Kedarnath dham : Near to Heaven

 After 2 years of the coronavirus pandemic, Kedarnath Temple was reopened at the end of April 2022. And we attempted to visit Kedarnath & Badrinath. It was a Hattic attempt for us because many people/pilgrims went for Char Dham Yatra after 2 years of Corona pandemic lockdown. 

Char Dham are Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Kedarnath the most admired temple destination of India, Kedarnath town is nestled in the mighty Garhwal Himalayas. Kedarnath temple is located at an altitude of 3,580 m, near Chorabari glacier, which is the source of the Mandakini river. Kedarnath or Kedar Khand has exquisite architecture and is built of huge but evenly shaped grey stone slabs, inside a conical rock formation worshipers as 'Sadashiva'.

When to visit:

From the month of October on the day of Diwali to April Kedarnath Mandir and Badrinath Temple are both closed for very low temperatures and lots of snowfall all the trekking roads are closed and after April when temperatures are gradually increasing again both mandirs open. 

How To Reach : 

From anywhere in the world you first reach Rishikesh or Haridwar. As we travelled from Westbengal, we first reached Howrah rail station and boarded on Kumbh Express. After 36 hours of journey, we reached Haridwar at almost 11 p.m. The train was late about 9 hours. 

You can also travel by Airplane to Dehradun, Jolly Grand Airport. 

From Rishikesh or Dehradun, you can hire 4 wheller or you can travel by govt bus to Sonprayge from Rishikesh bus terminal.

We reached Haridwar by train and our booked hotel was at Rishikesh, on that night we reached our hotel Deb Bhumi at 12:30 am. After 2 days of stay at Rishikesh we reached Sonprayg by bus from the Rishikesh bus terminal which is almost 210 km from the Sonprayge bus terminal. It is all about an 8 to 9-hour journey. This Journey is fabulous as the road is totally upon hills and besides many beautiful and religious places where you can stay.

On the next early morning from Sonprayge, we hired a shared cab to reach Gouriprayge which is almost 2 km walking distance from Sonprayge, you can trek there. At Gouriprayg we had a small breakfast and started our trekking to Kedarnath. At Mile Stone, we saw Kedarnath's distance is 16 km, but it is 21 km because before the 2013 cloud blast, it was 16 km on the old trekking route, but a new route is 21 km and it is on the other side of Mandakini river. To reach Kedarnath it took 8 hours. The first 16 km was so easy to treak but gradually the road got more upright. At 4 pm we reached our destination, Kedarnath Dham, and watched Snadhya Arati. It was such a peaceful and devoted event that we witnessed.

 

We stayed at Gaytri Bhaban which is an ashram, and we stayed at Kedarnath for 2 days. We visited the Sankarachariya Memorial and Bhairab Mandir.

After Kedarnath Darsan we again return to Soanprayge. It took only 5 hours and we stayed at Soanprayge. On the next day, we have started our journey for Badrinath Dham. But just before starting the journey to Badrinath, we heard about the Triyoginarayan temple which is as prideful as other temples in Uttarakhand.

Triyoginarayan temple is famous for where Mahadev and Parvati were married. It is the most sacred place among Hindus and Nepalese. It is all around 8 km from Soanprayge and takes 30 minutes to reach that temple. 4 Wheelers are always available from Sonprayge and the fare is 150 - 200 rupees, but only one hotel is there. After spending 1 hour there we return to the Sonprayge bus terminal for Bandinath. It was really problematic to find a car for Badrinath as it was the first month of season opening and there was so much rush of pilgrims. but at last, we go in a shared car to Badrinath at 5 pm. 

We reached at Badrinath 5 a.m. the next morning. Actually, we reached the Badrinath entry gate at 3 a.m. but for security purposes, the checkpost of Badrinath which is 5 km before Badrinath city was closed by BSF. So after opening the checkpost, we entered Badrinath city at 5 a.m. We explored the city for 1 hour and went to Mandir. But it was a long queue of pilgrims for puja & after 2 hours in the queue, we finally entered the mandir. After all, we returned to Badrinath bus stop at 10 a.m. to get on the bus for Rishikesh. But for the same reason we didn't get any convenience for Rishikesh, we again arranged a shared car and reached Rishikesh at the night of 11 p.m. and entered our rebooked hotel. 

You can stay at Badrinath and visit some outskirt places like Mana Village, Bheem Pul, Veda Vyasa Cave and Hemkund.      

        

*All car and hotel fares are dependable on the seasons.  

Route Map :

Rishikesh → Davprayag → Srinagar → Agastamuni→ Guptkashi→ Sonprayag→ Gaurikund → Kedarnath → Yogimath → Badrinath → Triyoginarayan → Rishikesh   

  

What to Do : 

1. Rishikesh is also known as Devbhumi. Here are many temples/Mandir you can visit. Also, some famous hanging bridges like Laskman Setu, Ram Setu and Sita Setu you can see. You can also go rafting on the Ganga River, Bangi jumping, paragliding and many other activities you can do.
2. You can stay in Davprayag where the Aloknanda and Mandakini rivers meet together named the Ganga River. 
3. A big market along with Ganga where you can window shopping.
4. From Rishikesh, you can roam Mussoorie and Nainital a famous hill city.