-
Chardham Yatra is the most popular spiritual yatra starting from
April-May and continues
till Oct-Nov every year in Uttarakhand India. This is the best
time to visit Char Dhams and
enjoy the scenic beauty of the environment and nature. It
comprises of 4 destinations
namely Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
According to Indian ancient stories, Himalaya is the place where
Lord Shiva lives. The
religious feelings and faith of Indian people in a lord Shiva
attracts them to visit on these
four religious places. The temples built on such locations are
amazing and people having a
huge belief in worshiping on these temples. From different
places people regularly visit the
temples of these four locations.
Hindu community people are reaching these places in the large
amount as their faith is that
the sins will be washed away after visiting these religious
places. These spots are beautiful
and fully covered with natural beauty. Because of such reason's
people from different
origins are also reaching to this Char Dham of Indian
religion.
The four holy places Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and
Yamunotri are full of beauty full
places and their surroundings with high hills of Himalaya
attract the people very much.
These 4 places are having different values.
Badrinath This holy town nestles at a height of 3,133 metres, at
the site where a forest
of Badri (berry) trees, known as the mythical Badrivan, once
covered the area. Badrinath is
approximately 50 ft (15 m) tall with a small cupola on top,
covered with a gold gilt roof.
Badrinath Ji Shrine at Night - Jai Badri Vishal
-
The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad
stairway leads up to a tall arched
gatewayis well-known as Lord Shiva temple. Badrinath temple is
the key destination in
Badrinath town. Here, a black stone impression of Lord
Badrinarayan is made in the
Alaknanda River. This river is also having the religious
feelings in Hindu religion. The hot
springs at this is the best examples of nature.
Badrinath Ji Shrine - Jai Badri Vishal
-
The great Nilkantha peak (6,558 metres) towers over the temple
set deep down in the
Alaknanda valley. The rulers of Garhwal built the present temple
of Badrinarayan some two
hundred years ago.
The original Badrinath shrine, built by the 9th century saint
Shankara, has been re-built
several times over due to damage from avalanches and
snowfall.
Badrinath City
-
Badrinath is located 301 km north of Rishikesh and 48 km from
Joshimath. From Gaurikund
(near Kedarnath) to Badrinath by road is233 km. Badrinath is
generally a two-day-long
journey from either Kedarnath, the site that precedes it in the
Char Dham circuit, or one of
the main disembarkation points on the plains. 24 kms from
Badrinath is the famous site of
Govindghat, the confluence of the Alaknanda with the
Lakshmanganga. This is also the
entry point for the mystical Valley of Flowers and the Sikh
shrine of Hemkund Sahib. The
Vasuki Tal at a height of 4,135 metres is 8 kms from
Badrinath.
-
Tapt Kund - Badrinath - Hot Sulphur Springs
The Tapt Kund, a group of hot sulphur springs just below the
Badrinath Temple, are
considered to be medicinal; many pilgrims consider it a
requirement to bathe in the springs
before visiting the temple. The springs have a year-round
temperature of 55 C (131 F),
while outside temperature is typically below 17 C (63 F) all
year round. The two water
ponds in the temple are called Narad Kund and Surya Kund.
-
The Badrinath temple opens only from May till October. It closes
down for winter in
November, when the deity is carried to Pandukeshwar for
worship.
Getting there and around - How To Reach Badrinath
By Air: the nearest airport to Badrinath is the Jolly Grant
Airport near Dehradun. It is
about 317 km from Badrinath.
By Rail: the nearest railway stations to Badrinath are at
Rishikesh and Kotdwar, which are
at a distance of 297 km and 327 km respectively.
By Road: Baronet is very well connected with the important
cities like Rishikesh, Haridwar,
Dehradun and the cities of Kumaon.
Kedarnath Dham latest photo in October 2014
-
Kedarnath is also a Hindu holy place situated in Uttarakhand,
India. It is revered as one
of the 12 Jyotirlingams. It is situated in the Himalayas - the
Rudra Himalaya range. The
Rudra Himalaya range is also known as the Pancha Parvata; its
five peaks are Rudra
Himalaya, Vishnupuri, Bhramapuri, Udgari-Kanth and Swargarohini.
Kedarnath is 3584
-
meters above the sea level. The river Mandakini is present here,
which also have the
region's values. The breathtaking snow-capped peaks are
wonderful to watch from this
town. Visiting the Kedarnath Temple is also a different
experience of life. It is the popular
destination for Hindu pilgrims. Kedarnath is named in honor of
King Kedar who ruled in the
Satya Yuga.
According to legends, the Pandavas came to Kedarnath to pray
Lord Shiva after great battle
of Kurukshetra to atone for killing their own near and dear ones
in the war. It is said that
Lord Shiva kept eluding the Pandavas and sought refuge at
Kedarnath in the form of a bull.
