The world's highest mountain range, the Himalayas, spans five countries including India. Not surprisingly, it's the most well known of the major mountain ranges in India. The Himalayas are where three religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam—meet. The range features prominently in Hindu mythology, and attracts holy sages and Tibetan monks alike. The Himalayas also influence the climate in India by preventing cold winds from blowing south. However, there are a number of other major mountain ranges that play an important role in India's environment and culture too. Read on to find out about the top ones.
If you want to stay in the mountains, there are t budget hotels and homestays in the Indian Himalayas.
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Great Himalaya Range
In India, the Himalaya mountain range is geographically split into the Great Himalaya, Middle Himalaya and Outer Himalaya ranges. The Great Himalaya is the highest zone, with perpetually snow-covered peaks rising more than 22,000 feet above sea level. It stretches for over 1,200 miles along India's northern border, all the way from Jammu and Kashmir in the West (where it's bounded by the Indus River) to Arunachal Pradesh in the East. The section in Sikkim has the loftiest peaks, with Mount Kanchenjunga being the third highest peak in the world at 28,169 feet above sea level. It's shared with Nepal though. The highest peak that's entirely in India is Nanda Devi in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, at 25,643 feet above sea level. The Great Himalaya also has two of Uttarakhan's important glaciers: the Gangotri glacier is the source of the holy Ganges River, while the Yamunotri glacier feeds the Yamuna River.
India's forbidding but magnetic Great Himalaya Range draws both trekkers and religious devotees. As Hindus consider it to be the abode of the gods, some of the most visited pilgrimage places in India are located there, such as the Char Dham in Uttarakhand. While Mount Kanchenjunga remains unconquered, the trek to Dzongri Peak in Sikkim is more doable. Various organizations also conduct treks to Nanda Devi from Munisyari. You'll need to be super fit though! The high altitude of the range means that there are only a few mountain passes. One of them, Nathu La, connected India to Tibet before it was closed and is a popular day trip from Gangtok in Sikkim. Unfortunately, it's off limits to foreigners for security reasons.