The five prayags.

Chasing rivers like Amazon and Nile and exploring culture along the rivers is an intellectual pursuit. Chasing the river Ganges of India also brought a spiritual significance which was refreshing. The five prayags or confluences of river Alaknanda are Nandaprayag, Karanprayag, Vishnuprayag, Rudraprayag, and Devaprayag. Prayags are preferred for meditation by sages. We did not visit Nandaprayag. At Rudraprayag, Mandakini from Kedarnath merges with Alaknanda and at Devaprayag Bhageerathi from Gangotri merges with Alakananda. At Devaprayag Alaknanda becomes River Ganga officially. Thus Devaprayag is the conclusion for chardham yatris who went seeking the sources of Ganga.

River Pindar meets Alaknanda here. Karna meditated here and there is a temple dedicated to him here.

Vishnuprayag

At Vishnuprayag, Dhauli Ganga from Tibet, China merges with Alaknanda. This is the place where Sage Narada meditated, after which Vishnu appeared before him.

We stopped here before going to Badrinath. The river flow is fast. The best way to take a bath is by using buckets that are chained to the steps of the ghat.

Rudraprayag

Rudraprayag is the place where River Mandakini from Kedarnath merges with River Alaknanda.

The brown water is Mandakini and the white is Alaknanda.

Temple where Sage Narada meditated.

Priest at the Narad temple.

The merging of rivers is a very gentle process. A seamless procedure.

Devaprayag

At Devaprayag, the River Alaknanda joins River Bhageerati and officially becomes the River Ganges. The white water in the picture is Alaknanda and the brown is Bhageerati.

The river is fast flowing and safety chains are available for people wishing to go for a dip.

The piests do pujas in the caves and pray for you before you enter the waters in Devaprayag.

Temple Dedicated to Lord Ram is situated in the site where Lord Rama meditated.

Swimming in Devaprayag is definitely good for the soul. After a dip in the ice cold water in the Ganges, the warm Himalayan sun dries you off in seconds. You are surely outside your comfort zone and having a time of your life.