Travel Garhwal Destination

Garhwal in the northern state of Uttranchal is an exceptional destination with charming surroundings. Garhwal is smack in the middle of the Himalayas, with Himachal Pradesh in the West and North-West; Tibet in the North; the plains of Western Uttar Pradesh in the South and Kumaon in the East. Garhwal is an administrative division of the raising state of Uttaranchal, comprising the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Pauri, Tehri and Uttarkashi. The history of Garhwal is older than that of the Ramayan and Mahabharata. Garhwal is a storehouse of antiquity a Mecca for the devout and a heaven for adventure sports like river rafting, aero sports & skiing. Making it an essential on the itinerary of adventure lovers, pleasure seekers and pilgrims alike.

The snow-wrapped mountains, luxuriant meadows, high-altitude lakes and impenetrable forests in the hills of Garhwal support exotic wildlife, bird life and plant life. The beautiful creations of nature in the Garhwal region add a bit of splendour to nature's wealth that dwells in its surrounding.

Garhwal comprises of the seven districts - Dehradun, Haridwar, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pauri, Tehri and Rudraprayag. The region is a unique mix of diverse geographical, demographic and social characteristics, heightened by an intensified sense of religiosity. Garhwal is the supreme haven for the devout, and the home of varied flora & fauna. Garhwal also has immense scope for adventure sports like river rafting, aero-sports and skiing. There is ample scope for wildlife watching also, making it an essential entry on the itinerary of adventure lovers, pleasure seekers and pilgrims, alike.

The sacred shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri & Yamunotri are located here and so are the source of the most revered rivers Ganga and Yamuna. The legendary valleys of Garhwal blooming with natural beauty, also offer an unique style of hill temple architecture and fantastic handicrafts.

Garhwal is flourishing with natural resources, which can be seen especially in its surroundings. Nature is at its very best in the Garhwal Region. The entire region is blooming in abundance with varied vegetations. A large number of nature lovers, environmentalists and tourists descend upon the region every year. But, If you want to behold the beauty of Garhwal in a reserved region then visit Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, Nanda Devi National Park, Rajaji National Park and Kedarnath Sanctuary.

Garhwal Trekking Tours

Garhwal himalayas is one of the most popular trekking destinations in India. Every year thousands of tourist came here for trekking and other adventure activities.

The beauty of Garhwal hills is picture perfect, a fusion of high mountain valley and lakes, of many streams and among India's greatest rivers. Carmine rhododendron blooms and scarlet flame of the forest blossoms are luminous in jungles of dense green, while the faith of an old people has kept alive a lifestyle that dates back by several centuries. In other words the Garhwal hills are a vertible paradise for trekkers.

Trekking in Garhwal.Com ( Subsidiary of Peak adventure tours ) provides all the trekking and adventure services regarding Trekking in Garhwal Himalayas, Trekking tours in garhwal, Mountaineering expeditions and mountain biking tours to Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

Garhwal Himalayas Region: Garhwal, is a region and administrative division of Uttarakhand state, India, lying in the Himalayas. It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by kumaon region and on the west by Himachal Pradesh state. It includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi.

It is believed that Garhwal was named so because of the fact that it had 52 Garhs of 52 petty chieftainships, each chief with his own independent fortress (garh). Nearly 500 years ago, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal, reduced all the minor principalities under his own sway, and founded the Garhwal kingdom.

Garhwal Himalaya has several wilderness trails through dense forests of Deodar, cypress, oak, pine and rhododendron that harbor a large variety of Himalayan faunas. These lead to lush verdant valleys and undulating green meadows carpeted with alpine flowers in summer. The blue and emerald lakes, majestic waterfalls, meandering rivers, rich thick forests, incredible mountains, green valleys and a wide range of flora and fauna including birds and butterflies, provide a glorious combination. The legendary Ganges, Yamuna and many rivers originate in the Garhwal Himalayas.

Famous trekking routes in Garhwal Himalayas :

• Chandrashila Summit Trek
• Dodital Trekking
• Dehradun Mussoorie Trekking
• Gangotri-Gaumukh-Tapoban Trek
• Gangotri-Badrinath Trekking
• Hem Kund-Valley Flowers Trekking
• Har Ki Dun Trek
• Kalindikhal Pass Trek
• Kedar Tal Trekking
• Khatling Trekking
• Kauri Tapovan Trekking Strenuous
• Kedarnath Vasuki Tal Trek
• Kempty Trekking
• Mussoorie Naqtibba Trek
• Nanda Devi Trek
• Outer Nanda Devi Sanctuary Trek
• Panch Kedar Trek
• Roop Kund Trekking
• Rishikesh Gopeshwar Trekking
• Rishikesh Pauri Binsar Trek
• Shivling Trekking
• The Source of the Ganges Trek
• Valley of Flowers Trekking
• Dayara Bugyal Trek

Hemkund Sahib In Garhwal

The high altitude Lokpal lake, known as Hemkund ( 4329 mts.) lies in heavenly environs. A steep trek from Ghangharia leads one to this spot in about four to six hours.

It is an important pilgrimage for both Hindus and Sikhs, as well as for people from other faiths. There is a Sikh Gurudwara and a Lakshman temple built on the bank of the lake.

