Harsil & Mukhwa - Visiting Maa Ganga at her Winter Abode

The beauty called Harsil

I had the fortune of visiting Kumaon & Garhwal himalayas many a times, however the Chardham till now has remained elusive to me. This summer I got the chance to visit one of the sacred Chardhams – Gangotri. We made our base at a small little village called Harsil, at an altitude of 2620 metres, about 25 kilometres ahead of Gangotri. We spent 4 days at the Bhagirathi valley, and will cherish those days forever.

Rishikesh – The Spiritual Capital of India

The trip started with Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a perfect amalgamation of nature, spirituality, and adventure. The small rapids of Ganga with enthusiast rafters, the Yoga schools with people coming from different parts of the world, and the divine Ganga Aarti performed every day at twilight, in front of hundreds of believers - all contributes to Rishikesh’s unique charm.

Ganga Aarti at Rishikesh

We spent a day in Rishikesh, with a leisurely stroll on the recently built Aastha Path, along the banks of Ganga, and with a walk down the Ramjhula crossing the river, to the age old temples of the city.

The evening aarti at Shatrhughna ghat was indeed a treat to watch. With the sun going down into the river, the chants and the performance carried out in perfect symphony created a divine atmosphere.  

A long Journey to Harsil

Next morning, we wake up really early. Our plan was to cover the entire distance of 250 odd kilometres between Rishikesh and Harsil in a day. The road goes through Narendranagar, Chamba Uttarkashi and then starts climbing uphill into the greater Himalayan range.

Till Uttarkashi the journey was monotonous, with a small break at a vantage point giving a bird’s eye view of the Tehri Dam. From the top, the blue waters of Tehri Dam looked gorgeous.

Tehri Dam enroute Uttarkashi

Uttarkashi is a bustling town, along the banks of Bhagirathi. The town is famous for its Vishwanath temple, and hence named the Kashi of North – Uttarkashi. We visited the temple, it was squeaky clean, in spite of brimming with pilgrims. We paid our homage to Lord Vishwanath, and continued our uphill journey towards Harsil.

Entering the Bhagirathi Valley

Soon after crossing Uttarkashi, we started climbing the steep roads into the greater Himalayan region. In couple of hours we crossed Gangnani - situated at an altitude of 1820 metres Gangnani is famous for its hot spring. The mountains around Gangnani is lofty and rugged, with Bhagirathi, flowing down the gorge below. We stopped there for a small little tea break to freshen up and also to rest the engine, which has been running almost non-stop for last 7 hours.

Bhagirathi at Gangnani- cascading through the rugged mountains

After crossing Gangnani the landscape changes dramatically, the Bhagirathi valley starts opening up, the rugged mountains give way to more greener pastures dotted with Apple orchards and the snow ranges of Garhwal Himalayas also start appearing around the valley. Sukhi Top – the highest point on this route provided a gorgeous view of the snowy mountains. 

Himalaya at Sukhi Top

There’s a small base camp of Mahar Regiment of Indian army at Sukhi Top. As we stopped at Sukhi top , the army men greeted us , we had a chat on their life on these harsh mountains and thanked them for the great service they are doing in protecting the nation. 

Bidding them good bye we continued further. Post Sukhi Top we started descending. With the cascading turquoise Bhagirathi running alongside us and the snowy mountains on the backdrop, fringed with green apple orchards and thick deodars, the road looked absolutely ethereal.

Entering Harsil - Prayer Flags welcome us

In half an hour time after crossing Sukhi, we entered Harsil. One has to cross a small pool over Bhagirathi to enter Harsil. Colourful prayer flags greeted us into Harsil.  

With massive presence of Banderpoonch in its skyline and green pastures below, it was love at first sight. We checked into GMVN Harsil – the location of GMVN is absolutely fantastic, our deluxe hut was almost at the banks of the Bhagirathi, giving a majestic view of Himalayas. The journey was long and tiring, but the chill in the air and the love of the ever smiling GMVN staffs immediately refreshed us, and they indeed made the place a perfect home for us for the next 3 days.

Bhagirathi at Harsil - RiverView from GMVN Harsil

A day in Bhagirathi Valley

In spite of a long journey the previous day, we wake up early in the morning. The morning views of Harsil are absolutely majestic. The banderpoonch peak, in the soft morning sunlight, looked surreal.

