Hathi Parbat, also known as Elephant Peak, is a mountain 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 the Himalayan Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major p ...

s in India. It is located in the

Chamoli district Chamoli district is a district of the Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by China's Xizang Autonomous Region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh district, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar district, Bageshwar to the eas ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

state. Its summit has an elevation of .

Legend

Two huge rocks on a spur of Hathi Parbat are described as a crow ( Kakabhushundi) and an eagle (

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

). It is believed that the crow is animatedly conversing with eagle on the affairs of the universe as it is described in

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

. Another version has it that a learned

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

once incurred the wrath of the sage Lomasa who lived here and was changed into the form of crow by the sage.

Access

Hathi Parbat can be reached from Vishnuprayag or

Ghangaria Ghangaria also known as "Gobind Dham" is a small village on the way to Hemkund Sahib, a popular pilgrimage site for Sikhs which is about 6 km from here and the Valley of Flowers, a national park known for its variety of flowers about 5& ...

, which is close to

Valley of Flowers Valley of Flowers National Park https://valleyofflower.uk.gov.in is an Indian national park which was established in 1982. It is located in Chamoli in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the vari ...

. The approach from Ghangaria is a little easier but longer. From Govindghat, there is an 18 km bridle path which runs through the Bhyundar valley and Bhyundar village up to Ghanghariya. Kakbhushundi Tal & Guari Parvat Lies in the vicinity of Hathi Parbat. Nearby places are Bhyundar, Jelam, Shyama and Juma. The

Dhauliganga River The Dhauliganga is a turbulent Himalayan river which rises in the border regions of India and China and flows south into the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. It joins the Alaknanda, the major source stream of the Ganges river. Course ...

flows nearby.

First Ascent

An Indian team comprising Sonam Gyatso, Lt. Kaushal, H. C. Rawat, Thondup Tsering, Lakpa Tensing, D. S. Sisodia, Dawa Norbu and Sonam Wangyal made the first ascent of Hathi Parbat (22,070 feet) On 6 and 7 June 1963.

References

Mountains of Uttarakhand Geography of Chamoli district Six-thousanders of the Himalayas Elephants in India {{Uttarakhand-geo-stub

Legend

Access

First Ascent

See also

References