Gaumukh Tapovan Trek

The Gaumukh Tapovan trek is easily one of the bestsellers every year in Gangotri, Uttarakhand! It is a haven for spiritual and adventure seekers. The team of ETH promises to make your Gaumukh Tapovan Experience in the Himalayas a very memorable and an enriching one. Gaumukh is the source of the river Ganga. The Ganga is the most revered river in India. Tapovan is an alpine meadow, a few km away from Gaumukh. It is home to many sages meditating in caves here. Tapovan is also the base camp of Mt Shivling (6543 m). The locals hold Mt Shivling in great reverence. The entire region brims with high spiritual fervor. No one can deny the spiritual vibrations of the Gaumukh Tapovan trail. Perhaps, this is why, there are many trekkers who come to the Himalayas more than once to experience Gaumukh and Tapovan!

Gaumukh
Gaumukh, the source of Ganga

Legend of How Ganga descended at Gaumukh in the Himalayas near Tapovan

The Legend of how the Ganga River descended at Gaumukh in the Himalayas right near Tapovan is interesting.There was a powerful King, Sagar, who wished to perform the Ashwamedh Sacrifice, a ceremonial horse sacrifice, to assert his supremacy over the 3 worlds. Fearful of losing his seat, Lord Indra abducted the sacrificial horse and tied it at the ashram of Sage Kapila. Immersed in meditation, the sage was naturally oblivious to all this. King Sagar was furious and so ordered his 60,000 sons to find the horse.

The sons found the horse at the Sage Kapila’s ashram and disrupted his meditation. Sage Kapila was beside himself with rage at this and cursed the sons leading to their annihilation. The grandson of King Sagar, Anshuman, pleaded the sage for forgiveness.  Sage Kapil said that only if Goddess Ganga descended on to the Earth, the sons sins will be absolved. The son of Anshuman, King Dilip, prayed to Lord Brahma but failed to please him.

Did Ganga finally descend?

King Dilip’s son, King Bhagirathi, performed severe penance. The penance of King Bhagirathi pleased Lord Brahma and he agreed to request Ganga to descend on to the Earth. However, this did not please Goddess Ganga at all but she had to obey Brahma’s orders. So she descended onto the Earth with such a great force that it seemed she would swallow the Earth.

King Bhagirathi again prayed to Lord Shiva now to save the Earth. Shiva agreed to receive the Ganga in his matted locks and thus control her force. This is how she descended onto the Earth and absolved King Bhagirathi’s ancestors of their sins. To this day, millions of Hindus believe that the Ganga will absolve them of their sins.

http://paromitadebroy.blogspot.com/2016/03/and-then-i-was-on-tapovan-top.html

Overview

The following is a day wise itinerary from Gangotri to Gangotri. This entire trek is fully customizable. There are small hamlets near Gangotri like Mukhwa, Harsil, Purali, Bhagori where one can get an insight into the lives of people living in these high altitudes.  Should you require transport to or from Gangotri, accommodation at Rishkesh and/or Uttarkashi, please do not hesitate to let us know.

  • 6-15 people
  • 4300m
  • None (can be arranged at an additional cost)
  • Rs 10500 per person onwards!
  • Rs 18500 per person onwards!
  • Standard Package - 5N 6D

    Budget Package - 4N 5D

Highlights

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Itinerary

You will arrive at Gangotri Dham today and check in to the hotel. In the evening, visit the temple and witness the Ganga arati.

We take acclimatization very seriously and believe that it is a major contributor for the success of any trek. So today, you will acclimatize yourselves. We'll take you on a short hike to Pandava Gufa. We encourage you to walk around in and around today.

A 14km trek today will bring us to Bhojbasa. After the first 2km, we will reach the Gangotri National Park. Our permits for entering the protected region of Gangotri National Park will be checked here. The next 5km is on level ground with a few stream crossings. The scenery is beautiful. The Ganga flows on your right and Mt Sudarshan can be seen from here. After some steep stretches, some boulder hopping in the next 2km, we will reach Chirbasa. We can stop here for tea or even have our packed lunch here. Another 5km through a few scree and rock fall zones will bring us to Bhojbasa. Bhojbasa greets you with stunning views of the Bhagirathi group of peaks, named after King Bhagirathi.

A 9km trek from Bhojbasa will take us to Tapovan. On the way, we will use a manual operated trolley car to cross the Ganga at Bhojbasa. Our trek will then continue from the other side mostly over flat ground to reach Gaumukh, the source of the Ganga 4km. From here on, the trail becomes steep with the last km being quite a steep climb. At the end of this, we reach Tapovan, the beautiful alpine meadow that is not just the base camp of Mt Shivling but is also home to many sages living here in deep meditation. We will camp here for today.

Today we will trace our steps back to Chirbasa and camp here for the night.

A 9km trek will bring us back to Gangotri. The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Cost @ INR 18500 per person + 5% GST

Inclusions - Gaumukh Tapovan trek cost

  • 1) Accommodation at Gangotri on twin sharing basis
  • 2) Gangotri national Park permits
  • 3) All meals from Gangotri to Gangotri
  • 4) Sleeping tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, kitchen tent, dining tent, toilet tent
  • 5) Services of an experienced trek leader.
  • 6) Services of a cook and kitchen staff.
  • 7) Porters carrying common trek equipment.
  • 8) Medical kit with oxygen cylinder.

Exclusions - Gaumukh Tapovan trek cost

  • Transfers to/from Gangptri. It can be arranged from Dehradun at an additional cost. Please reach out to us if you need the same.
  • Gratuities/Tips
  • Your travel and medical insurance
  • Personal Expenses such as shopping, bar bills, telephone, laundry, etc
  • Any other expenses of a personal nature
  • Porters for carrying personal luggage. It can be arranged at an additional cost of INR 2500 per 12kg load.
  • GST of 5%
From ₹10,500.00
/ Adult
  • 6-15 people
  • 4300m
  • None (can be arranged at an additional cost)
  • Rs 10500 per person onwards!
  • Rs 18500 per person onwards!
  • Standard Package - 5N 6D

    Budget Package - 4N 5D