Part VI (Exploring Uttarkashi)

After descending a distance of 99 km from Gangotri and travelling for most of the day, we concluded Day 2 by paying a visit to the temples of the religious town of Uttarkashi.

Situated on the banks of River Bhagirathi is Uttarkashi, an important pilgrim centre which is often equated with Kashi (Varanasi). It is situated at an elevation of 1150 meters. During Magh Mela, people visit Uttarkashi to take a holy dip in Bhagirathi along with their village deity.

The entrance to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi
The entrance to the famous Kashi Vishwanath 
and the Shakti Temples of Uttarkashi

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

 The Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi

Entrance to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Uttarkashi
The entrance to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple

The shivling at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi
 The Shivling at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kashi Vishwanath Temple is an ancient and the most famous temple in Uttarkashi. It is said to have initially been built by Sage Parshuram and which was later renovated by Maharani Khaneti, wife of Sudarshan Shah in 1857. The Shivling is 60 cms in height and 90 cms in circumference. This is the most important shrine of Uttarkashi and should not be missed if you are traveling to this part of the country.

 An ancient slab of black stone with some inscriptions in Uttarkashi
 An ancient slab of black stone with some inscriptions 
outside the Vishwanath Temple

Guess the time at which these pictures were taken? It was just around 5.00 pm! Still it looks like its very late into the night, isnt it? The sun sets early in these areas, especially in the winters, and it gets dark pretty quick. By 9 pm, everything is wrapped up and people are back in their homes!

Shakti Temple

 The Trident seen at the Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi
 The Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi

 The Trident at the base in the Shakti Temple - Uttarkashi
 The Trident seen at the base in the Shakti Temple

The Devi's Trishul at the Shakti Temple at Uttarkashi
The Trident seen at the Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi

Just opposite to the Vishwanath temple is the Shakti Temple. The main attraction here is a huge and heavy trishul (trident) - 6 meters in height and 90 cms at the bottom which was thrown at the devils by Goddess Durga. The trishul, as the priest told us, is made of iron in the upper part and copper in the lower part and is revered as a form of Shakti. One amazing feature of the trishul is that it cannot be moved with your entire body force but it vibrates the moment you apply pressure with one of your fingers! That was indeed some kind of magic!

Other Temples in Uttarkashi

We also visited two other local temples - the Kandar Devta Temple and the Temple dedicated to Parshuram – an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Parshuram Temple in Uttarkashi
Parshuram Temple in Uttarkashi
 Kandar Devta Temple in Uttarkashi
Kandar Devta Temple in Uttarkashi

Other Temples we could not visit are Kuteti Devi Temple, Ekadash Rudra Temple and the Gyaneshwar Temple which are also said to be worth a visit.

Other than the temples, there is a Nehru Mountaineering Institute or NIM which is a famous mountaineering training Institute in India. Trekkers and mountaineers can hire the different mountaineering gadgets and accessories from NIM for their adventure.

Related Posts –
Magh Mela in Allahabad
Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirling, Varanasi

To view the travel route map of Day 2 of our Char Dham Yatra - CLICK HERE

Previous posts from this trip -