The place is situated at a height of 13,200 ft (4,023 m) in the Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India.

It is said there that, searching a lost sheep, a boy reached near a glacier in Gangotri, the snout of which exactly looked like the face of a cow, and thus it got its name 'Gomukh'.

The first recorded visit to the Gomukh Glacier was made by John Hodgson and James Herbert on May 31, 1817.

[3] However, it is believed that visits to Gomukh occurred long before the 19th century, as it lies on the ancient route of the Chota Char Dham Yatra, connecting Gangotri to Kedarnath.

It was heavily damaged by rockslides by the 2013 North Indian Floods as was road access to Gangotri.

After 3 km of Chirbasa comes the dangerous Gila Pahar, the place well known for its landslides even prior to the 2013 destruction of much of the trail here; near-sheer cliffs down to the river must now be traversed.

The Bharals are found above the altitude of 10,000 ft. Only 4 km from here is Bhujbasa, the only night halting place on the way with buildings.