Hemkund

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Not to be confused with Homkund

Hemkunt Sahib हेमकुंट Hemkunt
pilgrimage site
Gurudwara Hemkunt Sahib
Hemkunt Sahib Location in Uttarakhand, India
Coordinates: 30°42′0.78″N 79°36′57.54″E / 30.7002167°N 79.6159833°E / 30.7002167; 79.6159833Coordinates: 30°42′0.78″N 79°36′57.54″E / 30.7002167°N 79.6159833°E / 30.7002167; 79.6159833
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
District	Chamoli district
Elevation	4,632.96 m (15,200.00 ft)
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	249401
Website	www.hemkunt.in

Hemkund Sahib (also spelled Hemkunt) is a Sikh place of worship Gurudwara, known as Gurudwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Ji, devoted to Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666–1708), the tenth Sikh Guru, which finds mention in Dasam Granth, a piece of work believed to be narrated by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, located in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India. With a setting of a glacial lake surrounded by seven mountain peaks and each peak adorned by a Nishan Sahib on its cliff, it is located in the Himalayas at an elevation of 4632 meters (15,200 ft) as per the Survey of India.^[1] It is approached from Gobindghat on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway. The main town near Govindghat is Joshimath.

Etymology

Hemkunt is a Sanskrit name derived from Hem ("Snow") and Kund ("bowl"). Dasam Granth says this is the place where Pandu Raja practiced Yoga.

Hemkund Lake, September

Travel

Pilgrims going across the Hemkund Glacier to visit Gurudwara Sri Hemkund Sahib

Hemkund is inaccessible from October through April because of snow bound paths and glaciers. Sikh pilgrims arrive in May and set to work to repair the damage to the path over the winter, which tradition is called kar seva ("work service"), a concept which forms an important tenet of the Sikh faith.

The take-off point for Hemkund Sahib is the town of Govindghat about 275 kilometres (171 mi) from Rishikesh. The 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) trek is along a reasonably well maintained path to the village of Ghangaria(also called Govinddham). This path can be covered either by walk or by pony and a Gurudwara here gives shelter to pilgrims. In addition there are a few hotels and a campground with tents and mattresses. A 1,100-metre (3,600 ft)climb on a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) of stone paved path leads Hemkund. Overnight stay is not allowed at Hemkund Sahib and so it is necessary to leave by 2 pm to make it back to Govindghat by nightfall.

From Delhi, tourists take the train to Haridwar and then travel by bus to Govindghat via Rishikesh. It is also possible to drive from Delhi to Govindghat, about 500 km and takes about 18 hours.

A recent study examining altitude sickness at Hemkund Sahib found that almost one-third of pilgrims who traveled to Hemkund suffered from Acute Mountain Sickness (a form of altitude sickness). As approximately 150,000 pilgrims are believed to travel to Hemkund Sahib each trekking season, almost 50,000 people are at risk of developing Acute Mountain Sickness each year. The authors stated the difficult nature of the trek, limited water consumption and lack of awareness regarding altitude sickness as the main contributory factors.^[2]

Present Gurudwara

Design and construction of the present gurudwara was started in the mid-1960s, after Major General Harkirat Singh, Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army visited the gurudwara. Major General Harkirat Singh selected Architect Siali to head the design and construction effort. Thereafter, Architect Siali luddu made annual trips to Hemkunt Sahib and organized and supervised complex construction.

Valley of Flowers

Main article: Valley of Flowers National Park

About 3 km from Gobinddham is the 5 km long Valley of Flowers. The Indian Government has declared this valley a national park. It is situated in Nanda Devi Bio Reserve, and all activities are carefully regulated to preserve the valley in pristine condition. The best months to visit are July and August, during the monsoons. Legend has it that a flower called Brahma-Kamal blossoms here every 12 years. The trek to the valley is relatively easy and is a popular second destination for pilgrims visiting Hemkunt Sahib.

Gallery

Views of Hemkund (Hemkunt) Sahib
Gurudwara in front of lake
Gurdwara Hemkunt Sahib
Hibiscus flower

References

↑ Hemkunt Sahib at Google maps Satellite view: lake, Gurudwara building on west shore, zigzag pilgrim path from Ghanaria (2 km west) to west shore. Terrain view: Hemkunt Sahib at 4,200 m, Ghanaria at 3,100 m.
↑ Sahota IS, Panwar NS. A pilot study on the prevalence of Acute Mountain Sickness at Hemkund Sahib in the Indian Himalayas. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2013; 17 (1): 12-15

Gurdwara in the Himalayas: Sri Hemkunt Sahib, by Suparna Rajguru, M. S. Siali. Published by Hemkunt, 2001. ISBN 81-7010-292-8.
Pilgrimage to Hemkunt, by Jaswant Singh Neki. Photographs by Sondeep Shankar. New Delhi, UBSPD, 2002, ISBN 81-7476-375-9.
The Illustrated History of the Sikhs, by Khushwant Singh. Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-567747-1. Page 48.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hemkund.

v t e Cities and towns in Chamoli district

Chamoli	Auli Badrinath Chamoli Gopeshwar Gochar Govindghat Gwaldam Jyotirmath Karnaprayag Mana Nandaprayag Vishnuprayag

Cities and towns in other districts	Almora Bageshwar Champawat Dehradun Haridwar Nainital Pauri Garhwal Pithoragarh Rudraprayag Tehri Garhwal Udham Singh Nagar Uttarkashi

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