Karanprayag

ce of the Pindari River, which arises from the icy Pindari glacier and the Alaknanda, occurs at Karanprayag. Nanda Devi, towering above at 7,816 m (25,634 ft.), and surrounded by an array of glittering peaks, Trisul, Drona Giri, Narad Ghunti, Mrigathuni and Maiktoli. The Alaknanda (from right) is joined by Pindar river (from bottom) at Karanprayag
At a height of 788 m (2,600 ft.) The Alaknanda River flowing in from the left meets the Pindar River (center background) to flow on as the Alaknanda again (foreground) at Karnaprayag, in the Garhwal Himalayas, in Uttarakhand, India

Overview

Karan Prayag is one of five sites where the confluence of rivers occurs. The five prayags are Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karanprayag, Rudraprayag and Devprayag. Allahabad where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati join, is known as Prayag, and is one of the holy places of Hindu pilgrimage. Karanprayag is believed by many to be the place where Karna of the Mahabharata, was to have worshipped the Sun God. It is the ancient temple, devoted to Uma and Karna. It is on the way to Badrinath, on the confluence of two holy rivers Alaknanda and Pindar. 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 head-quarter of district Chamoli. Roads from here go to Almora, Nainital and Jim Corbett National Park.