Visit to Dashing Devprayag in Uttaranchal State in India

Most of the Hindus staying in India or abroad always wish for a pilgrimage to four dhams at least once during their life time. This holy pilgrimage consists of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. This famous pilgrimage starts from Haridwar, which is also known commonly as the entry gate to the land of gods. Haridwar is situated around 150 miles away from Delhi, the capital city of India. The pilgrims start their holy four dhams pilgrimage from Haridwar by road and reach Rishikesh, which is around twenty miles away from Haridwar. The next spot on the route is Devprayag, which is around forty four miles away from Rishikesh. This place of Devprayag is full of natural beauty and presents the fantastic view of the snow cladded Himalayan Mountains. I have visited this spectacular place twice in my life and have immensely enjoyed it both the times.

Devprayag is situated at the sangam of two holy rivers, emerging from the Himalaya Mountains range. These rivers are Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. This meeting point of Rivers is considered very holy in the Hindu religion. The most holy River Ganga starts from this meeting point and flows towards Rishikesh and Haridwar till it finally merges in the Bay of Bengal near the city of Calcutta. There are three famous Mountains peaks here at Devprayag. These mountains are Vruddhachal, Narsinhachal, and Dashrathachal. Though it is not physically possible for the pilgrims to climb up these Mountains due to their steep slopes, their view from the sangam point is spectacular. There is a large religious importance of taking a bath at the meeting point of these two holy Rivers as per Hindu religion. Most of the pilgrims take this holy bath in the Rivers. The water of the rivers is extremely cool and it is suggested to be extremely careful while taking a bath here as the flow of the water in the Rivers is very rapid. The people believe that Lord Ram have performed tapa here at the sangam point for five years. There is a temple of Lord Ram at the River shore. This ancient temple has a very beautiful and impressive statue of Lord Ram with Laxmanji and Devi Sitaji. The atmosphere at this temple is simply divine and is the best place for performing Dhyana and meditation. There are also temples of Lord Raghunathji, Bilweshwar, and Goddesses Ganga and Yamuna here at Devprayag. The ghat at Devprayag was built by famous Indian donor Nanji Kalidas in the year 1945 at the expense of around hundred thousands rupees. The difficult pilgrimage of four dhams start from Devprayag as the pilgrims would start traveling further up from this point. One night's stay at Devprayag is really worth in order to enjoy its scenic beauty and the holy atmosphere.

There are many hotels and dharmshalas available here at Devprayag for the pilgrims to stay. The most famous dharmashala of Kali Kamliwala is available here for the tourists. This ancient and historical dharmashala offers clean and nice rooms at a very nominal rate of around Rs.50 ($1) per day. The hot water is also available in all the rooms, which is a real necessity at this cool place. The decent vegetarian food delicacies are also available here at Devprayag in many restaurants and hotels. The facilities of post office and telephone office are also available here at Devprayag. The pilgrims have their last chance to talk with their relatives by phone from Devprayag before they commence their four dhams pilgrimage. Many tourists who do not have enough time and the physical strength to take up complete four dhams pilgrimage can easily visit this beautiful place of Devprayag to enjoy the beauty of Himalaya Mountains.

I would strongly recommend all my readers and friends to visit Devprayag during their next trip to India. I am sure they all would have a memorable time of their life.