📖 Stories
Myths, legends and living traditions of the Himalaya — each woven to the peaks, lakes, rivers and shrines it belongs to.
The Johar Valley and the Salt Road
How the Shauka Bhotia traders of Johar carried salt and wool across the passes to Tibet — until the border closed.
3 linked places
Nanda Devi — Goddess of Kumaon
The mountain-daughter worshipped as the reigning goddess of both Kumaon and Garhwal.
2 linked places
Golu Devta — the God of Justice
Kumaon's most beloved deity, to whom the wronged still write petitions asking for justice.
Swargarohini — the Stairway to Heaven
The Pandavas' final journey, where only the righteous — and a faithful dog — could ascend.
3 linked places
The Skeletons of Roopkund
A glacial lake full of ancient bones — a wrathful goddess in legend, and a genuine genetic mystery in science.
2 linked places
Nanda Devi and the Raj Jat
Once every twelve years, Garhwal escorts its patron goddess home to the mountains — the 280 km pilgrimage called the Himalayan Mahakumbh.
3 linked places
The Pandavas and the Panch Kedar
Seeking absolution after Kurukshetra, the Pandavas pursued Shiva into the Garhwal hills — where he hid as a bull and left five sacred shrines.
5 linked places
The Descent of the Ganga
How King Bhagirath's penance brought the celestial river to earth — and why Shiva caught her in his hair.
4 linked places