Uttarkashi which means Kashi of north, is a holy place in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is thedistrict headquarters of district of Uttarkashi. Uttarkashi is located on the embankments of Bhagirathi river having a height of 1352 m above the sea level. Uttarkashi houses several ashrams as well as temples and is also the centre of NehruInstitute of Mountaineering. The town’s name exhibits similar features and location to the city of Varanasi i.e. Kashi. Just like Varanasi, the Uttarkashi town is located on the Ganges, which is beside a hill called as Varun Parvat, found where the confluence of Asi and Varuna takes place. It consists of a ghat known as Manikarnika Ghat and comprises of a temple in dedication of Shiva known as Kashi Vishwanath Temple that is located at the heart of the town.

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Geography

Uttarkashi is situated at a mean elevation of 1,165 m above the sea level. Majority of the terrain found here is hilly. As far as rivers are concerned, there are several big and small rivers in the district of Uttarkashi. The Ganges and Yamuna are the largest and most sacred among them. Their origin is from Gangotri and Yamunotri respectively. There are a number oftributaries few of them being Asi ganga and jad ganga etc. of the Ganges.

Demographics

According to the Indian census of 2001, Uttarkashi has a large population having males constituting 57% of the total population while females constituting 43%. The mean literacy rate of Uttarkashi is 78%, which is more than the national mean of 59.5%. There are 83% of the male literates while 71% of the female literates are found as per the total population. 11% of total population in Uttarkashi, is found below age of 6 years. Majority of the people living here are Garhwali and besides this a large portion of population is formed by Kumaoni, Punjabi and people from northern parts of India. There is a number of Bhotiya Jadh people found here.

Places of Interest

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering

It is one among the few institutes of mountaineering found in the country. It organizes several climbing and mountaineering training courses and apart from conducting climbing expeditions, there are a number of activities taking place here. India's first woman climbing Mount Everest, Bachendri Pal has been an alumnus of this institute NIM.

There is a Kandar Devta Mandir where a number of people come for worship.

There is a famous Vishwanath Temple found here.

There is a tourist spot called as Ganga Kinare i.e. the bank of Ganges where tourists gather for Holy Ganges.

Ujeli

This is a constellation of sages and is in the neighborhood of several ashrams located there.

Tiloth Power Plant

Situated in the Tiloth village at the Uttarkashi town fringe. It is a hydro electric project.

Maneri dam

Situated at Maneri which is 15 km away from town of Uttarkashi

Bhali dam

Situated at the village of Joshiyara at the town’s lower fringe. It is regarded as the 2nd stage of hydroelectric project of Maneri Bhali.

Nachiketa Tal

It is also a famous tourist destination here.

Kuteti Devi temple

It is found on a little hill found across the river of Bhagirathi.

Joshiyara

It is a village towards River Bhagirathi and has now become a neighborhood. It consists of a popular temple, Kaleshwar Mandir, in dedication of Lord Shiva.

There are several number of adventure sports such as white water rafting of the river, Uttarkashi is popularly called an excellent place for trekking tracks as well as mountaineering.

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