Nanda Devi Raj jaat Yatra 2014 : Uttarakhand Devbhoomi

Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Yatra is a festival that stretches for whole three weeks. It is one such Uttarakhand festival that is globally famous. Innumerable people participate in Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra from the Garhwal-Kumaon region, the rest of the country.

Goddess Nanda Devi is a popular deity at many places of Garhwal & Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Nanda Devi Raj Jat is organised once in every 12 years in Chamoli after royal priests' descendents and the Kunwar royal family make elaborate preprations in the village of Nauti and in Kansuwar respectively. It is primarily a religious pilgrimage spanning for 280 kilometer. The trek takes about 20 days to be completed.

This Raj jat yatra originates from the Nauti village 20 km of Karnaprayag tehsil of Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Kunwar of village Kansua inaugurates the ceremony. The legend is this that Nanda Devi, consort of Lord Shiva left her village and went to the nanda devi parbat. Therefore when the yatra starts, heavy rain occurs as if the devi is crying. This yatra covers many villages and in between the Devi meets her sister in the Bhagwati village.

This yatra is very tough on account the landscape it goes through. In between the yatra there comes a Lake Roopkund where lies the hundreds of skeletons. It is said that once the King took some dancers to this sacred place due to which heavy snow fell and people died and the dancers got transformed into stone which can be sen in Patarnachonia. The other myth is this that king Yasodhwal's wife was pregnant and while she was giving birth to her child, her placenta flowed down to Roopkund and this in turn caused the death of the people on that place. That is why the river Nandakini lost her significance and the Nandprayag is not considered sacred as the other Panch Prayags like Devprayag, Vishnuprayag, Karanprayag and Rudraprayag.

How to reach

By Air :  

• If you want to attend Nanda devi Raj Jat yatra in 2013, nearest airport are jolly Grant Airport Dehradun in Garhwal and Pantnagar in Kumaun region of Uttarakhand.
  
  

  By Rail : 

  The nearest railway stations are Rishikesh in Dehradun District, Haridwar, Dehradun and Kotdwar in Pauri distict in Garhwal . If you want to go from kumaun than nearest railway stations is Kathgodam near Haldwani.Other station is Tanakpur where trains comes from Bareli.
  

• By Road : 

  If you want to go by bus than chamoli distict is well connected with dehradun, haridwar and Rishikesh .From Kumaun Chamoli distict is connected with Rudrapur, Ramnagar and Tanakpur. Main station of this Yatra is Karanprayag which is connected with Garhwal and Kumaun. We can also attend the yatra from Chandpur gadi, Ujwalpur, Nandkesari and Tharali.These are the night hault of this Yatra.
  
  

  Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Night Hault

  Night Hault Information of Nanda Devi Raaj Jat Yatra

  No.	Night Hault	Distance(km)
  1	Nauti to Eda Bandhani	10
  2	Eda Bandhani to Nauti	10
  3	Nauti to Kansuwa	7.5
  4	Kansuwa to Sem	17.3
  5	Sem to Koti	12
  6	Koti to Bhagoti	11.5
  7	Bhagoti to Kulsari	15.4
  8	Kulsari to Chepdue	10.8
  9	Chepdue to NandKesari	4.7
  10	NandKesari to Faldiya	7.9
  11	Faldiya Gaun to Mundoli	7.7
  12	Mundoli to Vaan	20.2
  13	Vaan to Geroli Patal	6.8
  14	Geroli Patal to Patar Nachoniya	6.9
  15	Patar Nachoniya to Sila Samundra	3
  16	Sila Samundra to ChandniyaGhat	12.3
  17	ChandniyaGhat to Sutol	20.9
  18	Sutol to Ghat	18
  19	Ghat to Nauti	41.6

  Day 1 to 5 Yatra Details	Day 6 to 10 Yatra Details
  Day 11 to 15 Yatra Details	Day 16 to 19 Yatra Details

  
  

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Mountain Biking in Uttarakhand

Mountain Biking in Uttarakhand Devbhoomi



Mountain biking is all about speed, control and thrill and is one of the latest ways of exploring and discovering new vistas of the Himalayan landscape. The rugged terrain and steep slopes, though risky at times, provide great mountain biking experience in Uttarakhand. The cycle trails in this region are best traversed between October and December. In India, this sport is still in its nascent stage, surviving on some financial support from the government. Blessed with rare and diverse flora and fauna, Uttarakhand is an ideal place to develop adventure sports and eco-tourism. After paragliding, mountain biking is the second most popular adventure sport in the state. The sport attracts many national and international tourists and adventure sports enthusiasts, which in turn boosts tourism activities in the state. It is a belief that in a few years, Uttarakhand is bound to become the future hub for mountain biking in Asia.
Mountain biking and cycling can be great ways to explore the towns and villages that fringe the foothills of the Himalayas. It also gives tourists the opportunity to understand the challenges that mountains have in store for them.

