Yamunotri, Uttaranchal, India

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Yamunotri (3150 m) is a pilgrimage site near the source of the Yamuna, a river sacred to the Hindus. Hundreds of thousands go up the 6 km path each year from the settlement of Janaki Chatti. Most walk up but some get carried up by others - the poor mostly because they are unable to walk themselves, the wealthy mostly because they are unwilling (couch potatoes).

The hike culminates at the temple to the river goddess followed by a dip in the freshly melted waters of the Yamunotri glacier. Recent years have seen a sharp rise in the number of visitors due to package tourism and higher incomes of the great Indian lower and middle classes. They come from far and wide, driven by unexamined beliefs and a relationship to nature that - with its self-absorbed devotion and ignorance of the natural world - many postmodern atheists would consider an impoverishment. A veritable human drama unfolds, combining scrawny porters who slog for $8/day, saffron clad sadhus ranging from crooks, cranks, to mellow potheads, traffic jams and jostling crowds, spontaneous dancing and singing, and makeshift eateries and chai stalls along the rugged mountain path laden with mule droppings. Stories of pilgrims and migrant workers abound, which (often simultaneously) attract, amuse, instruct, and repel, amid the not infrequent kindness and humanity of strangers. [-May '06]

Janaki Chatti village	The hike path begins here	View from Janaki Chatti	Janaki Chatti village
Severe transportation crunch at Hanuman Chatti			Janaki Chatti from above (more)
Janaki Chatti main street			Roadside dhaba (eatery)
The mules of Garhwal	5.5 km trekking path (more)	Dancing pilgrims	Pilgrim women (more)
Sadhu	Climbing barefoot	Climbing barefoot	Yamuna valley (1, 2)
Porter and pilgrim (more)			Ride to the top
Smoking dope (more)			Smoking dope
Couch potatoes	Couch potato (more)	Couch potatoes	Mule rider
Journey of a lifetime	Conveying the old ...	... and the infirm ...	... and the overweight
Yamunotri (1, 2)	Yamunotri temple	Religious kitsch	View from Yamunotri (more)
Old man and the hill	Exhausted porters (more)	Hot spring water tank	Bathing pilgrims (more)
A short trek beyond Yamunotri
Rainy day	Waterfall (1, 2)	Ice pack (more)	Landscape
Kharsali Village  (Directly across Janaki Chatti)
Fields behind the village	Village home	Village courtyard	Central temple
Village scene	Wood carvings on a house	Shani deveta temple	Shiva temple
Gabbing crowd	Kids	Kids	Sibling pair (more)
Boy and girl	Garhwali dress	Husband and wife	Three women
Girl out to fetch water	Group portrait	Garhwali daughter-mother	Goofy boys