Gangotri – at the source of the Ganges

At first Gangotri was a bit of a shock. I was expecting a town in the mountains. But it turns out Gangotri only becomes a town for 6 months of the year– the rest of the time it hibernates. I’ve arrived just as it’s shrugging off its deep slumber, before the season has begun. 95% of the shops, restaurants, ashrams, hotels, even the cellphone towers are still closed. There doesnt seem to be a school here, or any of the things you would find in a town. I dont think anyone lives here year-round. Probably there is no access when it snows.

The timing of the season depends entirely on the temple. Gangotri is one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites. Pilgrims come from all over India and the world to visit each of the temples, high in the mountains.

Gangotri is considered the source of the Ganga, or Ganges – that holiest of rivers. And the river actually looks clean here!

At first sight the place looks empty but actually there are quite a few people working to get things ready. It feels a bit like being backstage when they are building the sets. People cleaning and scraping, hammering and painting — trying to make a presentable appearance out of the most basic materials. Corrugated iron, stone, paint. And they have a deadline to meet, the date set by the main priest of the temple for the show to begin. A lot of labourers have come here for work, some of them children, carrying 60kg loads of rock and cement powder on their backs.

Whats surprising to me is that before the big opening there is no electricity in the whole town, no landline phone connections, no cell service. Even the water supply is sporadic. My hotel stinks of fresh paint, it has no cold or hot water, no heating, but has one hour of electricity by diesel generator each night. I dont know which is worse, the dark or the diesel fumes.

Yes, my first night I was a bit shocked by it all. For one, it was cold, maybe 3 degrees by night. Luckily I’d just come from the mountains where it seemed even colder in the tent. The bed felt so warm by comparison, under 2 duvets and 2 blankets.

But by the second night I started to see a real charm to the whole place. I was walking by one hotel (not the one I was staying at) and there were all the staff out front huddled around a fire in a flat pan filled with wood shavings. One guy insisted on showing me some local tourist attraction nearby. Then I sat with them all around this fire and drank tea chatting in broken English.

I ate dinner later in a dark shack crammed with workers drinking tea after their 12-hour day and before going off to their presumably freezing accommodation. In the shack no electricity, but some amazingly tasty dal and chapattis.

Back at my own hotel I sat outside with the staff who were huddled around a fire in a large tin can, in the dark and drinking more tea. The people working in the town didnt speak much English, but were a welcoming and friendly bunch.

Today I went on a trek towards Gaumuk which is the glacier that is the real source of the Ganges. Its around a 20km walk from Gangotri through the stunning valley with impressive sharp peaks. Conditions were such that I decided to turn back after 13km. The trail goes up to 3800m. There were rockslides, a strong wind and falling rocks. It started snowing too. Doable probably, but I didnt want to chance it. I got some great photos which I’ll post later.

I walked back through the snow. In all I walked over 28km today. Will sleep well tonight no matter how cold it is.