Gaumukh is considered to be the source site of the holy Ganges (Bhagirathi) river. Gaumukh is located 18 km away from Gangotri and at an altitude of 4255 meters. The word Gaumukh means - 'Gau' means cow and 'Mukh' means mouth, that means cow's mouth. Gaumukh looks like a cow's mouth, from which the sacred Ganges river by getting from the Gangotri glacier and comes out from Gaumukh. Gangotri Glacier is one of the glaciers of Himalayan regions. That is why this place is known as named of Gaumukh. From Gangotri to Gaumukh is about 18 km travel on foot, this is one of the popular treks in the Himalayan region of Garhwal. On the way during the journey, the Bhagirathi (Ganga) river, dense forest of pine and deodar are meet. Apart from this, there are also beautiful alpine grasslands on the way.
.By Air
The nearest airport to Gangotri is Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun, which is about 268 km away from Gangotri.
By Train
The nearest railway station of Gangotri is Dehradun, which is about 242 km away from Gangotri.
By Road
Gaumukh trek starts from just around 100 mts behind the Gangotri Temple One has to trek ( 18 km ) from Gangotri - 7 km - Chirbasa - 5 km - Bhojbasa - 4 km - in order to reach Gomukh.
The best time to travel to the Gaumukh is between from the months of September to November and April to Jun. Travelling here in these months is the best and enjoyable. In the winter season, the journey of here is closed for 6 months. During the winter season, the weather of here is cold. Due to heavy snowfall in the winter season, the temperature of here goes down very much. Due to heavy rains in the rainy season, it is a bit difficult to travel of here because of heavy rains threatening landslides.