Yamunothri - My journey

Though it is very difficult to reach the exact source of the holy river, pilgrims flock to the shrine which is open from May to November. The present temple was built by Maharani Gularia of Jaipur in the 19th century. In 1923, the temple was destroyed by an earthquake, but subsequently rebuilt. There are a number of thermal springs in the vicinity of Yamunotri. The most important of these, Surya Kund, has a temperature of almost 1900 F. Pilgrims tie rice and potatoes in a cotton cloth, and immerse it in the water to be cooked. The meals thus prepared are offered to the deity and then distributed among the pilgrims. The shrine of Yamunotri is one of the "four dhams" of Uttarakhand. The temple opens the last week of April or the first week of May. It closes around the second week of November.