Uttarkashi town, the headquarters of the district by the same name, is more on the pilgrimage circuit than the regular tourist circuit. Nevertheless, with trekking and mountaineering gaining popularity as adventure sports, the importance of this region cannot be discounted. The region has some high-altitude lakes and the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers lead on to several major peaks-the hunting grounds for serious mountaineering buffs.
As the name suggests, Uttarkashi is considered the northern Kashi or Varanasi. The town is situated at an elevation of 1,550 m on the right banks of river Bhagirathi. It is a district located in the extreme northern side of the northern state of Uttaranchal. Its margins also mark the Indo-Chinese precincts. It is 155 km north of Rishikesh and 100 km from Gangotri, and is couched in the Garhwal hills. The winters last from October to March, when temperatures fall very low. The monsoons are generally experienced in the months of July and August.
Uttarkashi, like Varanasi, is known as a site for Hindu pilgrimage. Like Varanasi, it too, has a Vishwanath temple. The temple has a magnificent trishul or trident, one meter in circumference and made of copper. It supports a trident four meters long. Each prong is about two meters in length. Uttarkashi is known for its temples dedicated to Rishi Parasurama, Datatryea, Goddess Annapurna Devi, Goddess Kali, and Bhairon. At one time, there were 365 temples in this town. The town is also known for its various ashrams, which are the homes of the sanyasis and hermits.
Among the popular treks are those to Nachiketa Tal, Dodi Tal, Dayara Bugyal (bugyal, a high-altitude meadow), Sat Tal, Kedar Tal, Gangotri-Gaumukh-Nandanvan Tapovan and to Yamunotri (the source of the river Yamuna).
