Uttarakhand - A journey to the Land of Gods

Uttarakhand is one of the most mystical and beautiful lands in northern India. This place is often known as “the land of the Gods” or “Dev Bhumi”. It has derived this identity due to many famous religious and pilgrimage centers in its vicinity. This land is blessed with innumerable Hindu temples, shrines and is very famous among the sages.  

Tourist Sites	Religious Sites	Famous Temples
Nainital Jim Corbett National park Valley of Flowers Rishikesh Haridwar	Gangotri Yamunotri Kedarnath Char dham Badrinath	Baaleshwar Neelkanth Baijnath temples Sri Venkateshwara, Koteshwar Mahadev Kaalimath Narsingha temple Kailash Niketan  Rudranath

  Carved out of the Himalayas this land is also an abode for breath taking beauty. This place is filled with exotic flora and fauna, graceful snow capped mountains, scenic beauty and mighty rivers. The pure air, calm and cool climate, a fragrance of religiousness in the air,  the simple lifestyle of the people, a rich culture and history all adds up to make this place a perfect spot for travelers and adventure seekers. This place is a favorite destination for summer holidays.

This land is a home to the some of the great religious sites in India- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Chardham, Char Dham and Badrinath. Haridwar is another religious place in Uttarakhand that is visited regularly. Haridwar meaning “the gateway to Gods” is an ancient religious city located on the banks of Ganga. People from various places come here to take a holy dip in the river Ganga to wash away their sins. The evening Ganga Arati is a special religious ceremony that holds main attraction here. The famous Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev also belongs to this place.

  Not much far from Haridwar is Rishikesh, another important place in Uttarakhand. This place is known as the birth place of Yoga. People flock into this place to practice Yoga and Meditation. It is believed that practicing Yoga and Meditation here leads to salvation. This place is also a perfect place to relax and enjoy the Himalayas. Apart from them Uttarakhand is flooded with many famous temples and religious places that hold importance in the religion of Hinduism. Some of them areBaaleshwar, Neelkanth, Baijnath temples, Sri Venkateshwara, Koteshwar Mahadev, Kaalimath, Narsingha temple, Kailash Niketan, Rudranath etc. The famous and the mighty rivers Ganga and Yamuna have its origin in Gangotri and Yamunotri. These rivers are the life line of Hinduism in India.

  Uttarakhand being a hill station has a lot of other tourist destinations apart from the religious destinations. The most famous of them is Mussoorie. Located at 35 kms from the capital Dehradun, this place is known as “the queen of hills” for its scenic beauty. It is located in the Garwal hills and is famous as a stress free tourist spot. The abundance in the flora and fauna, the wild streams, waterfalls, pleasant climate, snow covered mountains all add to the charm of this place.

  Nainital is another famous hill station here. Located among the seven hills of the Kumaon this place is blessed by almost 60 lakes. This region is popularly known as the Lake District of India. The most famous attraction of this place is the Naini Lake where it is believed that Lord Shiva performed his Tandava with Parvati’s body.

Uttarakhand Tourist Map

Another very interesting place to visit in Uttarakhand is the Jim Corbett National park located in the Kumaon hills. This park is named after the famous hunter Jim Corbet. The main purpose of this park is the safety and preservation of Tigers especially the Royal Bengal Tigers.  This place has been a haunt for nature and wild life lovers. It contains a diverse variety of flora and fauna. Almost 73% of this park is covered with deciduous forest of Sal, Mango, Pipil and Rohini trees. This is easily one of the most visited places in Uttarakhand. Valley of Flowers is another national park in Uttarakhand. It is located in the Chamoli district at a distance of about 595 kilometers from Delhi.

  Uttarakhand, a land of religion, beauty and adventure has always been a treasure land for travelers. It is a land of salvation that promises you spiritual upliftment and refreshment to your body and senses. Uttarakhand tour (see more) should be a remarkable one in your life.

Interstate human trafficking racket busted, 5 boys rescued in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: A major interstate human trafficking racket has been busted by the Haridwar police with the arrest of three persons involved in the operation and the recovery of five children in the age group of three years to six months. 

According to the police, the gang members lifted infants as their family members slept mainly from the platform of the Haridwar railway station, later selling them to people in Ghaziabad, Noida, Delhi and Haryana for anything between Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per child. 

The attention of the Haridwar police was caught by the similar modus operandi of a gang involved in targeting kids at railway stations. On September 4 last year, Mahoba (UP) resident Baldev Prasad told GRP that his children were stolen one night from the Haridwar station. On June 2 this year, the son of Bulandshahr resident Sunil Kumar was stolen in a similar fashion. This was followed on August 3 and September 3 by the snatching away of children belonging to one Dharampal of Amroha and Murli Saini from Bijnore. Again, the site of the crimes were railway stations. 

"Following all this, we constituted a joint team of the GRP and SOG to crack the cases," SSP Haridwar Sadanand Date told TOI. Working on the clues, the team quickly arrested four persons, including a woman, from the Jwalapur railway station on Friday. 

The arrested have been identified as Muzaffarpur resident Krishnaveer, his wife Rekha, Jagmohan, a Dehradun resident, and Balwinder Singh, who is from the Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. 

Giving details of the modus operandi of the gang, Date said, "They targeted families that had children and were visibly tired from long distances of travel. The gang members slept on the platform alongside their targets and fled with unsuspecting children the first opportunity they got.

Out of the five children rescued on Friday, three are from Haridwar. Efforts are being made to trace the identity of the two others. "We are contacting people who have registered FIR in connection with their missing child or children. Soon, we hope to ascertain the identity of the two kids," Date added. "Generally, these criminals sold infants to people who did not have a child. Efforts are on to find out how many children they have lifted till now and what is their status." 

Lauding the efforts of the joint team, DGP B S Sidhu announced a cash prize of Rs 10,000 even as DIG Range Amit Sinha declared a reward of Rs 5,000 and SSP Haridwar Rs 2,500.