Shripati Misra Vidhan Bhawan,

Chief Minister Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh.

FOREWORD
Himalayas have evoked wonder, praise and veneration. Accord-
ing to scriptures, "Himalaya is the king of mountains, five and
three thousand leagues in extent at the circumference, the source
of nearly five hundred rivers, the dwelling place of the pantheon
of Gods and Goddesses and enriched with hundreds of magical
drugs, is seen to rise aloft, like a cloud, the centre (of the earth)"
—that is Himalaya, truely the abode of Gods. In fact, Himalayas
have occupied a place of pride in / our scriptures, literature and
our culture and form an integral part of our life.
Even though man has moved far into space and depths of ocean
but there is still much more for him to explore nearer home. It
is this quest for the unseen, difficult and unclimbable, the sense
of adventure it provides, that man seeks the heaven of the
mountains. I am glad that Giriraj Shah has brought out this
travelogue, the second in the series, after the publication of his-
book 'The Kingdom of the Gods—Uttarakhand.*
Uttarakhand is situated as the Crest-Jewel amidst Himalayas.
It is the source of the Ganga and the Yamuna which nourish the
plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal and ultimately merge
and mingle in the ocean. Uttarakhand also houses the holy
dhams of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri which
are visited by pilgrims from different parts of India, braving,
incalculable hazards. Now with the passage of time, these pilg-
rims are joined by a new clan of tourists known as trekkers and
mountaineers who seek the unseen and unclimbable.
I am deeply concerned with the preservation of Himalaya
which can be achieved only through the involvement of the
people in Government efforts to that direction. I hope the.
readers of this book will find sufficient material of abiding in-
terest to attract them to the places which Mr. Shah has so vividly
described in lucid style.
SHRIPATI MISRA