Uttarkashi
Situated at a distance of 155 Km from Rishikesh, the last railhead, at an elevation of about 1150 m above sealevel on the bank of river Bhagirathi, this picturesque town is also the district headquarters. This historic town has lot of ancient monuments and temples.
 The most famous temples is Lord Viswanath temple. People from all over India do also visit the Vishvanath temple during their visits to Uttarkashi, Gangotri and Yamunotri. On the occasion of "Magh Mela" (January 14) every year people from far and near visit Uttarkashi to take a holy dip in Bhagirathi along with the idol of their village deity. The area which is held sacred and known as Uttarkashi, lies between the rivers Syalam Gad also known as the Varuna and Kaligad also known as the Asi. The Varuna and the Asi are also the names of the rivers between which the Kashi of the plain lies. One of the holiest Ghats in Uttarkashi is Manikarnika so is the one by the same name in Varanasi. Both have temples dedicated to Vishwanath.
Uttarkashi anciently was known as Barahat. Undaunted by hardship this land was inhabited by hill tribes since ancient times. The hill tribes namely Kiratas, Uttara Kurus, Khasas, Tanganas, Kunindas and Pratanganas find references in the Upayana Parva of Mahabharata. The land of Uttarkashi district has been held sacred by Indians since ages where the seers and sages had found solace and spiritual aspirations and performed penances and where devas performed their sacrifices and Vedic language was better known and spoken than elsewhere.
People came here for learning Vedic language and speach. According to an account given in the Mahabharata, Jada Bharatha a great sage performed penances at Uttarkashi. the Kedar Khand of Skanda Purana refers Uttarkashi and the rivers Bhagirathi, Jahanavi and Bheel Ganga.
See Also
- Uttarkashi District
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