Pilgrimages in North India -

Pilgrims in North India

Vaishno Devi, Jammu & Kashmir

Vaishno Devi is a manifestation of the Hindu Mother Goddess, Durga or Adi Shakti. The words “Maa” and “Mata” are commonly used in India for mother, and thus are often heavily used in connection with Vaishno Devi. Vaishnavi took avatar from the combined energies of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswati.

Yamunotri, Uttarakhand

Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism

Gangotri, Uttarakhand

Chota Char Dham Yamunotri Gangotri Kedarnath Badrinath Gangotri is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi – the origin of the river Ganges

Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of the four Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites.

Ajmer

Ajmer is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. South of the city’s artificial Ana Sagar Lake is Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the domed shrine of the Muslim Sufi saint Garib Nawaz. Nearby, a 16th-century palace built by the Mughal emperor Akbar now houses the Ajmer Government Museum, displaying armor and stone sculptures. A museum at the Indo-Saracenic–style Mayo College exhibits art and taxidermied birds.

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, 28 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. At the center of its walled old town, the gilded Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) is the holiest gurdwara (religious complex) of the Sikh religion. It’s at the end of a causeway, surrounded by the sacred Amrit Sarovar tank (lake), where pilgrims bathe.

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Rishikesh is a city in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan foothills beside the Ganges River. The river is considered holy, and the city is renowned as a center for studying yoga and meditation. Temples and ashrams (centers for spiritual studies) line the eastern bank around Swarg Ashram, a traffic-free, alcohol-free and vegetarian enclave upstream from Rishikesh town.

Badrinath, Uttarakhand

Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India’s Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India’s Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. It gets its name from the Badrinath Temple

Haridwar, Uttarakhand

Haridwar is an ancient city and important Hindu pilgrimage site in North India’s Uttarakhand state, where the River Ganges exits the Himalayan foothills. The largest of several sacred ghats (bathing steps), Har Ki Pauri hosts a nightly Ganga Aarti (river-worshipping ceremony) in which tiny flickering lamps are floated off the steps. Worshipers fill the city during major festivals including the annual Kanwar Mela.