Yamunotri, the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna is situated at an altitude of 3293 mts in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. It is one of the four sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage. The actual source of Yamuna River lies in the Yamunotri Glacier at a height 6,387 mtrs., near Bandarpunch peaks in Lower Himalayas.

Yamunotri temple is situated in the western region of Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 3235 m in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand.The temple is dedicated to Goddess Yamuna. The Yamunotri temple is a full day's journey from Uttarakhand's main towns — Rishikesh, Haridwar

or Dehradun. The actual temple is only accessible by a thirteen kilometre trek from the town of Hanuman Chatti and a six kilometer walk from Janki Chatti; horses or palanquins are available for rent. The hike from Hanuman Chatti to Yamunotri is very picturesque with beautiful views of a number of waterfalls. There are two trekking routes from Hanuman Chatti to Yamunotri, the one along the right bank proceeds via the Markendeya Tirtha, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana , the other route which lies on the left bank of the river goes via Kharsali, from where Yamunotri is a five or six hours climb away.

Ritual duties are supervised by the Semwal family of pujaris. The aarti ceremony at the Gangotri is especially impressive, as is the temple, a stately affair that sits on the banks of the rushing Ganga. Adventurous pilgrims can make an overnight 18 km trek to Gaumukh, the actual current source of the river Ganga.

The original temple was built by Maharani Gularia of Jaipur in the 19th century. The current temple is of recent origin as past iterations have been destroyed by the weather and elements. Lodging at the temple itself is limited to a few small ashrams and guest-houses.

Ritual duties such as the making and distribution of prasad (sanctified offerings) and the supervision of pujas (ritual venerations) are performed by the Uniyal family of pujaris (priests). Unique aspects of ritual practice at the site include hot springs where raw rice is cooked and made into prasad. It is located at an altitude of 3,235 metres approximately. A little ahead is the actual source of the river Yamuna which is at an altitude of about 4,421 metres approximately. Two hot springs are also present at Yamunotri offering relief to tired hikers, at a height of 3292 metres, Surya Kund, has boiling hot water, while Gauri Kund, had tepid water suitable for bathing.