Tucked away in the Garhwal Himalayas, at 2620 meters into the sky that’s approximately 7000 ft above sea level, enroute to Gangotri comes a quaint little village – Harsil. Set amidst pine trees and apple orchards, the town is famous for more things than one. It’s a trekker’s paradise, known to offer spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain peaks. It is well known for its local apple produce and is also famed for making an appearance in the super hit Bollywood movie by director Raj Kapoor – ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. The town was still in its pristine condition – uncluttered, neat and serene… waiting to sing her own tale. I tried to picture something of it, by setting out to explore the place. I started off with a visit to the local and the ancient Kalp Kedareshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. From here, I could see the stream of turquoise blue Ganges water and though I had met mother Ganga only a few hours earlier in Gangotri, still could not resist climbing down towards the banks to catch Her glimpse. Down at the banks, there was no one except a village woman drinking the holy waters from the cusp of her hand. On seeing me, she smiled and offered a few drops to me as well! Chilly winds were making me skittish but the warmth of her smile comforted me. Do you know how the place gets its name? She asked in her broken Hindi. Even before I could give out my reply, she started her narration... Once, Rivers Bhagirathi and Jalandhari had an argument about which was more significant. Lord Vishnu aka Hari intervened by taking the form of a stone or shila (Hari-shila or Harsil), and absorbed their anger. Even today, the waters of the two
Tucked away in the Garhwal Himalayas, at 2620 meters into the sky that’s approximately 7000 ft above sea level, enroute to Gangotri comes a quaint little village – Harsil. Set amidst pine trees and apple orchards, the town is famous for more things than one. It’s a trekker’s paradise, known to offer spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain peaks. It is well known for its local apple produce and is also famed for making an appearance in the super hit
