Bandarpunch (lit. Hindi: ''Monkey's tail'') is a mountain

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

in the

Garhwal Himalaya The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of Himalaya Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major peaks ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India. The massif has 3 peaks: White Peak (6102 m), also called Banderpunch II, to the west above Yamunotri; almost 5 km east is Bandarpunch main peak or Banderpunch I (6316 m); and about 4 km to the north-east is

Kalanag Kalanag or Black Peak (6,387 m) is the highest peak in the Saraswati (Bandarpunch) mountain range, others being Saraswati Devi Parvat (Bandarpunch I, 6,316 m) and Hanuman Parvat (White Peak or Bandarpunch II, 6,102 m). It literall ...

(6387 m).

Mythology

The name is inspired by the mythological tale in which

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, the monkey god, extinguishes his tail, after it catches fire during the battle between King

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

in Lanka, by going to the summit of the mountain.

Climbing history

In 1937, a team of

Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mode ...

masters who were keen alpinists, J.T.M Gibson and

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

along with sherpa

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; perhaps 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two people known to reach the su ...

reached the summit ridge for the first time. In 1946, another Doon expedition made a summit attempt, this time including, in addition to the original members, schoolmaster R. L. Holdsworth and a pupil, Nandu Jayal, Major Chengappa Nanda and Jonh Munro (Norgay would later label Bandarpunch "The Doon School mountain" owing to the affinity shared by the schoolmasters and pupils for the mountain, which was the most prominent HImalayan peak visible from

Mussoorie Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hill s ...

). The attempt was made from the south, after crossing the Darwa Pass, but was unsuccessful due to poor weather. Major General Harold Williams led the first successful climbing expedition in 1950. The first team to summit Bandarpoonch Peak comprised legendary mountaineer

, Sergeant Roy Greenwood and Sherpa Kin Chok Tshering.

Geography

Bandarpunch is located at the western edge of the high Himalayan range where it turns the corner to the northwest. It is part of the Sankari Range and lies within the Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Sanctuary. It is a major watershed for the headwaters of the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

River, whose source lies above

Yamunotri Yamunotri, also Jamnotri, is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna in Hinduism. It is situated at an altitude of in the Garhwal Himalayas and located approximately North of Uttarkashi, the headquarters of the Uttark ...

, on the west end of the massif below White Peak. Yamunotri is the westernmost of the four most sacred pilgrimage places (

Chota Char Dham The Chota Char Dham (literally translated as 'the small four abodes/seats', meaning 'the small circuit of four abodes/seats'), is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayas. Located in the Garhwal region ...

) and destination for thousands of pilgrims annually. On the north side of the Bandapoonch massif, the 12 km long glacier from its flanks feeds the Ruinsar Gad which flows into the Yamuna at Seema. On the south side, the glacier at the base of Bandarpoonch peak feeds the Hanuman Ganga River which joins the Yamuna at Hanuman Chatti.

References

Mountains of Uttarakhand Geography of Uttarkashi district Six-thousanders of the Himalayas {{Uttarakhand-geo-stub

Mythology

Climbing history

Geography

See also

References