From Pandukeshwar heading back to Rishikesh, we stopped at Vishnu Prayag. Before I describe about Vishnu Prayag I would like to explain few things I learned from local people about Prayag in Uttarakhand. Before this, I used to think Prayag is another name for the famous city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. It is after visiting Uttarakhand I learnt, Prayag is a place of confluence or merging of two or more rivers. It actually means a place of Sacrifice in Sanskrit. At these points, when two rivers meet, one of the rivers sacrifices its name and identity to the other. There are five such prayags in Uttarakhand, the land of Gods as they say and I don't think any other states in India has these many Prayags. Rivers Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindari, Saraswati merge with Alaknanda and Sacrifices the name and their identities at Vishnu Prayag, Nand Prayag, Karna Prayag, RudraPrayag respectively and Alaknanda sacrifices its name and identity at Dev Prayag on merging with river Bhagirat