Temples in Gaumukh
Tapovan
Tapovan is at an altitude of 4463 metres, by a natural Siva-linga peak that raises 6,554 metres. It is called Tapovan because sadhus have performed penances there to realize the Absolute truth. If you want to go there, you should have a guide, a good tent, food, a warm sleeping bag, and warm winter clothes. To get there without a guide can be extremely dangerous, as there can be huge holes in the glacier totally hidden by snow.
The Tapovan trek take 4 days.
Day 1 Gangotri to Bhojbasa 14km
Day 2 Bhojbasa to Tapovan 10km
Day 3 Tapovan to Bhojbasa 10km
Day 4 Bhojbasa to Gangotri 14km
There is a lady ascetic and a sadhu who host visitors in their caves at Tapovan, but you should definitely bring your own food.
Guptakashi
The Pandavas went to Kasi (Varanasi) to get Lord Siva's blessings, but Lord Siva fled here to Guptakashi and lived incognito. Eventually the Pandavas found him here, and Lord Siva then turned himself into a bull to hide from them. Because Lord Siva disappeared from the Pandavas here, the place was given the name Guptakashi.
Guptakashi has two main temples dedicated to Ardhanareeswara (Gaurishankar) and Viawanath. In front of the Viswanath Temple is a small kund called Manikarnika. Water coming from a Ganesh head and from a cow's head flow into the kund. Water from one is called the Ganges, and water from the other is called the Yamuna. It is believed that the water comes from Gangotri and Yamunotri. Guptakashi is 45 km south of Kedarnath.
If you arrive here after dark there is a good chance you will have to stop here, as the road is closed for the night at this point. There are a few basic lodges and a GMVN Tourist Lodge. The Mandakini Lodge has decent doubles. The Rajhans Tourist Lodge has decent rooms. The Nigam Tourist GuestHouse has rooms and dorm beds. There is also a rest house here run by the Badari-Kedar temple committee.
The town of Agastmuni, 25 km before Guptakashi, is where Agastyamuni is said to have meditated. There is an Agastya temple there.
Triyugi Narayana
Triyugi Narayana is located on the mounta road between Gangotri and Kedarnath. Triyugi Narayana is about 5 km off the main road and can be reached from Sitapur or Sonprayag. It is said that the marriage of Lord Siva and Parvati took place here at Brahma Shila during Satya-yuga. Brahma was the priest who conducted the marriage, and Lord Narayana offered His sister, Parvati, to Lord Siva. It is said that the marriage havan (fire) kund has been kept burning for 3 yugas. Pilgrims offer pieces of wood in the havan kund and take the ashes as prasada.
It is said that the present Akhand Dhuni Temple was built by Adi Sankaracarya about 1200 years ago. In this temple there is a two-foot silver Deity of Lord Narayana (Vishnu) with Laksmi and Saraswati on either side. There is a stone outside the temple that marks the spot where the marriage was performed. There are also four holy kunds here called Vishnu Kund, Rudra Kund, Brahma Kund, and Saraswati Kund.
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