trip to haridwar , yamnotri , gangotri, rishikesh on 31/05/11 part 2

01th June 2011  - we had book the car the trip to yamnotri and gangotri 5 days trip for rs-1600.00 two months back ,  from Nanda taxi , but than Nanda devi called me up and told that there car is not available , and offered for another car with the price 1800.00 per day for the trip , we were pissed off , How they can do like this after confirming the rates , they have backed off , we did not have any other option but to take this offer , soon the car arrived at 7.00 am and  were  on the road to Barkot  via Kempty fall

On the way We had breakfast at 9.00 am  at some restaurant at dehardun , Reached the kempty fall  at around 2.00 pm

in the cable car to kempty fall

view from the cable car

view from the cable car

 kempty fall

kempty fall

we had lunch at kempty fall . spend some 1 hr there and proceed for barkot , soon we were following the s Yamuna river on one side  . the road was very bad at some starches , reached the gvmn barkot at 5.00 pm . we were tired for long journey , ordered for food and relaxed at hotel . in the evening there was raining heavily . we had the new that day before yeaterday there was landslide on the way to yamnotri and a driver died ,

land slide

tireed

barkot

02th june 2011 – in the morning we hired local jeep for going to yamnotri  . at 7.30 we left the hotel for yamnotri , there was traffic at sayanchatti , any how we reached jankichatti at 11.00 am . from there we hired the  3  horses for rs-680.00 return  . the road was steep , reached yamnotri at 1.00 pm , took bath at surya kund hot water spring , and had darshan at yamnotri temple

traffic on the way to syanchatti

Yamunotri (Hindi: यमुनोत्री) is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of 3,293 metres (10,804 ft) in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Uttarkashi district in the Garhwal Division of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the four sites in India's Chhota Char Dham pilgrimage. The sacred shrine of Yamunotri, source of the river Yamuna, is the westernmost shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas, perched atop a flank of Bandar Poonch Parvat. The chief attraction at Yamunotri is the temple devoted to the Goddess Yamuna and the holy thermal springs at Janki Chatti (7 km. Away).
The actual source, a frozen lake of ice and glacier (Champasar Glacier) located on the Kalind Mountain at a height of 4,421 m above sea level, about 1 km further up, is not frequented generally as it is not accessible; hence the shrine has been located on the foot of the hill. The approach is extremely difficult and pilgrims therefore offer puja at the temple itself.
The temple of Yamuna, on the left bank of the Yamuna, was constructed by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. The deity is made of black marble. The Yamuna, like the Ganges, has been elavated to the status of a divine mother for the Hindus and has been held responsible for nurturing and developing the Indian civilization.
Close to the temple are hot water springs gushing out from the mountain cavities. Surya Kund is the most important kund. Near the Surya Kund there is a shila called Divya Shila, which is worshipped before puja is offered to the deity. Devotees prepare rice and potatoes, tied in muslin cloth, to offer at the shrine by dipping them in these hot water springs. Rice so cooked is taken back home as prasadam. The pujaris of Yamunotri come from the village of Kharsali near Janki Chatti. They are the administrators of the sacred place and perform religious rites. They are well-versed in the Shastras.

After darshan we returned to our hotel at barkot.