For an Indian, a venture into the Himalayas is more than a mere journey; it is a yatra. And a pilgrimage does not hold more importance than it does in Garhwal and Kumaon , once known as Uttarakhand , the 'northern territories' of the pre-Vedic era. This is the domain of the ascetic Lord Shiva, the destroyer and re-creator; it is a land charged with Shakti, the power and energy of the goddess Parvati, consort of Shiva and daughter of Himavat, Lord of the Mountains. Together Garhwal and Kumaon form a sizable wedge in the Central Himalayas, joining Himachal Pradesh in the west to Nepal in the east.

For the contemporary tourist, distanced from the religious circuit, a holiday in these northern territories is a far cry from the sea of sufferings that they represented the original pilgrim.Today with roads leading to most destinations, the 'soft opinion' is available,. Kumaon, in fact has an advantage over Garhwal in this respect, with its lower, more stable hillsides offering better travelling facilities and some superbly sited towns that are popular for their vistas of the Garhwal Himalayas. 

The pride of place is Binsar (2,412 metres, or 7,887 feet), the hilltop perch with the most remarkable view of the great Himalayan range: from here, the sun can be seen rising over the peaks in Nepal and setting over the far end of an uncluttered panorama. 

Some places of course, draw visitors entirely by virtue of their climatic charms and ambience. Referred to simply as 'hill stations', Mussoorie and Nainital are two such cities, in prime time catering to a floating population that outstrips the residents, but sustain a certain popularity throughout the year. Alpine cottages, shopping promenades, recreational centers, restaurants and hotels cling to the Himalayan spurs, surrounded by dense woods of oak, pine, fir and rhododendron. 

The lake, the main attraction of Nainital gives the town its name and character, surrounded by graceful weeping willows, the emerald waters have quiet walks along their four-kilometer circumference, while a boat club adds to the natural pleasures of the lake. The lake is named after the eyes (nain) of Parvati. 

Nainital is the essence of what is known as the 'Lake District of Kumaon'. Others in the region are the larger Bhimtal, the complex of Sat-tal (the Seven Lakes) and the nine-cornered Naukuchiya Tal. These lakes of Kumaon are easy to access, but a visitor has to labor before he can reach the bank of Garhwal's high-altitude pools. 

Dodital (3,024 metres or 9,888 feet), two days' walk away from the road is an angler's paradise. This lake, one of the highest places in the world where trout can be found, is surrounded by dense woods and a profusion of flowers in summer. Hemkund (4,150 metres, or 13,570 feet), the 'Lake of Ice', is sacred to the Sikhs; it is believed to be where Guru Gobind Singh (the Tenth Guru) meditated before he raised an army to fight the Mughals on the plains, but the beautiful surroundings themselves are incentive enough to make the pilgrimage. Just off the trek to the famed valley of flowers, Hemkund receives a steady stream of visitors, both pilgrims and naturalists. 

Less visited is the cluster of seven lakes known as Sahastratal, near the Khatling glacier. As high as 4,572 metres (14,950 feet), these secluded water bodies are the center of an annual pilgrimage for nearby villagers, who take their ritual dip in the freezing waters. The fortunate are rewarded by the sighting of the Brahmakamal - the exotic Himalayan Lotus - by the water's brink. Perhaps the most mysterious, and the least accessible, is Roopkund (4,778 metres, or 15,624 feet). Only about 150 metres in circumference and quite shallow, this glacial pool thaws during the summer for few weeks. What draws most people to the high-altitude location is not just the trek through the picturesque meadows but it's grisly past.

The pilgrim's progress to the four most sacred Dhams of Uttarakhand is made along rivers that have shaped the lives of countless millions of North Indians over the centuries: the temple of Yamnotri lies at the head of the River Yamuna; the Ganga is worshipped at Gangotri, Lord Shiva's shrine at Kedarnath is near the source of the Mandakini River; Badrinath is situated below the massif where the Alaknanda gathers its headwaters. 

According to tradition a pilgrim should visit these dhams from left to right - geographically, from west to east - beginning with Yamunotri, then Gangotri, Kedarnath and finally Badrinath. Each stage in the journey to these dhams has its own special history. Along the route , the five prayags, the confluence of the holy rivers are the most holy. At each juncture, the flowing forms of the goddesses unite, eventually giving birth to an even greater energy- the River Ganga. 

The highest of the confluence's is at Vishnuprayag, where the Vishnu Ganga meets the Dhauli Ganga below Joshimath. Further downstream, the Alaknanda is met by the Mandakini, which gathers its headwaters from the snows of the sentinel's peaks around Nanda Devi. Nandprayag is where the waters mingle, the Mandakini, flowing down from Kedarnath, is the first major river to meet the Alaknanda from the west. The confluence is named Rudraprayag. Deoprayag, the biggest of the five major confluences is also considered the holiest. Here the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda, carrying the waters once dispersed by the locks of Shiva, reunite to form the Ganga.

The name of this sacred city means the 'Gates of Heaven', for it is here that all pilgrimages to the mountains shrine traditionally begin. Each day, thousands of devotees pass through it stopping to bathe at Har-ki-pauri, the holy ghats that bear the footprint of Shiva. And having washed, they find a quiet spot on the steps to wait for the evening, when they will float flowers and lighted earthen lamps down the water.This is the hour of the aarti, the fire worship of the Ganga, for which Har-ki-pauri is prominent. Every 12 years, Hardwar hosts the Kumbh mela or fair, when millions of Indians gather on these banks for a dip.