Uttarkashi, Uttaranchal, India

A town spread out along the Ganges (or Ganga, also Bhagirathi), Uttarkashi (1158 m) is an important "base camp" for the Hindu pilgrimage circuit (especially the Char Dham sites of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath) and for trekking and climbing destinations of the Garhwal Himalayas. The town is also known for the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering where Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to scale Mt. Everest in 1984 (and who now works for the Tata Sports Foundation), was trained.