Devprayag (Deva prayāga) is a town and a nagar palika, near New Tehri in Tehri Garhwal District[ Map of Pauri Garhwal district Pauri Garhwal Official website.] in the state of Uttarakhand, India, and is the final one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River where Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi river and both rivers thereafter flow on as the Ganges river or Ganga.
Overview
"
Devprayag" means "
Godly Confluence" in Sanskrit. According to Hindu scriptures, Devprayag is the sacred place of merging of two visible heavenly rivers,
Alaknanda and
Bhagirathi, to form the holy
Ganges.
On a terrace in the upper part of the village is the temple of Raghunathji, built of huge stones, pyramidal in form, and capped by a white cupola.
Geography
The Alaknanda rises at the confluence and feet of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glacier in Uttarakhand near the border with
Tibet. The
headwaters of the Bhagirathi are formed at
Gaumukh, at the foot of the
Gangotri glacier and Khatling glaciers in the
Garhwal Division Himalaya. These two sacred rivers join to form the
Ganges (Ganga) in Devprayag.
Devprayag is 70 km from Rishikesh. Devprayag has an average elevation of 830 metres (2,723 feet).
Demographics
India [[census]],
In popular culture
Devprayag has been featured prominently in the films
and
Ponga Pandit.
Transport
Air
The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport near
Dehradun away.
Railway
The nearest railway stations is at
Rishikesh. However, Rishikesh is a small railway station not connected by fast trains.
Haridwar railway junction, 24 km farther from Rishikesh, has train connections to most of the major cities in India and is, therefore, the railhead for Devprayag.
Road
Devprayag lies on national highway NH58 that connects Delhi with
Badrinath and
Mana Pass in Uttarakhand near Indo-Tibet border. Therefore, all the buses and vehicles that carry pilgrims from New Delhi to Badrinath via Haridwar and Rishikesh in pilgrim season of summer months pass through Devprayag on the way to
Joshimath and further north. Rishikesh is the major starting point for road journey to Devprayag and regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to Devprayag. The road distance from Rishikesh to Devprayag is .
-
Haridwar to Rishikesh 24 km
-
Rishikesh to Devprayag 74 km
-
Devprayag to Srinagar 34 km
-
Srinagar to Rudraprayag 33 km
Gallery
