Pushpawati River flows through the

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 ...

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 ...

Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India: Places *Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas *Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom *Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India * Ga ...

region of the

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

Course

The Pushpawati rises from the Tipra Glacier, near

Rataban Rataban a Himalayan mountain peak situated 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 Pitho ...

, in the central part of the Garhwal region in the

Himalayas 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 list of h ...

. It flows in a southerly direction to join the Bhyundar Ganga near Ghagharia. The combined stream is thereafter known as the

Lakshman Ganga Lakshman Ganga or Bhyundar Ganga is a minor river that flows through the Bhuyandar Valley, from Hemkund Lake. It merges with Pushpawati River in Ghangaria. It then forms a Tributary to Alaknanda in Govindghat. See also *Valley of Flowers ...

. The latter merges with the

Alaknanda River The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and a river considered holy in Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the sourc ...

Govindghat Govindghat is a town in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, located at the confluence of the Alaknanda The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of ...

. The Pushpawati drains the Valley of Flowers. The glaciated upper valley of the Pushpawati is U-shaped. The river flows past thick glacial deposits. A number of glacier-fed streams join it in its upper reaches. It flows through a gorge in its lower reaches. The upper tracts are under permanent cover of snow. Alpine, sub-alpine and temperate vegetation is there in the middle and lower catchments of the river. Human habitation is very sparse.

Mythology

According to legend, the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

, during their years of exile, saw flowers floating down the river. They named it Pushpawati.

Gallery

Image:Pushpawati_vof.jpg, A view of Pushpawati from the gorge crossing while entering the

Image:Pushpawati_bridge.jpg, A bridge over Pushpawati River, while entering into the Valley of Flowers

References

{{coord missing, Uttarakhand Rivers of Uttarakhand Geography of Chamoli district