The Great Himalayan Range

The Himalayan Range or The Himalayas is a mountain range in Asia separating Indian Subcontinent from Tibetan Plateau. Himalaya is a Sanskrit word meaning 'abode of snow'. Himalayan Range is the highest mountain range in India and is home of highest mountain peaks in the world which include Mount Everest and K2. This mountain range stretches across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Tibet. Some of the world's major rivers like Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra originates from Himalayas.

The Himalayan Range runs west to east from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley forming an arc 2,400 km long, which varies in width from 400 km in the western region to 150 km in eastern region. The Great Himalayan Range is made up of three parallel ranges - the Greater Himalayas, the Lesser Himalayas and the Outer Himalayas. The highest Himalayan peak Mount Everest is 8,796 meters in height and is the highest mountain peak in the world.

Many Himalayan peaks are of religious significance in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, the Himalaya also personified as god Himavat, the father of Shiva's consort, Parvati. Some of the important religious places in the Himalayas are:

• Haridwar, the place where the sacred river Gange enters the plains.
• Badrinath in Garhwal is the place dedicated to Vishnu, the Supreme God.
• Kedarnath in the state of Uttarakhand is the place where one of the 12 jyotirlingas is located. This place is dedicated to Shiva, the Destroyer.
• Gaumukh, is the source of the river Ganga (Bhagirathi), located a few miles above the town of Gangotri.
• Deoprayag, is the place where river Alaknanda and Bhagirathi merge to form Ganga.
• Mount Kailash, is peak which is the abode of Hindu Gods Shiva and Parvati and is also venerated by Buddhists. The peak is forbidden to climb, it is so sacred that it is circled at its base by the devotees of God Shiva. Lake Mansarovar lies at the base of Mount Kailash, and is the source of the river Brahmaputra.
• Amarnath, is the place dedicated to God Shiva and has a natural Shiva linga of ice which emerges for a few weeks each year. Thousands of devotees visit this place during these days.
• Vaishno Devi Shrine, is a popular shrine dedicated to the Hindu Godess Durga
• Sri Hemkund Sahib, is a Sikh Gurudwara where Guru Gobind Singh is claimed to have meditated and achieved enlightenment in a previous incarnation.

A number of Tibetan Buddhist sites are situated in Himalayas, including the residence of Dalai Lama. There are over 6,000 monasteries in Tibet. The Tibetan muslims had their own mosques in Lhasa and Shigatse.