Uttarakhand's Summer Capital, Gairsain: Facts You Must Know!

Gairsain area in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has now been declared a Summer Capital of the state. This hill state is a beauty and here is all you need to know about it if you plan on visiting it. 

The Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh announced the news in March, giving the capital status to the inhabitants of the place who fought for its statehood. Here is some information you must have on this new capital along with a listing of the places you should visit here.

 

 

 

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• The new capital has for a while been a sensitive matter ever since Uttarakhand was created 20 years back. 
• At that time Dehradun was the permanent capital due to the distance from Delhi (the national capital), the safety from natural calamities and also the population of the place. 
• Gairsain is located 250 kilometers from Dehradun and it is at the eastern edge of the Dudhatoli mountain range.
• The Summer capital has had several Vidhan Sabha sessions before but the successive governments never took much interest in making it a permanent capital. 

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• Gairsain is prone to earthquakes which was one of the reasons VN Dixit Commission had recommended Dehradun. The new summer capital comes under seismic zone 5, on a scale of 2 to 5.
• The name of the Summer capital is an amalgamation of two Garhwali words - Gair and Sain. Here "Gair" means 'at some depth' while Sain means 'rolling plains'.

 

 

 

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• The town has been under the control of Nagas, Khasas, Kiratas, Kunindas, and Tunganas historically speaking.
• Ramganga River's source is located near the Gairsain town and going by ancient literature, Gairsain was celebrated as Kedar Kshetra.
• What's more? Gairsain is in the centre of Kumao and Garhwal which makes it an important region.

The must-visit places in Gairsain are the Vasundhra Falls, Vridha Badri temple which was made under the rule of the Gupta Dynasty, Yog Dhyan Badri, Adi Badri and the Nanda Devi National Park.

Vasundhara Falls

 

 

 

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This beautiful waterfall is a must-see on many tourists' checklist as it drops from a height of 400 feet about 122 metres above sea level. It is said that the water of these falls is meant for those who are pure, clean and have no factor to feel any kind of guilt. It is a 5 kilometre trek from Mana village. 

Vridha Badri

 

 

 

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This temple has a huge significance for Hindus. The name has been derived from the form of lord Vishnu which is an old man. Located a little away from the Kalpeshwar Mahadev Temple, ahead of Helang, the temple is 1,380m in elevation in Animath. It is around 7 kilometres away from Joshimath city. The best time to visit here is between May and October. 

Yog Dhyan Badri

 

 

 

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Yogdhyan Badri, Pandukeshwar 🙏🙏🙏 Pandukeshwar is a holy place located en-route to home of Lord Vishnu “Badrinath”. It is located at a distance of 3 km from Govindghat and 22 km from Badrinath. Pandukeshwar is the place where King Pandu father of Pandavas – heros of the epic Mahabharata, meditated here to Lord Vishnu to atone himself for the sin of killing two mating deer who were ascetics in their previous lives. The Pandavas were born here and Pandu died and attained salvation here. It is also the birthplace of Pandavas. Pandukeshwar is famous for one of the Panch Badri – Yogdhyan Badri. It is believed that Pandu installed a bronze image of Lord Vishnu in a meditative posture and thus the image is called Yoga-Dhyan Badri. #yogdhyanbadri #pandukeshwar #panchbadri #chamoli #uttarakhandpilgrimage #uttarakhandheaven #uttarakhand_tourismofficial #uttarakhandtourism #uttarakhanddmc

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This temple is among the seven Badri's located at Pandukeshwar, Badrinath. It is said to be the home of Utsava-murti or Lord Udhava and Lord Kuber in the winter season. This is where Lord Vishnu's meditative posture idol is worshipped. Going by the folklore, King Pandu installed the bronze idol of Lord Vishnu here.

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