Gangotri National Park

Gangotri National Park is a high-altitude protected area in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, spanning about 2,390 sq km in the western Himalayas. Established in 1989, it encompasses the Gangotri Glacier and Gaumukh, the source of the Bhagirathi River. Notable for its rugged glacial terrain, alpine meadows, and coniferous forests, the park supports snow leopards, Himalayan tahr, and diverse birdlife and forms part of a larger Himalayan conservation landscape.

Visitors can expect a remote high-Himalayan landscape of glaciers, moraines, alpine meadows, and deodar and pine forests between 1,800m and over 7,000m elevation. The park is accessed via the Gangotri-Gaumukh-Tapovan trekking route. Visitors can see the Gangotri Glacier, Gaumukh snout, mountain peaks, and wildlife such as blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, and various pheasants. Facilities are basic, with forest rest houses and designated trekking trails, and the environment is cold, rugged, and largely wilderness.

Notified as a National Park in 1989 covering approximately 2,390 sq km in Uttarkashi district. It was established to protect the high-altitude Himalayan ecosystem, including the Gangotri Glacier system and its watershed, and forms a contiguous protected landscape with adjoining conservation areas in the western Himalayas.

The park encompasses the Gangotri region, traditionally regarded as the source of the Bhagirathi River, which forms the Ganga. The nearby Gangotri Temple at Gangotri town is a significant pilgrimage site, and the Gaumukh area within the park holds religious importance for visitors undertaking the Gangotri-Gaumukh pilgrimage and trek.