Chirbasa

Chirbasa is a small Himalayan hamlet and trekking halt at about 3,600 metres in Gangotri National Park, Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, on the Gangotri-Gaumukh-Tapovan trail along the Bhagirathi River, about 9 km from Gangotri. Surrounded by chir pine and birch forests, alpine meadows and snow-capped Bhagirathi peaks, it serves as the first overnight campsite for trekkers and pilgrims heading to Gaumukh Glacier and Tapovan, offering scenic river and mountain views.

Visitors can expect a remote high-altitude campsite with basic tent accommodation and a forest rest house set in an open alpine meadow beside the Bhagirathi River. The surroundings feature chir pine and bhojpatra (birch) forests, snow-covered Bhagirathi peaks, and glacial streams. There are no shops or permanent settlements; visitors trek through the site, camp overnight, photograph landscapes, and acclimatize before proceeding to Bhojbasa, Gaumukh and Tapovan.

Chirbasa lies on the traditional pilgrimage and trekking route from Gangotri to Gaumukh, the snout of the Gangotri Glacier and source of the Bhagirathi River. The trail has long been used by pilgrims, mountaineers and trekkers accessing the Gangotri Glacier region within the Greater Himalayas.

The site is part of the sacred Gangotri pilgrimage circuit. The Bhagirathi River flowing beside Chirbasa is revered as the upper course of the Ganga, and the surrounding peaks and glacier are culturally significant for pilgrims visiting Gangotri Dham and Gaumukh.