Uttarkashi (
Hindi: उत्तरकाशी ), meaning
Kashi of the north, is a town in
Uttarakhand,
India. It is the district headquarters of
Uttarkashi district. Uttarkashi is situated on the banks of river
Bhagirathi at an altitude of 1352 m above sea level. Uttarkashi is home to a number of
ashrams and temples and also to the
Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. The name of the town reflects its similarity to and location (as north of) the city of Kashi (
Varanasi). Similar to Varanasi, town of Uttarkashi is situated on the Ganges, lies next to a hill named
Varun Parvat, on confluence of two rivers
Varuna and
Asi, has a ghat called
Manikarnika Ghat and has a temple dedicated to Shiva (
Kashi Vishwanath Temple) in the center of the town.