Gangotri temple closes for winters

The sacred portals of the Gangotri shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas here were ceremoniously closed today for the winters and will remain so till May.
The shrine closed on the occasion of Annakoot festival amid chanting of vedic hymns. The idol of goddess Ganga was taken in a colourful palanquin to Mukhwa village through Bhairoghat, Gangotri Shrine Samiti chief Mukesh Semwal said.
"For the next six-months the goddess will be worshipped at the village," he said, adding on Diwali pilgrims thronged the temple to be part of the closing ceremony.
The temple is located at 3,415 metres above sea level and is one of the four famous Himalayan shrines of Uttarakhand.

Called the 'chardham' it becomes snowbound during the peak winter months and closes either in October or November every year.
"The temple reopens for devotees in the month of May after the snow melts and the roads are cleared," Semwal said.