Routes Defined -

In Garhwal, mountain biking can be enjoyed on the Rudraprayag – Augustmuni – Ukhimath – Chopta – Gopeshwar route, the Srinagar – Pauri – Khirsu – Pawbo – Satpuli – Lansdown – Kotdar route, and the Haridwar – Dhaulkhand – Mohand – Dehradun route. More routes are yet to be identified, explored and developed. The mountain biking routes at Kumaon are not to be left out. Tourists can enjoy the Nainital – Bhawali – Ramgarh – Mukteshwar route, the Almora – Kosi – Kathpuria – Sheetlakhet route, the Nainital – Bhawali – Sattal – Bhimtal – Naukuchiyatal route, and the Nainital – Kilbury – Kunjkharak route.

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Uttarakhand Devbhoomi - The Land Of Vedas And Ancient Science

Uttarakhand Devbhoomi is a holy land steeped in many layers of Indian history, religion, spiritual aspiration and culture. It is an old land testified by Palaeolithic stone tools, rock shelters, megaliths paintings, inhabiting by humans since prehistoric times. Archaeological remains also proved that the land was a popular place for ancient Vedic practices.

Uttarakhand is surrounded by the Himalayas, and covered by forests. The land inspired seers, holy men and many saints because of its spiritual insights and serenity where they found direct realisation of the universal soul. Those seers wrote thousands of text on the human aspiration to find the ultimate truth. This is the land where wisdom put her first step before it ventured to other parts of the world, whose soil is sanctified with great sages and seers of all time. Innumerable temples and religious fervour testified the authenticity of this land, and through its people.

Since time immemorial Uttarakhand has been beckoning countless people from all over the world for its religious and spiritual opportunities in various pilgrimage routes whether it is in Badrinath or Gangotri glacier, the true source of holy river Ganges. Uttarakhand has proved time to time that religion is not just confined to temples and synagogue, and you can approach it through various ways whether you want to explore it in wilderness or rediscover yourself through trekking expeditions in the Himalayas. The life blood of this land is indeed continuing within its spiritual ambition.
Religious History of Uttarakhand

Aside for prehistoric evidence of Uttarakhand, there is very little knowledge of history of Uttarakahnd. Early scriptures described certain tribes inhabited the Garhwal and Kumaon regions, among them the prominent were Akas, Kolmunds, Nagas, paharis, Hephthalites (Hunas), Kiratas, Gujjars and Aryans. Paharis were the dominant tribe in the reigions until Rajputs and Brahmins overruled them around 13th century.

Present day Uttarakhand was also served as retreats for Rishis (seers) and Sadhus. According to Hindu mythology Sage Vyasa scripted Mahabharata (the longest epic in the world) here. The first major dynasty was Kuninda in the 2nd century B.C who practiced an early form of Shaivism. According to the relics of Ashokan dynasty it is evident that Buddhism made inroads in this region, and also Hindu cult worships like shamamism practiced here for a long time. Nevertheless, due to heavy influence of Shankaracharyaadvaitya philosophy and other Brahmanical methods, Uttarakhand remained a dominant place for orthodox Hindu worshipping.
Seat of Ancient Holistic Science Yoga And Ayurveda

Thousands of years ago sages and seers found the holistic practice of physical and mental well-being of humans through Ayurveda and Yoga. It is quite an astounding fact that even after thousands of years before the birth of Christ those therapies are revisited in the world in the form of ethics of healthy living and mental calmness. The whole world is adapting gradually the natural version of life in the name of Yoga and Ayurveda, and these age old sisters of ancient science are creating ripples in the world of modern medicines.

Both Ayurveda and Yoga have shared a philosophical commonness and therapeutic ways of cure and purgation methods as well. The similar attitudes of these sciences have a common goal – balance of body and mind. The basic Ayurvedic fundamental of healthy life is being followed in various parts of Uttarakhand since ages. Every year thousands of travellers and spiritual aspirants come to visit the place for learning Yoga and other ancient exercises. Yoga and Ayurveda are complementary to each other. The approach of healthy living can only possible fully if the system works in two legs – Yoga and Ayurveda.

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