The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers meeting to form the Ganga at Devprayag, Uttarakhand

Five meetings, one river: the Panch Prayag of Uttarakhand

Along the Alaknanda, five rivers join the main stream in turn. By Devprayag, the water takes the name Ganga. Here is how the five confluences fit together, and how to see them.

Mahek Jatana

22 October 2026

2 minutes

In the Garhwal Himalayas, a river is joined five times before it becomes the Ganga. The Alaknanda, flowing south from the snows near Badrinath, takes in a tributary at each of five towns: Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Devprayag. Together they are called the Panch Prayag, from the Sanskrit words for five and confluence.

The five confluences, in order

Travelling downstream from the north, the Uttarakhand Tourism Board lists the sites in this order. At each one, the Alaknanda meets a different river.

Order	Confluence	Rivers meeting	Notes
1	Vishnuprayag	Alaknanda + Dhauliganga	About 1,372 m. The northernmost of the five. Vishnu Kund temple is here.
2	Nandprayag	Alaknanda + Nandakini	Roughly 70 km downstream from Vishnuprayag.
3	Karnaprayag	Alaknanda + Pindar	On the road to Badrinath. One of the widest of the five meetings.
4	Rudraprayag	Alaknanda + Mandakini	Named after Lord Shiva. Koteshwar Mahadev temple stands on the river.
5	Devprayag	Alaknanda + Bhagirathi	About 850 m. Here the two streams become the Ganga.

Why Devprayag matters

The Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi meet at Devprayag, and the Ganga takes its name from that point. Coming from the plains on the road to Badrinath, Devprayag is the first of the five you reach. Pilgrims often pause here on the Char Dham route.

Getting there

The five towns lie on the road between Rishikesh and the Badrinath corridor. Rishikesh to Karnaprayag is about 172 km by road, through Rudraprayag and Srinagar. Plan one or two nights rather than a single day, as the mountain road is slow and can close in bad weather.

Visiting with care

Bathing at the confluences is a religious practice, and the riverbanks are steep and fast-flowing in places. Take local advice before entering the water, keep to the marked steps, and check road and weather conditions before you set out, especially in the monsoon.

More from Uttarakhand: Rishikesh beyond the obvious, living traditions in Uttarakhand and our Uttarakhand guide.