Bandarpoonch at Harsil - Morning View

In the soft morning light, the view of Bhagirathi from the GMVN compound was surreal. There is a glasshouse built in the compound to sit for hours and enjoy the view. The thick deodar forest behind the cascading Bhagirathi made the entire picture even more beautiful

GMVN Harsil Glasshouse - Made at the riverbank

A walk down the nooks and corners of Harsil made us realize the ethereal beauty of the place. Harsil not only boasts of the presence of Bhagirathi, but a tributary of Bhagirathi – Jalandhari Gad also runs through Harsil. We crossed a small foot bridge over Jalandhari Gad and entered into the other side of Harsil. 

Crossing the Jalandhari Gad

All around us we could see apple orchards – dotted with new leaves. People here still uses mules to carry their provisions. Due to its remoteness Harsil has still kept its primitive beauty alive. We walked up to Wilson Cottage – built by Mr Wilson, the person who introduced Harsil to apple cultivation. The cottage has now been turned into a forest rest house.

Apple Orhards - Harsil

A few minutes from Wilson House took us to Bagori Village , which is a settlement of Bhutia tribes in Harsil. The village is rustic in nature with wooden houses, and a perfect place to buy handmade woolen products specially the Bagori Shawls. The uniqueness of Bagori is all woolen products of Bagori is black and white, and doesn't contain any artificial colors.

Harsil Post Office - Sending Greetings to Kolkata

Harsil has a tiny little marketplace which caters to the needs of local people. We walked down to the post office of Harsil. The tiny little post office with mountains in the backdrop is possibly one of Inda’s most scenic one. As a memory we send a postcard from the post office to our own address.

The place has its own school, primary healthcare center and government nursery, which all blends perfectly with its pristine beauty.

Government Nursery - Harsil

Visiting Mukhwa - The Winter Abode of Maa Ganga

After breakfast we decided to visit Mukhwa village near Harsil. Significantly this small little village, is the winter abode of Ganga Mata. During the harsh winters at Gangotri which is at almost 11000 feet, when the main temple is closed, this village becomes the custodian of the deity. Mukhwa is primarily a village of the Pujaris of Semwal community who guards the deity and carries on the rituals for the 6 months in the winter.

Ganga Mata Temple - Mukhwa

There’s a motorable road that climbs uphill from Harsil to Mukhwa and provides some majestic views of the Himalayan snowpeaks. Draupadi ka Danda, Srikanth are the prominent peaks around Mukhwa. 

Srikantha Peak at Mukhwa Harsil

When we reached Mukhwa, it was getting ready for the ‘Ganga Maata ki Doli Yatra’ for the next day. Every year, on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya the deity is taken back to its summer abode - Gangotri temple for the next 6 months. The village women were cleaning the temple complex and were mopping cow dung on the temple courtyard – a ritual still followed in rural India on festive occasions.

Mukhwa Temple - Getting ready for the Ganga Ma ki Doli

 When we arrived at the village the villagers greeted us in open arms, they made seating arrangements for us, we chatted long with the locals about the history of the place, about the Ganga Maata Doli Yatra, the apple cultivation and their economy. The discussions really provided an insight into their lifestyles in these remote parts of Himalaya.

The Pure people of Mukhwa Village

We were fortunate enough to be present during the Ganga Aarti. The pujari performed the aarti with all its devotion, we had a darshan of Maa Ganga from so close that we really felt blessed. We were the only tourists that day in Mukhwa , and to be present in the aarti along with the villagers in Mukhwa made us feel a part of them, a part of their tradition.

Towards Gangotri

After Mukhwa we started towards Gangotri. The road from Harsil goes past Dharali, BhaironGhati and Lanka to reach Gangotri.

We drove along the Bhagirathi, the views were mesmerizing. The valley opens up to its widest at Dharali. The view of Bhagirathi with snow peaks on the background looked majestic.

Ganga (Bhagirathi) at Dharali

After Dharali , the valley once again narrows down, and Bhagirathi also starts flowing through a deep gorge. As we drove towards Gangotri, we could see more and more snow on the mountains. Numerous waterfalls, coming out of the snowy mountains were gushing down the valley. As we drove towards Gangotri, the famous Bhagirathi peak also appeared on the distance. On a corner we got the view of Bhagirathi Peak, and the Bhagrathi river together, which was one of my favourite captures in this trip.

