Gaumukh Tapovan Trek

The trek begins from Gangotri which is a mountain city on the banks of River Bhagirathi and is known to be the origin of the holy River Ganga. Located in the Greater Himalayan Range, legend says that this is where Goddess Ganga descended when Lord Shiva released the river from the locks of his hair. This holy city which lies at an altitude of 3,415M is a 240 km drive away from Dehradun – the closest city with an airport.

If you have signed up with Bikat for a drive from Dehradun to Gangotri, the day starts early. Everyone assembles at the meeting point by 7 in the morning so we can start our long drive up to Gangotri, a holy mountain city in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Although there’s nothing more on the agenda for today other than the 8-9 hour drive, it is better to leave as early as possible for two reasons:

One, so we can reach as early as possible and give our bodies enough rest for what’s coming the next day. And, two, roads on the mountains are unpredictable and it is always better to account for delays when we start. It is also better to reach before it gets dark.

Today is our first day of the actual trek. We start by around 9 AM after an early breakfast. We will be walking towards Gomukh, the snout of Gangotri glacier. Our destination for today is Chirbasa which is at an altitude of 3,600M and means home of pine in the local language – no points for guessing what kind of trees you are likely to find en route to Chirbasa which will take us 5 hours to get to. The entire trek up until Chirbasa is alongside the roaring Bhaigrathi River whose refreshing spirit is likely to keep the spring in your gait alive all the way through.

As soon as we start, a small section of stairs leads us out of the town and into the forest. The trail is marked and almost flat. After half and hour and an elevation gain of 100M, we reach the office of Forest Department where we get our permits checked. There is also a temple here in the premises which you can visit as we complete the official documentation work. You will have phone network available till 2 kms after we leave Gangotri.

At the turn of 2 kms, the paved trail turns to a dirt road. This is also where we get our first water source for the day. Walk half a kilometre more, and the forest opens up to give way to a valley to your right with Bhagirathi snaking at its floor. It’s a long way down in the valley, but you can still hear its gushing sound fill the air around you.

At the mark of 10 kms, there is a small descent. Crossover to the other side of the river and climb back up over boulders to join the dirt trail. Half a kilometre more and we reach a board saying ‘Welcome up Chirbasa’. A small forest cabin here serves hot tea and snacks. The path that goes straight from there is our trail for tomorrow – it goes to Bhojwasa. For now, we head 100M down to pitch our tents surrounded by trees of chir and get ready to call it a day.

Expect to reach the campsite between 3 and 4 PM.

We start after breakfast to catch the trail we dropped off from yesterday. The route today follows a similar patter like yesterday – it snakes up and down with Bhagirathi running alongside to our right. There is a dramatic change of scenery after Chirbasa when the trail starts to get barren and desolate. We are heading to Bhojwasa today. Bhojwasa in the local language literally translates to the home of birch (bhojpatra) trees. It is quite a resilient tree, which is evident in the fact that it is the only standing tree in the region which has otherwise turned to shrubs and sparse grass. A view of the very impressive Bhagirathi range of peaks follows alongside.

At the mark of 2 kms we descend down to the river bed, cross it over a small wooden bridge and climb back up again. We are now in boulder zone! Place every foot very carefully. At 3 kms, we enter the rockfall zone. Be sure to have your helmets on – the bharals prancing about on the slopes above make the chances of rockfall even greater. We have Mt. Nandi to our right standing tall as an armour to Mt. Shivling which we cannot see yet. Bhagirathi I, II and III stay right in front the whole way. At the end of the trail, we reach the point from where we get a bird’s eye view of the campsite. The open ground which houses pilgrims and trekkers, an assortment of colourful tents and the Lal Baba Ashram – the Bhagirathi sisters bang in front and the river now so close to you, that its sound is almost deafening. We climb down 20M to get to our tents. Since we covered a major part of the distance yesterday, today is not an overly heavy day. Expect to reach our campsite by the river by 12 PM. The mesmerizing sunset over the spectacular Bhagirathi range is a perfect view to end your day with.

Today is the big day. We wake up to the majestic view of the Bhagirathi range of peaks and head out for our next campsite after breakfast. The sun takes its time coming down to the valley, so expect it to be cold until 9 AM. You can see the light come out at 5 AM but it rolls off the top of the mountains and into the valley to our tents painfully slowly.

Since the old route to the left of Bhagirathi is broken, we have to cross this forceful river to start our day. This can be quite a task since there is no bridge there yet. We use a makeshift trolley to pull ourselves to the other side. Once we have crossed the river, we start our trek. After around 2 kms, we start to see the crown of the mighty Shivling. The next 1.5kms are on the river bed walking through a muddy trail with small rocks and boulders scattered around. This section is almost flat and easy to get through.

At the mark of 3.5kms when we turn into the valley, the uphill section begins. From here on, we walk through huge boulders which can get a little tedious. Bhagirathi stands out as the only erect mountain holding its own in this landscape of crumbling rocks and boulders. 

We’ll be crossing Goumukh today as we climb towards Tapovan - one of the finest high-altitude alpine meadows in the area. The trail from Gomukh onwards is one on moraine-rich glaciers. The last kilometre we crisscross on a vertical waterfall coming down a vertical wall of boulders. At the end of the 300M ascent, we reach a massive ground with Shivling standing on it visible from its head to toe. Akash Ganga flows placidly at the floor and we see a few small huts of the sages who’ve been living here for years.

Tapovan, known for its gorgeous meadows encircling the base of Shivling Peak, is a beautiful campsite bustling with many freshwater streams and an assortment of wildflowers scattered across its floor. Herds of Bharal (blue mountain goats) running up and down the mountain ridges with magnificent views of Bhagirathi I, II, and III in the background, is a common sight here. Is it any wonder why Tapovan remains one of the most preferred spots for spiritually inclined people for their long periods of meditation? We can try some of that as we set up camp here for the night!

We trace our steps back through the familiar territory to get to Bhojwasa. The first kilometre down on the vertical waterfall section is a bit precarious. Exercise extreme caution here since the water on the boulders can make them slippery. Test every rock before you step on it.

We also spend some time at Goumukh on our way down since we didn’t get to do that on our way up to Tapovan. Gomukh, which curiously translates to the mouth of the cow, was named so by sages of the yesteryears for its appearance. Gomukh is known to be the source of Ganga, where it originally begins its long journey through the many regions it flows by.

We give Chirbasa a skip on our way down and head on directly to Gangotri.

The day is a long drive back to Dehradun. Expect to reach Dehradun by early evening and plan your journey ahead accordingly.

In case of bad weather or other difficulties which might set us off schedule during the course of the trek, Day 8 is set as a reserve day. This will only get used if unexpected and unforeseeable conditions present themselves at the last minute preventing us from reaching our destination as planned. If the buffer day is used, you have to pay Rs. 2,500 per day (INR). The amount will be collected by the Trek Leader.