Famously known as Devbhumi, or the Land of the Gods, Uttarakhand is a land of untouched natural beauty and sublime spirituality. Carved out from Uttar Pradesh, the state, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a place that not only boasts of a scintillating view of the Himalayas but also exhibits a cultural ethos which speaks of a simplistic and harmonic coexistence with nature. With oaks, birches, silver firs and rhododendrons adorning the steep mountain slopes, Uttarakhand offers you a glimpse into an untainted, idyllic world, straight out of the pages of some ancient pastoral literature. Uttarakhand is a very popular pilgrimage site, seeing as it is the originating spot of the Ganga and the Yamuna, two of the most sacred rivers for Hindus. Uttarakhand is home to the Char Dhams, which are four of the most pious sites of pilgrimage revered by the Hindus – Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. Thousands of tourists visit Uttarakhand annually to pay homage to the Char Dhams.