Kedartal (also known as Shiva's lake) is a
glacial lake
A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
Formation
Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
situated at an
altitude
Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...
of in the
Garhwal region of the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
s in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The lake is fed by the snowfall over
Thalay Sagar
Thalay Sagar is a mountain in the Gangotri Group of peaks in the western Garhwal Himalayas, on the main ridge that lies south of the Gangotri Glacier. It lies in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, southwest of the Hindu holy site of ...
(6,904 m),
Meru
Meru may refer to:
Geography Kenya
* Meru, Kenya, town in Meru County in the republic of Kenya
* Meru County, one of Kenya's 47 counties that was created by the 2009 merger of 3 districts:
** Meru Central District
** Meru North District
** Meru S ...
(6,672 m),
Bhrigupanth
Bhrigupanth (Hindi: भृगुपंत) is a mountain of Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand, India. It stands majestically at 6772 meter 22218 feet. It is the 38th highest located entirely within Uttarakhand. Nanda Devi is the highest mountain in ...
(6,772 m) and other surrounding peaks, and is the source of
Kedar Ganga
Kedar and Qedar is a surname or given name, as well as a name of places.
People Surname
* Benjamin Kedar-Kopfstein, Israeli professor emeritus
* Benjamin Z. Kedar, Israeli history professor emeritus
* Dvora Kedar, Israeli actress
* Ido Kedar, a ...
, which in
Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...
is considered to be
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
's contribution to
Bhagirathi
The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu f ...
(a source-stream of the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
).
Kedartal, at a distance of 17 km from
Gangotri
Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bha ...
, is a popular trekking destination. Starting from Gangotri the route involves a steep rocky climb along the narrow Kedar Ganga gorge en route to Bhojkharak, 8 km away. From there it is 4 km to the next available camping site of Kedarkharak, and a further 5 km to Kedartal. The route passes through scenic
Himalayan birch
''Betula utilis'', the Himalayan birch (''bhojpatra'', ''bhūrjá''), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The Latin specific epithet ''utilis'' means "useful", and refers to the many uses of the dif ...
forests, but is made hazardous in places by falling rocks, high altitude and segments of steep ascent.
See also
*
Gangotri Group
The Gangotri Group of mountains is a subdivision of the Garhwal Himalaya in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It rings the Gangotri Glacier, and contains peaks that are notable either for their religious significance to Hindus, for the ...
References
External links
Map
{{Hydrography of Uttarakhand
Lakes of Uttarakhand
Glacial lakes of India