Karnaprayag | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 TheAlaknanda River flowing in from the left meets thePindar River (center background) to flow on as the Alaknanda again (foreground) at Karnaprayag | |
  Karnaprayag Location in Uttarakhand, India Show map of Uttarakhand Karnaprayag Karnaprayag (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:30°15′32″N79°13′05″E / 30.259°N 79.218°E /30.259; 79.218 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttarakhand |
| District | Chamoli |
| Tehsil | Karnaprayag |
| Elevation | 860 m (2,820 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 6,976 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 246444[1] |
| Vehicle registration | UK-11 |
| Website | uk |
Karnaprayag is a town andmunicipal board in theChamoli District in theIndianstate ofUttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of thePanch Prayag (five confluences) ofAlaknanda River,[2] situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda andPindar River.
As of the 2001census,[3] Karnaprayag had a population of 6,976. Males constitute 56% of the population, and females make up 44%. Karnaprayag has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 69%. 13% of the population is under six years of age.
Karnaprayag is located at30°16′N79°15′E / 30.27°N 79.25°E /30.27; 79.25.[4] It has an average elevation of 860 metres (2,820 feet).The confluence of thePindar River, which arises from the icyPindari glacier and theAlaknanda, occurs at Karnaprayag.
Karnaprayag is one of five sites where the confluence of rivers occurs. The five prayags areVishnuprayag,Nandprayag, Karnaprayag,Rudraprayag, andDevprayag.Allahabad(Prayagraj), where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati join, is known as Prayag and is one of the holy places of Hindu pilgrimage.[5] Karnaprayag is believed by many to be the place whereKarna of theMahabharata, was to have worshipped the Sun God. There is an ancient temple devoted toUma in Karnaprayag. In some versions, Karnaprayag is the place where LordKrishna did the cremation ofKarna.
It is on the way toBadrinath, on the confluence of two holy rivers,Alaknanda andPindar. It is said that Karna of Mahabharata meditated here for many years to acquire the impregnable shield, which made him a formidable warrior in the battlefield.Swami Vivekananda meditated here for eighteen days with his Guru Bhai, Guru Turianand ji and Akharanand ji. It is the sub-divisional headquarters of district Chamoli. Roads from here go toAlmora,Nainital, andJim Corbett National Park.
The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport nearDehradun 212 km (132 mi) away.
The nearest railway station is atRishikesh. However, Rishikesh is a small railway station not connected by fast trains.Haridwar railway junction, 24 km farther from Rishikesh, has train connections to most of the major cities in India and is, therefore, the railhead for Karnaprayag.
Anew railway line, connecting Rishikesh with Karnaprayag is under construction.[6]
Karnaprayag lies on national highwayNH58 that connects Delhi withBadrinath andMana Pass in Uttarakhand near Indo-Tibet border. Therefore, all the buses and vehicles that carry pilgrims from New Delhi to Badrinath via Haridwar and Rishikesh in pilgrim season of summer months pass through Karnaprayag on the way toJoshimath and further north. Rishikesh is the major starting point for the road journey to Karnaprayag, and regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to Karnaprayag. The road distance from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag is 172 km (107 mi) viaRudraprayag and Srinagar (Uttarakhand).
