Gangotri Yatra #4 of 4 Bhojbasa and Gomukh

This is the 4th and final video of the series showing my trip to Gangotri and the Gomukh Glacier at the end of September and beginning of October 2009. This clip shows the approach to Bhojbasa and the campgrounds there for travelers to Gomukh. It then shows the 4km hike up to Gomukh with various shots of the glacier and the sights along the way. (No horses are allowed into Bhojbasa or beyond it.)

The river Bhagirathi Ganga which flows out of the glacier mouth does not get all its water from the melting of the glacier. Meltwater coming down from the surrounding mountains and from the high meadows of Tapovan slide under the glacier edge and find their way into the hidden stream which later emerges from the "mouth of the cow", i.e. the "Go-mukh" -shaped cavern that you see in the videos. In this sense, the real source of the Ganga is the meadows of Tapovan. As you look at the glacier in the video, Tapovan is across the Ganga and higher up by a few hundred meters. Best reached only with a professional guide, it is a tough ascent for the unprepared and so I had to postpone it. Maybe next time!

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• gangotri
• gomukh
• glacier
• bhojbasa
• India
• himalaya
• uttarkhand
• yatra
• tapovan

[stoli4]

Google earth doesn't update its images enough... was there a baba and his tent set up between the 1891 marker and the face of the glacier?

[geeslin108]

@stoli4

The little shrine is probably about 4-500 meters from the face of the glacier. Maybe less. Hard to tell.

[stoli4]

@geeslin108 believe it or not, that shrine was about 150 metres from the face of the glacier in 2000 when i was last threre. That shrine use to have a baba there after the snow receded each year, i actually played chess with him. Wow, that is receding alot.

[geeslin108]

@stoli4

Well, I'm just guessing from the looks of the photo with the shrine in it on Google Earth and the look of the land on the aerial view then using the distance ruler. But it's definitely more than 150 meters and in ten years 300 meters(450-150)works out to only 30 meters a year which is not as bad as they thought it was for a while. (They thought it was 75 meters a year).

[stoli4]

@geeslin108 Yeah, i guess the math of it does take some edge off the whole idea, i'm still shocked by it. Did you enjoy the trek?

[geeslin108]

@stoli4 Quite remarkable but not for anyone with a fear of heights. Totally different from Kedarnath and Badrinath trips, moreso than I ever expected.

[shadowbhotia]

heaven on earth, after seeing your videos i surely want to visit this place some day, god bless all.

[stoli4]

@geeslin108 we were going to cross the glacier and come out on that side of the range just to take in the Kedarnath festival but we had other treks we had planned, (Leh and Ladakh). I've thoroughly enjoyed your video of the region, it put a smile on my face.... :D .... thanks

[stoli4]

@geeslin108 okay... now how far is the face of the glacier from that shrine??

[geeslin108]

@stoli4

No tent anywhere in there. But this was very late int he season so he may have moved on. The little shrine can be seen in one of the photos posted on GoogleEarth. It's the 3rd photo from the face of the glacier (which is clearly visible) the only photo with a rock shrine in the foreground.

[stoli4]

@geeslin108 yes i understand that but what i'm saying is that the topographic image that Google image doesn't have a high enough resolution for me to see where that shrine is in comparison to the glacier.