Uttrakhand Dev Bhumi
Famously known as Devbhumi, or the Land of the Gods, Uttarakhand is a land of untouched natural beauty and sublime spirituality. Carved out from Uttar Pradesh, the state, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a place that not only boasts of a scintillating view of the Himalayas but also exhibits a cultural ethos which speaks of a simplistic and harmonic coexistence with nature. With oaks, birches, silver firs and rhododendrons adorning the steep mountain slopes, Uttarakhand offers you a glimpse into an untainted and idyllic world.
Uttarakhand is a very popular pilgrimage site, as it is the originating spot of the Ganga and the Yamuna, two of the most sacred rivers for Hindus. Uttarakhand is home to the Char Dhams, the four most pious sites of pilgrimage revered by the Hindus ? Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. Thousands of tourists visit Uttarakhand annually to pay homage to the Char Dhams.
Ancient temples, forest reserves, national parks, hill stations, and mountain peaks welcome you in the calm, cooling air of Uttarakhand. Mussoorie, Nainital, Dhanaulti, Lansdowne, Sattal, Almora, Kausani, Bhimtal, and Ranikhet are ever embracing hill stations in the state best for all kinds of trips be it a family holiday or a honeymoon.
Utrakhand Western Himalaya
As a contrast to the heady cocktail of monuments, history, heat, and city crowds, a hike in the foothills of the Himalaya invigorates you. The cool air, mountain scenery, culture, and lifestyle offer relaxation after touring the plains, and the lower slopes in Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh are easily accessible from Delhi. The more ambitious can press on north to Ladakh.
Nanital highest lake
Nainital is a Himalayan resort town in the Kumaon region of India’s Uttarakhand state, at an elevation of roughly 2,000m. Formerly a British hill station, it’s set around Nainital Lake, a popular boating site with Naina Devi Hindu Temple on its north shore. A cable car runs to Snow View observation point (at 2,270m), with vistas over the town and mountains including Nanda Devi, Uttarakhand’s highest peak.
Nanda devi
Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India, and the highest located entirely within the country. It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. It was considered the highest mountain in the world before computations in 1808 proved Dhaulagiri to be higher.
Jim Corbett National Park,
aka Corbett Tiger Reserve, has captured the imagination of many with its diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. The natural uniqueness of the area was recognized long ago as a result of which in 1936 Corbett attained the distinction of becoming the first National Park to be established in mainland Asia.
The Park attracts a large number of wildlife tourists and is divided into six ecotourism zones:
Bijrani Dhikala Jhirna Sonanadi Durgadevi Dhela
Rishikesh Holy Himalaya
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.
Haridwar
According to legend, it was here that Goddess Ganga descended when Lord Shiva released the mighty river from the locks of his hair. The River Ganga, after flowing for 253 kilometres (157 mi) from its source at Gaumukh at the edge of the Gangotri Glacier, enters the Gangetic Plain for the first time at Haridwar, which gave the city its ancient name, Gangadwára.
Haridwar or Hardwar is regarded as one of the seven holiest places (Sapta Puri) to Hindus. According to the Samudra manthan, Haridwar along with Ujjain, Nashik and Prayagraj (Allahabad) is one of four sites where drops of Amrit, the elixir of immortality, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda. This is manifested in the Kumbha Mela, which is celebrated every 12 years in Haridwar. During the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate in Haridwar to perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the river Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Moksha. Brahma Kund, the spot where the Amrit fell, is located at Har ki Pauri (literally, “footsteps of the Lord”) and is considered to be the most sacred ghat of Haridwar. It is also the primary center of the Kanwar pilgrimage, in which millions of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Śiva shrines.
Valley of Flowers National Park
Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park, located in North Chamoli, in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora.
Birds found in the park include Himalayan monal pheasant and other high altitude birds. At 3352 to 3658 meters above sea level, the gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Together, they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya. The park stretches over an expanse of 87.50 km2 and it is about 8 km long and 2 km wide. Both parks are encompassed in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (223,674 ha) which is further surrounded by a buffer zone (5,148.57 km2). Nanda Devi National Park Reserve is in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.