Joshimath (Jyotirmath) is a major hill town and spiritual centre in Chamoli, perched around 1,875 m and acting as the gateway to Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers and Niti–Mana border areas. Narrow bazaar streets, army bases, pilgrims’ lodges and steep alleys climb the slopes, with views towards the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda valleys. The town’s spiritual heart is the Narasimha Temple and the Jyotirmath (one of the four cardinal Shankaracharya maths), where daily puja, Vedic chanting and festivals keep ancient traditions alive.
About this place
History & highlights
Joshimath is revered as the uttarāmnāya matha (northern monastery) established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century as one of his four cardinal seats, responsible for the Atharvaveda tradition. The Narasimha Temple here, a Divya Desam of Vishnu, is believed to house an idol installed by Shankaracharya himself, and it becomes the winter seat of Badrinath: when the Badrinath temple closes, the utsav-murti is worshipped in Joshimath for six months. Over centuries, Joshimath grew as a staging point for traders, pilgrims and later mountaineering expeditions. In recent years it has also become a symbol of Himalayan environmental stress, with studies and news reports documenting land subsidence and landslide risk along the Chamoli–Joshimath–Badrinath highway, leading to debates on sustainable development in sacred mountain towns.
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