A Pilgrimage Trek to Gosainkunda

Every year during the festival of Janai Purnima all Hindus visit the river banks or temples for a ritual bath. After the bath the sacred thread called the Janai is changed. Janai is worn by higher Hindu caste males across the left shoulder and tied beneath the right armpit. After passing boyhood, this thread is worn continuously as a symbol of awareness of body, speech and mind; when the knot is tied the wearer is supposed to have gained complete control over each.

During this festival, most Hindu devotees who have the time and can afford it, make a pilgrimage to Gasoinkunda, a high mountain lake north of Kathmandu regarded as sacred to Lord Shiva. A dip in this holy lake is believed to add considerable merit to the devotees.

The lake is situated at 4360 mts just south of the Langtang range of mountain. This secluded valley is also filled with nature's bounty. Here the rare red pandas lurk in dense lichen-draped rhododendron thickets, heard of blue sheep graze the alpine meadows and lammergeyers glide over glaciated valleys amidst scenery of lofty Himalayan peaks.

Although easily approached from Kathmandu, this region is far less trekked than the Annapurna or Everest areas making it all the more attractive for Nature lovers, pilgrims and trekkers alike.