Yamunotri-The First Among Four Chota Char Dhams

Situated in the lap of Great Himalaya, Yamunotri Dham is the first among the four chota char dhams (four prominent pilgrimage places) in India. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Yamuna who is centred here in the form of beautiful black marble effigy. Yamunotri Dham is situated in the Uttarkashi district of Indian State Uttarakhand. The Dham is situated at an altitude of about 3,235 meters from the sea level. Yamunotri Dham is near to some popular towns of Uttarakhand such as Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehradun. 

Yamunotri Temple

The real temple of Yamunotri is quite far from the dham and is the real origin of the River Yamuna. It can be reached by the trekking of 13 kilometres from the Hanuman Chatti and 6 kilometres from Janki Chatti. Due to High elevation most of the pilgrims, do not sight the real temple. The trekking to Yamunotri is quite adventurous in itself. A tourist can relish picturesque mountains and other blessings of nature on the way.

Yamunotri Temple History

According to Hindu mythology, once Yamunotri temple was the grotto of sage Asit Muni. In the 18th Century, the temple got built by Amar Singh Thapa. Due to natural disasters like snow and flood, the temple has been rebuilt many times. Today, Yamunotri Temple is one of the most visited Pilgrimage places in India.  The hot ponds at the temple are the major attractions of the temple in which devotees cook potatoes and rice which is offered to Goddess Yamuna. These ponds have been given names, Surya Kund and Gauri Kund.

Yamunotri Temple Timings

Yamunotri Dham opens its door to devotees in the month of May every year and this pilgrimage lasts till the second day of Diwali, November. The temple shuts its door in winter due to very cold temperature and snowfall.

Places to stay in Yamunotri

There are few ashrams and guest houses are available nearby the temple premises. The pilgrims can also get accommodation in the nearest town like Janakichatti as many guest houses are available in these towns.

How to Reach Yamunotri Temple

By Road: The Yamunotri Dham is located at the distance of 107 Km. from Dharshu and approximately 149 Km from the Tehri District of Uttrakhand.

By Rai (Train): The nearest railway stations from the Yamunotri temple are Dehradun 172 Km and Rishikesh Railway Station (213 Km).

By Air: Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun is the nearest airport located at the distance of 196 Km. which is further connected with many domestic airports in India.

Shimla Tunnel No 33 Haunted Places in India

How many of you believe in ghosts and spirits? I don’t know whether these things exist in our surroundings or not but sometimes, somewhere we hear or feel paranormal activities in our nearby. Few people believe on this thing, rest take it as rubbish. Ghosts, spirits and such others things have not been confirmed by even Science yet, still we hear many ghost stories in our life. There are numerous haunted places in India where paranormal activities have been felt by people and Tunnel No 33 is one of them that is located in Barog, Himachal Pradesh, India, a place comes between mountain rail routes from Kalka to Shimla.

Tunnel No 33 Kalka Shimla Railway Track

Story goes like this, in early 20^th Century during the British rule over the India building of railway track was on in its full swing, and Kalka Shimla Railway track was one of them which was started building in 1903. The charge of making Tunnel No 33 was given to Colonel Barog which he started digging from the both side but for some reason his calculation got failed, and the result the two ends of the tunnel did not meet. Colonel Barog was fined sum of 1 Rupee by the British Government. After this incident he felt dishonor and committed suicide. Barog was buried adjacent to this incomplete tunnel and since then it is believed that his spirit rides in his horse here. Apart from this, two other spirits have also been felt in this tunnel, one is a lady who screams and another a man who always asks for lighter.

How to Reach Tunnel No 33 Barog, Shimla

Barog is located at the distance of 60 Km from Chandigarh; on the other hand Capital of Himachal, Shimla is just 65 KM from the place. It falls on National Highway 22 connecting Shimla to Chandigarh. State Transport and local buses are available all the days of the week from both Shimla and Chandigarh. On can also reach the Barog, by getting toy train from Kalka which is 40 Km from Barog.