Yamunotri
The Ganga's sister shrine and the first of the Uttarakhand Char Dham, at the source of the Yamuna.
Kedarnath
The high Shiva jyotirlinga of the Char Dham, reached by a Himalayan trek from Gaurikund.
Badrinath
The Vishnu shrine that completes the four Char Dham of Uttarakhand.
Gangotri is rarely visited alone; it is one stop on the Chota Char Dham circuit of Uttarakhand, and most pilgrims fold it into that larger loop. Its natural pair is Yamunotri, the source shrine of the Yamuna and traditionally the first dham of the yatra, about 230 km away by the mountain roads that connect the two valleys.
The other two dhams lie further east. Kedarnath, the high Shiva jyotirlinga reached on foot from Gaurikund, is roughly 250 km away, and Badrinath, the Vishnu shrine that closes the circuit, about 240 km. All three distances are long because the roads must climb out of one river valley and into the next, so a full Char Dham journey is measured in days, not hours. Pilgrims with less time often combine Gangotri and Yamunotri as a shorter western pair before returning to the plains.
← Back to the full Gangotri darshan guideCompiled from public sources including Wikipedia: Gangotri · Wikimedia Commons: Gangotri image file (photo license) · Euttaranchal: Gangotri Temple · Uttarakhand Tourism (official): Gangotri. Timings and seasonal closures change; confirm with the temple trust before travelling.