Top 6 Things to do in Devprayag, Uttarakhand

Reviewed By DilipS239 - Vadodara, India

I reached Devprayag at 1645 on 9th March . Here is a confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers . Only after this place , both the rivers discard their own identities and the resulting river is known as Ganga . Though according to Hindu mythology and culture , Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of Ganga , hydrologically Alaknanda is considered the source stream of Ganga on account of its greater length and discharge . Alaknanda and its tributaries have a total length of about 664.5 km , whereas Bhagirathi and its tributaries have about 456.5 km total length . Alaknanda rises in the southern Himalayas on the Indian side of the Tibet border , at the confluence of Bhagirath Kharak and Satopanth Glaciers . It receives Sarasvati River as a tributary at Mana , 21 km from Tibet . Saraswati River emerges from Tara Glacier and travels through V-shaped gorges within moraines . Three km below Mana , Alaknanda flows past the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Badrinath . At Badrinath , Rishi Ganga River meets Alaknanda . Further downwards , it moves through narrow valleys and meets with the Ghrit Ganga ( right - bank tributary ) near Hanumanchatti and further goes downwards to Pandukeshwar and joined by Bhyunder Ganga ( left - bank tributary ) , which originates in the Valley of Flowers . At Govindghat , Laxman Ganga River meets Alaknanda . Panch Prayag Several rivers in the Garhwal region merge with the Alaknanda at places called prayag or ' holy confluence of rivers '. These are : Vishnuprayag , Nandaprayag , Karnaprayag , Rudraprayag and Devprayag . After a short distance from Rudraprayag ,it enters into a very wide valley near Srinagar, Garhwal, formed due to damming of the river mouth near Kirtinagar because of paleo-landslide . Further downwards , river travels in a somewhat wide valley and meets Bhagirathi at Devprayag , and Alaknanda officially becomes Ganga . The Alaknanda river is one of the best for river rafting in the world due to its high rafting grade . Bhagirathi River originates from snout ( Gaumukh ) of Gangotri Glacier , which is the largest valley glacier originating from the western face of Chaukhumba massif and flow north - west to Gaumukh through a broad U-shaped valley. After Gaumukh , river reaches Gangotri town where it meets with Kedar Ganga ( right - bank tributary ) from where it travels further downwards in deep gorge and meets with Jadh Ganga ( right - bank tributary ) at Bhaironghati . Further downwards , it travels to Harshil , and after crossing the Bhagirathi Granite it enters into a wide valley developed due to paleo-landslide near Jhala . Within the wide valley , Bhagirathi meets with Jalandhari Gad ( right - bank tributary ) near Harshil and Siyan Gad ( left - bank tributary ) near Jhala . Further downwards , Bhagirathi River travels through deep gorge and reaches Bhatwari crossing Vaikrita Thrust near Gangnani . Bhagirathi River crosses the MCT near Sainj and comes to Maneri village and further downwards to Uttarkashi where it meets with Aasi Ganga ( right – bank tributary ) . Further downwards , it travels through Dharasu , Chinyalisaur to old Tehri town where it meets with Bhilangana ( left - bank tributary ) , and now these areas have been submerged due to the construction of Tehri Dam Reservoir . Bhilangana itself rises at the foot of the Khatling Glacier south of Gaumukh and joins by Balganga at Ghansali . From Tehri , the Bhagirathi travels through Himalaya to reach Devprayag where it meets with Alakhnanda . Bhagirathi river flows from its source for 205 km before meeting Alaknanda at an elevation of 475 m in the town of Devprayag .