the Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand and is renowned for its hot springs and glaciers.

5. Can we take a bath in River Yamunotri ?

Ans. Yes, According to ancients tales , it is said that immersing oneself in the stream of the river that flows through the Yamunotri pilgrimage site can help reduce burden of one's accumulated sins.

6. How far is Gangotri from Yamunotri ?

Ans. Gangotri is about 227 km away from Yamunotri . Nearest airport is Jolly Grant airport.

7. Is registration required for Yamunotri?

Ans . Yes registration is required for Yamunotri. Registration checkpoint- Barkot.

Related topics

1.Kedarnath http://travellingontreks.blogspot.in/2010/08/trekking-in-kedarnath.html

2.manali http://travellingontreks.blogspot.in/2010/08/travel-to-manalia-group-adventure.html



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