The Panch Prayag- Uttarakhand

The Panch Prayag : 'Panch prayag' or the five most sacred river confluences of the Garhwal Himalayas are of immense religious importance. The five prayags are VishnuPrayag, NandPrayag, KarnaPrayag, RudraPrayag and DevPrayag, of which three are in Chamoli district.
Devprayag:
Devprayag is situated at an altitude of 475mts above sea level at the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River. Devprayag is situated in Tehri Garhwal district and some part of Devprayag comes under Pauri Garhwal district. Devprayag is the last prayag (confluence) of Alaknanda River and from this point the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River is known as Ganga. The town lies on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway, 71kms ahead of Rishikesh.



The town is the seat of the pundits of Badrinath Dham. The town of Devprayag holds great religious importance amongst Hindus as the divine Ganga River takes its real form from here. The town is named after Dev Sharma who led his ascetic life here and it is also believed that he was blessed with a glimpse of god. The place showers the tourists with its serene and divine natural beauty and it is also believed than Lord Rama and King Dushratha did penance here. There is an ancient Raghunathji Temple built above the confluence with massive rocks and it is believed that the temple was built more than ten thousand years ago.
The structure of the town was devastated by an earthquake of 1803 but it was subsequently repaired. The confluence has Brahma Kund on Bhagirathi River and Vashisht Kund on Alaknanda River. There is a place called Baitalshila and it is claimed that a bath in it can cure leprosy. Devprayag can be visited anytime of the year but try to avoid the monsoons as the water is muddy and there are chances of roads getting blocked due to landslides.
Vishnuprayag : It is the confluence of Alaknanda and Dhauli Ganga Rivers at 6000 feet above sea level. Joshimath is just 12 kms from Vishnuprayag.
Nandaprayag: It is the confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers, about 21 kms from Karnaprayag, on the main route to Badrinath. The famous Gopalji temple is situated here. NandaPrayag hosts fair on the occasion of Baisakhi and Janmasthami.
Karnaprayag: It is situated on the sacred confluence of Alaknanda and Pindari rivers and is known for the Karna Temple and the Uma Devi Temple. It is believed that Lord Surya gifted Kavatch, Kundal and Tuneer to Karna at KarnaPrayag. KarnaPrayag hosts several temples groups- KaalBhairov temple dedicated to Kaleshwar in the North, Jaleshwar temple in the South and Chandika temple & Narayan temple in the East.
Rudraprayag:
Rudraprayag lies at the confluence of two rivers Alkananda and Mandakini. It is said that Narad was blessed by Lord Shiva in this place and appeared in Rudra avatar. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayags or five confluences of Alaknanda River. Rudraprayag is blessed with nature’s bounty, the climate of which depends upon the height of the region.
Rudraprayag is situated 34kms ahead of Srinagar at an elevation of 610mts above sea level. The road to two sacred Dham of Uttarakhand, Kedarnath and Badrinath diverts from Rudraprayag. NH58 goes towards Badrinath and Kedarnath is connected via NH109. Rudraprayag therefore acts as a popular town. You can buy several different things from the market of Rudraprayag.
Rudraprayag is best described as the "Abode of Gods" with majestic Himalayas, gushing water of the sacred rivers, and a rich variety of flora and fauna. Agastamuni is located 18kms from Rudraprayag at an altitude of 1000mts above sea level. This place holds a lot of religious significance as rishi Agastya meditated here for several years. Rudraprayag is named after the Rudra roop of Lord Shiva. Popular temples of Rudraprayag are Kedarnath, Madhyamaheshwar, Tungnath and Kalimath.
In the north of Rudraprayag is Koteshwar where millions of Shivlings are believed to exist. Huge fair is hosted every year on the day on Mahashivratri. RudraPrayag is 32 kms from KarnaPrayag.