The Atulya Ganga project is an endeavor initiated by a group of distinguished army veterans, as well as young and passionate environmentalists, writers, scholars, and social workers. Its primary goal is to coordinate and unite the efforts of the government, non-government organizations, volunteers, and the general public in restoring the Ganga river to its original, pristine state. This is a well-planned, long-term, people-driven initiative set to address various aspects of ensuring a clean Ganga for future generations over an 11-year period (2020-2030). Furthermore, the project has diverse advantages, including the promotion of India’s rich culture along the Ganga’s banks, which has the potential to boost tourism and generate employment opportunities for local communities.
The concept of the Ganga Parikrama, a pilgrimage encircling the Ganges, has been a topic of discussion among sages and scholars in the Himalayas since Vedic times. There are believed to be three types of Ganga Parikrama – Jal, Hanumant, and Mundamaal. The most challenging of these is the Mundamaal Ganga Parikrama due to its strict regulations. While many saints embark on journeys along the Ganga to Gangasagar, there is no recorded instance of anyone completing the arduous walk along both banks of the river until our senior founder, Sh. Gopal Sharma Ji, assisted a walker and saint named Sh. Gopal Baba in his attempt in 1987. This is where the idea for the Ganga Parikrama was born.
The vision was to create an uninterrupted (Aviral) walkathon for Ganga Rejuvenation that covers both banks from Gangotri to Gangasagar, allowing participants to grasp the multiple dimensions of the Ganga’s existential crisis. According to the initial plan, the 5500-kilometer Parikrama was completed in 190 days. It began in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh on December 16, 2020, reached Ganga Sagar, West Bengal on February 4, 2021, returned to Gangotri, Uttarakhand on May 15, 2021, and concluded on June 23, 2021, in Prayagraj.

This extraordinary and epic walkathon took participants through a diverse range of landscapes, from Himalayan glaciers to the Sundarbans Delta, covering everything in between. The Parikrama evolved into a world-class long walk that incorporated adventure, nature, culture, spirituality, history, and mythology, offering a richer experience compared to other popular long walks worldwide, such as the Coast to Coast Walk in the USA, the Great Wall of China Walk, or the Appalachian Trail in Europe.

The 190-day, 5530-kilometer Atulya Ganga Parikrama provided an exceptional platform to showcase various aspects of Indian culture along the Ganga belt, highlighting the incredible diversity of people, folklore, cuisine, flora and fauna, riverine customs, communities, yoga, and spirituality along the riverbanks. This monumental Ganga Walkathon also paved the way for the development of 6-8 new travel circuits and an adventure hub in Uttarkashi, offering an opportunity to promote tourism in lesser-known but unique parts of India and create job opportunities for local residents. Atulya Ganga is eager to lead the way in designing and developing these new travel circuits. Thus, the Atulya Ganga Parikrama is just the beginning of a new era of tourism, representing “Dekho Apna Desh” (Explore Your Own Country) like never before.