The Himalayas - India

The Himalayas is the massive mountain system and it separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. In Sanskrit, the word Himalaya stands for Snow Home. Hima means Snow and Alaya means Home. The Himalayas which includes Mount Everest (1st Highest peak in the world) and K2 (2nd Highest Peak in the world). It stretches across six countries and they are India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bhutan. And some of the worlds major rivers, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Yumuna, the Yangtz and the Indus are rises in the Himalayan mountain. The main Himalayan range runs, west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc 2,400 km long and varies in width 400 km in western and 150 km in eastern. It plays major role in Tourism in India. Apart from natural heritage, the Himalayas is the religious heritage for Hinduism and Buddhism. Amarnath and Badrinath temples are located in the Himalayas. Swami Vivekananda also founded Mayavathi Ashram nearby Almora in the Himalayas. Some of the temples in Himalayan Range as follows:- Amarnath - Natural Ice Shiva Linga Temple Rishikesh - Lakshmana Temple Badrinath - Vishnu Temple Kedarnath - Jyotirlingas Kailash - Lord Shiva Temple Sri Hemkund Sahib - Sikh Temple In Amarnath, Shiva Linga forms naturally in ice for few weeks once in a year. So many pilgrimages will visit this Linga at the time. For More details about Naturals and Pilgrims in the Himalayas, visit http://www.himalayas.dk/