Set amidst towering snow-capped mountains and lying
beside a lake of pristine blue water, the Sikh shrine
of Sri Hemkunt Sahib looks, even to the not-particularly-pious,
a place of almost unbelievable beauty and peace. Seven
peaks - known as the Sapt Sring- surround the shrine,
looming over lush green pastures. The lake’s
rocky shores are covered with snow through most of
the year, but when the snows melt, the almost mythical
yellow-green flower known as the Brahma Kamal, the
`Lotus of the Gods’, blooms amidst the rocks.
It’s a place of a rather wild and untamed beauty-
and one of Sikhism’s most important shrines.
The tenth and penultimate guru of the
Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh ji, meditated for years in
these mountains, finally leaving his earthly form
and uniting with the Almighty. The star-shaped Gurudwara
Sri Hemkunt Sahib, at a height of over 4,000 mt, is
as such, a memorial to Guru Gobind Singh ji and a
reminder of the saint’s mission.
Sri Hemkunt Sahib is accessible only in the summer,
between June and October. The rest of the year, heavy
snows make passage impossible, and usually block off
the trail leading up to the shrine.
