An evening in Harsil

"Aah.. here is one unspoiled village...finally" was my first thought as I looked down from the road towards the village. Harsil is a village in Uttarakhand having an army cantonment area and is surrounded by mighty Himalayas.

It is 70kms ahead of Uttarkashi and 28kms before Gangotri, standing tall at an altitude of 2620 meters asl on the Uttarkashi - Gangotri road. Dense Deodar forests, apple trees, chirping birds, river Bhagirathi under the bridge connecting Harsil with cantonment area, Harsil has every reason a traveler needs to be at a picturesque, beautiful and peaceful place. The climate of Harsil is very pleasant, with cold nights during summers, in March it was cold and I could sense   it to be even colder in the months of December, January, February.

It took me no time to decide that I want to stay in this village. I was with a friend and we took a room in 

Harsil and then went to Gangotri temple. In the month of March, temple was closed and the idols were locked in some other village before Bhairon ghati. After BhaironGhati, road was full of snow and we had to be careful while riding. I even had a slip at one place as the snow was not fresh and it was hard. 

Back to Harsil in a couple of hours, we went out to reach a few locals. They belonged to ethnic group - Bhotiyas and they speak a language similar to Tibetan, besides Hindi. We were told that September is the best month to visit Harsil if you want to eat fresh apples.

Harsil is a beautiful town, hidden secretely in the lap of Himalayas, on the banks of river Bhagirathi and sleeps from October to April. For the rest of months, pilgrims heading for Gangotri throng the village and it becomes a crowded one.

A few pics below on the way to Harsil from Dehradun- Barkot- Dharasu - Utarkashi route, and while on our way back we took Harsil - Uttarkashi - Dharasu - Chamba - Rishikesh - Dehradun

Barkot village

I really liked the pristine beauty of Harsil and can go there any no. of times. A must visit place in off season.