Yamunotri Temple

🛕 About This Temple

---

Yamunotri is, in the strict geographic sense of the Chota Char Dham circuit, the very first stop — the westernmost of the four, dedicated to the river goddess Yamuna at the glacial source of the river that shares her name, one of the two most sacred rivers in North Indian Hindu tradition alongside the Ganga. Reaching the temple means a genuinely demanding trek of roughly five to six kilometres from Janki Chatti, climbing steadily through Himalayan terrain to an altitude above 3,200 metres, where the temple itself sits beside naturally occurring hot springs — a striking and practically useful feature at this altitude, since pilgrims traditionally cook rice and potatoes in cloth pouches dipped directly into the boiling Surya Kund spring as a devotional offering, a genuinely unusual ritual practice with no real equivalent elsewhere in this project. The temple, like several others in this Himalayan region, closes entirely during the harsh winter months, with the goddess's image ceremonially relocated to Kharsali village for the closed season, reopening each year only once the mountain snow has receded enough to make the pilgrimage route passable again.

📜 Our Heritage

---

The current temple structure dates to the 19th century, built under the patronage of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, though Yamunotri's status as a sacred site tied to the river Yamuna's glacial source has been recognised across a much longer span of Himalayan pilgrimage tradition.

🏛️ Design & Craftsmanship

---

A modest temple built in the Nagara style typical of the high Himalayan region, positioned beside the naturally occurring Surya Kund hot spring, with the challenging high-altitude trek from Janki Chatti forming an integral part of the pilgrimage experience.

🪷 Mythology

---

Yamunotri honours Yamuna, the river goddess and, in some traditions, sister of Yama, the god of death — bathing in the sacred waters here is believed to protect devotees from an untimely or painful death, and the temple's hot spring is used for the distinctive ritual of cooking rice and potatoes as a devotional offering to the goddess.

🙏 Visiting the Sanctum

---

When to Visit

Daily Pooja & Aarti Schedule

Darshan Tickets

Pujas & Sevas Performed Here

Major Festivals

Temple Prasadam

Getting There

Nearest airport: Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun (~215 km to Janki Chatti). Rishikesh is the nearest major railhead, with onward road travel to Janki Chatti and then the trek to the temple.