Bhagirathi Peak and the River - together

Within an our we reached Gangotri. The town was getting ready to welcome Maa Ganga for the next six months. The shop owners, hotel owners have all started coming back. We saw a lot of shops which were getting newly painted on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. We could sense a festive mood in the air.

We visited the famous and gorgeous Gangotri temple. The summer abode was also getting ready with all decorations to welcome Maa Ganga for the summer months. The white stone temple with its robust architecture, on the backdrop of clear blue sky looked majestic.

Majestic Gangotri Temple

We went down to the famous ghats on the temple premises, to touch the water of Bhagirathi on this sacred place. Lot of devotees were performing rituals on the ghats. The spiritual atmosphere in this beautiful nature made us grateful to mother nature , made us realize that there is an almighty which creates such divine places.

Ganga (Bhagirathi) River at Gangotri

The waters of Bhagirathi at Gangotri is freezing cold. We collected the sacred water in bottles, so that we could carry this back to Kolkata. We sat on the ghats for hours watching devotees performing the rituals. The town with century old temple, sacred flowing river, holy cows and omnipresent pilgrims looked imbued with faith, and with the presence of majestic himalayan snow peaks looked magical.

Bhagirathi Peak - as seen near Gangotri

Next Day – Ganga Mata ki Doli Yatra

Next day we once again gathered ourselves at Mukhwa village. However this time our route was different. We trekked to Mukhwa village from Dharali, like the local villagers. There is a hanging bridge over Bhagirathi at Dharali, which we crossed, and then trekked our way through the apple orchards. 

Dharali Hanging Bridge - Crossing the Bhagirathi

The trek route is steep however short, and as usual provided some majestic view of Snow mountains around Dharali and the gorgeous Bhagirathi Below.

Trekking to Mukhwa - Himalayan Views

Mukhwa village was in complete festive mood on that day. Ganga Maa was getting ready for her journey behind closed door, however the place was brimming with pilgrims and locals from nearby villages. Everyone was greeting each other, it was like a festival of community building. The priests from Gangotri temple was also present at Mukhwa that day. The Mahar regiment of Indan army also participated on that festival by sending their band who played gorgeous music on the occasion.

Band Peformed by Indian Army - Mahar Regiment

There is a tradition of dancing with the doli performed by the local performers which was really unique. At the auspicious time of 12.35 p.m Ganga Maa came out in her Doli to start her journey towards Gangotri. As she came out the place busted with excitement and holi chants. We all touched the doli to seek her blessing, and then the procession left the temple premises and continued through the lanes of Mukhwa village towards Gangotri. 

Doli on its way

The deity will be kept at Bhaironghati temple on that evening before moving it to Gangotri temple on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. Experiencing the festval was experiencing Vijaya Dashami, when the villagers of Mukhwa send a colourful farewell to their daughter Maa Ganga. It will be a wait of 6 months before their daughter will once again come back to her winter abode.

Preparing the Doli

As the doli went towards Gangotri, we also started walking down towards Harsil. Our sojourn was also coming towards an end. For the last 3 days we have been blessed with astounding natural beauty, pure hospitality and magical spirituality.

In a way visiting Gangotri is like visiting the nucleus of Indian civilization, which developed based on this sacred river. We will definitely comeback to this place and will visit Gaumukh– the place of origin of Ganga next time. Till then – ‘Namami Gange’.


Travel Tips

1. Harsil is a 10 hour long journey from Rishikesh, but can be doable on a single day.
2. Most of the taxi drivers in Rishikesh will insist you to give a stop at Uttarkashi for a day, which in my opinion is not needed.
3. Please note, cars do not go till GMVN Harsil, and you have to walk around 200 meters from Harsil Market to reach the GMVN campus.
4. Even though Mukhwa can be reached via car from Harsil, the short trek route from Dharali provides better views.
5. Please do not click pictures of Military Establishment at Harsil or at Sukhi Top.
6. Insist taxi driver to take the Uttarkashi - Suwakholi - Dehradun-Rishikesh route (even though longer). The road condition is very good, compared to the Rishikesh - Narendranagar-Chamba -Uttarkashi route. Tingling point in this route provides brilliant views of Banderpoonch and Swargarohini peaks.
7. Regular bus service is available between Rishikesh-Uttarkashi and Dehradun-Uttarkashi