Devprayag

Devaprayag means Godly confluence in Sanskrit. As per Hindu scriptures, Devaprayag is the sacred confluence of two heavenly rivers, Alakananda and Bhagirathi; that form the holy Ganges. Devprayag is situated at an altitude of 475mts above sea level and is situated in Tehri Garhwal district while some part of Devprayag comes under Pauri Garhwal too. Devprayag is the last Prayag (confluence) of Alaknanda River and from this point onwards the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River is known as Ganga (Ganges). The town lies on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway, about 71 kms ahead of Rishikesh.

The town of Devprayag is of great religious importance to Hindus as the divine Ganga River takes its real form from here. The town is named after Dev Sharma who led an ascetic life here and it is also believed that he was blessed with a glimpse of God. The town is the seat of the pundits of Badrinath Dham and it is also believed that Lord Rama and King Dushratha came here for penance. There is an ancient Raghunath Ji temple built above the confluence with massive rocks and is believed to have been built more than ten thousand years ago. One can visit the sacred places like Mata Bhuvneshwari temple in the nearby village of Pundal and also Dhaneshwar Mahadev temple, Danda Naggaraja temple and Chandrabadni temple.

The town was devastated by an earthquake in 1803 but it was subsequently done up. The confluence has Brahma Kund on Bhagirathi River and Vashisht Kund on Alaknanda River. There is a place called Baitalshila and it is said that a bath in it cures leprosy.