The Dodital - Yamunotri Trek connects the emerald lake of Dodital to the holy shrine of Yamunotri, one of the 4 revered pilgrimage site for the Hindus, known as Char Dhams, in the Dev Bhoomi of Uttrakhand. Yamunotri is also the source of River Yamuna.
Dodital is a serene lake in the lap of the Himalayas deep in the valley of Asi Ganga. The lake apart from being peaceful, beautiful and picturesque, also holds religious significance for the Hindus. It is considered as the birth place of the Hindu Gord - Lord Ganesha
It just takes couple of trek days to reach Dodital from hub of Uttarkashi and is one of the easier to do treks in the Himalayas. To get onto the Hanuman Ganga valley from the Asi Ganga Valley, one needs to cross the pass known as the Darwa Top. The snow covered peak of Banderpoonch dominate this region. The climb to the Darwa top is an good strenuous one but very much rewarding when compared to the view it has to offer from the top. From the top of Darwa Pass, The Dodital - Yamunotri trek route splits into two major treks. One descends down the Hanuman Ganga valley or traverses the other side of the mountain wall to reach Yamunotri, whereas the other goes straight to the more difficult Bamsharu Khal trek, almost to the base of Banderpoonch summit.
After crossing Dodital, The Dodital - Yamunotri Trek turns into a grade higher and rewarding in return. The route climbs up steep to the Darwa Top and then down to the campsite of Seema, a beautiful looking small flat meadow beside the Hanuman Ganga. Further, it follows the Hanuman Ganga down to Hanuman Chatti where it meets the Yamuna coming down from Yamunotri. From Hanuman Chatti, the route follows the Yamuna river to its source at Yamunotri.
Mythological Belief:
As per the legend, Dodital is the very place in Hindu mythology where the epic act of Lord Ganesha - a very important Hindu God with the body of a human and head of an Elephant, was born. It is believed that Parvati, Ganesha's mother wanted to take bath and had ordered Ganesha, her son to guard the site. Ganesha was the son of Lord Shiva (The Hindu God of Destruction ) and Parvati, but Lord Shiva was unknown of the fact that Ganesha was his son, as he was born in his absence. When Parvati was taking bath, Lord Shiva returned from his yatra and was obstructed bravely and aggressively by Ganesha. This made Lord Shiva very angry and he cut off Ganesha's head. When Parvati saw this, she broke down and got angry with Lord Shiva, and wanted to destroy the entire creation. She wanted Lord Shiva to undo his act, which had become a very difficult problem to solve. Lord Brahma (Hindu God Of Creation ) intervened to rescue the crisis and suggested Parvati to reconsider her decision. Parvati had 2 wishes to be fulfilled - Firstly Ganesha be brought back to life and secondly Ganesha to be worshiped before offering puja to any other God. On this, Lord Shiva came out with a solution that any animal's head could be used to bring back life to Ganesha and he advised his soldiers to bring the head of the first animal they sighted, facing North. Soon his helpers started to look out for that animal and they returned with an Elephant's head which was fixed on Ganesha's torso and he came back to life.
Checkout other versions of this trek below:
Dodital - Yamunotri Trek
Dayara Bugiyal - Dodital Trek