On being pursued, he plunged into the ground, with his hump
exposed on the earth.
Legends has it that his arms surfaced at Tungnath, his face at
Rudranath, belly at
Madmaheshwar, his locks and head at Kalpeshwar. These spots
where he reappeared form
the Panch Kedar. It is believed that four of the Pandavas died
on the last of these peaks.
-
Kedarnath Temple timing
Kedarnath Temple is open for devotees from 6 am to 2 pm and 5 pm
to 8 pm. Shingar
Darshan is from 5 pm onwards and Aarti is performed at 6:45 pm.
Sharavani Annakoot Mela
is celebrated on the day before Raksha Bandhan during August.
Special Samadhi puja is
help on the closing day of Kedarnath.
Festivals Badri Kedar Festival - Held in the month of June,
nothing could be a perfect
manifestation of Hindu religion and culture. The Badri Kedar
festival is held in the sacred
shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath in the month of June. The
festivities go on for a stretch
of eight days. The festival makes an attempt to bring under one
platform, the greatest
artists of the country.
-
How to Reach Kedarnath
There are 2 ways to reach Kedarnath: 1) By foot for a steep 14
km trek through a paved
path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from
Gaurikund, which is connected by
road from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other known hill
stations of Garhwal and
Kumaon regions in Uttarakhand 2) Through helicopter service.
Getting there and Around By Road :
Kedarnath is connected by road with Badrinath (242 KM), Dehradun
(268 KM), Delhi (450
KM), Haridwar (250 KM), Kotdwar (256 KM), and Rishikesh (226
KM).
-
Route : Rishikesh to Kedarnath vai Rudraprayag :- Rishikesh
-> Rudraprayaga ->
Agastamuni -> Kund -> Gupta kashi -> Phata ->
Soneprayag -> Gauri Kund.
Gauri Kund to Kedarnath is 14 KM. This distance has to be
covered by foot, ponies, palkies.
By Rail : The nearest convenient railway station are Dehradun
and Haridwar. These are well
connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and rest of India through
Rail network.
By Air : The nearest convenient Air port is Jolly grant at
Dehradun (121 Kms).
-
Gangotri is another town situated in Uttarkashi district of
Uttarakhand state, India. This
Hindu pilgrim place is located on the banks of the canal
Bhagirathi. The height of this town
is more than 3,100 meters from the sea level. Gangotri glacier
is the source destination of
River Ganga, and it is the one of the four valuable sites of
Char Dham. The well-known river
Bhagirathi is the source which acquired the name Ganga from
Devprayag. Then it meets the
Alaknanda River. The starting point of this holy river is at
Gaumukh, which is set in Gangotri
Glacier. This one spot of char dham is easily reachable from
Rishikesh as it will take just
one-day journey.
There is a temple dedicated to Goddess Ganga and the sacred
stone where King Bhagirath
is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva. There is a natural
Shivlinga submerged in the
river (It is believed that Lord Shiva received the Ganges
here).
Yamunotri is the center from where the river Yamuna starts. It
is also a valuable place
among four char dham spots. Yamunotri is also known as the seat
of the Goddess Yamuna.
This place is situated at a good height of 3,293 meters from the
sea level. The major place
to visit at Yamunotri is the temple dutiful to the Goddess
Yamuna. The thermal springs at
Janki Chatti are also a finest example of natural beauty. The
real source of Yamuna River is
from the ice-covered lake and glacier located on the Kalind
Hills. Approach to the extreme
height of the hill is impossible hence reaching the temple is
quite enough for visitors. The
main spot for a tourist is a temple of Yamuna, which was
constructed by Maharaja Pratap
Shah.
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 Markandeya Tirth, 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. Two hot springs are also
present at Yamunotri offering
relief to tired hikers at a height of 3,292 metres (10,801 ft),
Surya Kund, has boiling hot
water, while Gauri Kund, had tepid water suitable for bathing.
The Yamunotri temple is a full
day's journey from Uttarakhand's main towns - Rishikesh,
Haridwar or Dehradun
Things to keep in mind for a Char Dham Yatra Tour :-
Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. are very cold
places so people should
get the warm clothes along with them.
The gates for Char Dham Yatra opens during Akshay Tritiya. The
date of opening the
temple at Yamunotri is May 6, Gangotri is May 6, Kedarnath is
May 8 and Badrinath is May
9. Visitors must map their trip consequently.
One more important thing is the Himalaya hills are fully covered
of snow so the temples are
opened for limited period as well. Those who are planning to
visit the mentioned places
-
should go through opening details. The cold weather of such
areas can freeze the body so
people should take the warm clothes along with them.