Wander through India : Uttarakhand : An Ode to Himalaya and Spirituality ( towards Joshimath , the Northern Math amongst the four ) DAY XII

Day XII : Nandaprayag – Joshimath

79. The next morning we visited the Sangam of Alaknanda and Nandakini rivers which did not have many tourists or pilgrims . Maybe it was early in the morning hence there were hardly any visitors. After this on a warm sunny morning we proceeded towards Joshimath . The route was along the Chamoli-Gopeswar Highway and we also took a detour from Chamoli to visit the Gopinath temple at Gopeswar. Gopeshwar is nestled on a hill and a narrow winding road leads up to the town itself. The setting was very picturesque with lavender trees in full bloom.

80. The Gopinath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva has significant importance in this region and is highlighted with the presence of a 5 mt trident which I think is similar in metallurgy to the trident of Maa Mookambica at Kodachadri Village, Karnataka. Both these weapons are exposed to the nature however remain unaffected by the same.

81. Post the visit we proceeded towards Joshimath and we arrived at Joshimath by 1400 hrs. The road conditions were a mix of good and bad and the heat definitely had built by the time we arrived at Joshimath. Our stay was booked at GMVN, Joshimath which was definitely a good place to stay. In the afternoon and evening we visited the famed Narsingh Temple at Joshimath established by Adi Shankaracharya himself and is one among the 108 “Divya Desams” and thereafter proceeded to visit the Shankaracharya Math which if one of the four Maths established and is in-charge of the ‘Atharvaveda’. The Kalpavrikhsa tree is also a major attraction and is said to be as old as Badrinath himself and is worth a visit. Joshimath also has the idol as well as site of the future Kedarnath temple which can be seen quite easily presently.