Street with closed shops in Gangotri (India)

Gangotri is an important Hindu pilgrimage destination on the Bhagirathi river, high in the Himalaya mountains. The Bhagirathi is one of the headstreams of the Ganges river.

Gangotri has no full-time inhabitants, and it is just guarded by a few soldiers during the winter time. Early in the season, before thousands of Hindu Yatri (pilgrims) arrive in Gangotri, all the shops are closed. The town comes to life only later, in late spring and summer, when the pilgrims arrive.

When I arrived there in early spring, by motorbike, Gangotri was really like a ghost town!

Only a few locals were there, mostly to repair the accommodations and get them ready for the pilgrims that would come in mass later in the season. Luckily I managed to find a room (very cold, with no heat and with no water) and a place to eat dinner.