Encircled by seven snow clad peaks and their associated glaciers, it reflects its surroundings enchantingly on its crystal clear serene waters. The glaciers from Hathi Parvat and Saptrishi peaks feed the lake and a small stream called Himganga flows out of this lake.

As alluded to, in the holy Granth Sahib, Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikh faith had meditated on the bank of this lake in one of his earlier births. It is widely believed among Sikhs that Guru Govind Singh introduced the features now universally associated with Sikhism. On 15th April 1699, he started the new brotherhood called the Khalsa (meaning the pure, from the Persian word 'Khales') an inner core of the faithful, accepted by baptism (amrit).


The five K's' date from this period: kesh (uncut hair) kangha (comb), kirpan (dagger or short sword), kara (steel bangle), and kachh (boxer shorts). The most important is the uncut hair, adopted before the other four. The comb is sometime designated specially as wooden. The dagger and the shorts reflect military influence, while the bangle may be a from of charm.

It is believed that Lakshman, the younger brother of Ram, meditated by the lake and regained his health after being severely wounded by Meghnath, son of the demon Ravana, during battle.

Despite its ancient connections, Hemkund/Lokpal was discovered by a Sikh Havaldar, Solan Singh and became a major pilgrimage centre only after 1930.

River Rafting In Uttaranchal

The Rapids of sacred river Ganga, offers the professional as well as the amateur, the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting. The Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi, are the main tributaries of the Ganga, and meet at Devprayag, frothing from their racy descent. Their waters are Grade IV and Grade V, challenging the expert to survive the thrill.

Down river from Devprayag, the Ganga changes into a pool drop river. This stretch of almost 70 kms, is perfect for the amateur and the novice, for here, the river offers some fine Grade III rapids, and two Grade II rapids, the 'wall' at Bysi and the 'Golf Course" 4 kms below Shivpuri village; each followed by deep and placid pools.

Sandy beaches line the river at intervals, allowing river rafters to pull up alongside, for a spot of relaxation. The slopes on either side, are covered with oak, pine, spruce, and fir, with an occasional village and its terraced fields, dotting the landscape. Wildlife can be sighted at a distance, especially spotted deer, monkeys and leopards. Spiritual retreats and ashrams (hermitages) overlook the river, and add a spiritual flavour to this fantastic experience.

Tehri dam

Tehri dam is the main dam of the Tehri Hydro Project, a major power project located near Tehri in the state of Uttarakhand in India. It is a multi purpose river valley project.Towering 855 feet (261 m), the main dam at Tehri is the 8th tallest dam in the world.The dam's projected capabilities include a power generation capacity of 2400 MW, irrigation stabilization to an area of 6,000 km², an additional area of 2,700 km² of irrigation stabilization and a supply of 270 million gallons (1.23 million cubic metres) of drinking water (per year?) to industrialized cities in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. While originally stated to be built with an approximate cost of 4 million U.S. dollars, an equivalent of over 1 billion US dollars has been spent on the construction of the dam to date.

The dam project was approved in 1972 and construction was started in 1978. The Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) was constituted in 1989 to supervise the construction of the dam. The main dam of the project is built near the old Tehri town that lies at the confluence of the rivers Bhagirathi, (one of the major tributary of the river Ganga) and Bhilangana. The main dam will produce 2000 MW of electricity when completed. However, only the Phase-I with capacity of 1000 MW is approved at present. There is another smaller dam 14 km downstream at Koteshwar that will produce 400 MW of electricity. The main reservoir comprises an area of 42 km². This has now flooded the old Tehri town and 112 villages around the town, thereby displacing more than 100,000 people. The town of New Tehri, on the hillside above the dam, has been built as a result.

This dam has been the object of intense protests from environmental groups and the people of this region. The issue of relocation of more than 1 lakh (100 thousand) people[1] of the area has resulted in protracted legal battles and has delayed the project. Besides this, environmental concerns regarding the location of large dams in the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan foothills, there are also concerns regarding the dam's safety. The Tehri dam is located in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geologic fault zone. This region was the site of a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in October 1991, epicentred 50 km from the location of the dam. There already has been a fatal accident in one of the tunnels in Aug, 2004 when a portion of a tunnel collapsed following heavy rains.

Following a court clearance, the tunnel T2 of Tehri dam has been finally closed on 29th Oct, 2005 and thereby started the process of filling the massive reservoir. Its planned closure was in Dec, 2002. Two of the lower tunnels, T3 and T4, were closed way back in Dec, 2001. But closing of tunnel T2 has resulted in another controversy as this has reduced supply of Bhagirathi water to a mere 2 ft³/s from the normal 1000 ft³/s. According to Hindu mythology, river Bhagirathi is the actual Ganga, though the name of Ganga is assumed only after the river Bhagirathi meets river Alaknanda at Devprayag. Cutting off the water supply of Bhagirathi to such low quantity means that after travelling more than 80 km from this point, water of Bhagirathi will be hardly reaching Ganga. Thus to many, sacredness of Ganga has reduced and this has created resentment. But the filling of the dam continued and the project generated its first unit of electricity in June, 2006.