Kedarnath temple - Uttarakhand, Garhwal region

The Kedarnath temple is situated at a height of 11000 feet  in Himalayan Garhwal region and is a very popular pilgrim centre for the millions of Hindus all over the world.

The temple houses  one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

The temple is supposed to be more than  1000 years old and has withstood the onslaught of 2013 devastating floods which erased and changed the geography of Kedarnath. The Lord here is a self manifestation and was first worshipped by Panch Pandavas. The idol of  Kedarnath  here is in the form of a pyramid on the floor of the sanctum and the devotees can offer puja rituals without the aid of a priest. Touching the deity and offering worship is a great feeling.

The  breath taking view of the temple with  the Chorabari glacier in the background  is terrific. The glacier  is the head of river Mandakini. The river flows with all its full might and the  strong cascade with the reverberating sound is stupendous.

The temple  remains open from May to November and rest of the time it gets submerged in  snow.

The roads leading to Kedarnath are narrow , hazardous and always there is  threat of land slides which may hamper the journey.

The Gaurikund is the base from where the trekking path starts to the temple and the distance to be covered is around  24 Kms. Ponies and dolis (a kind of cane basket to carry the pilgrims) and helicopter services are available to  aid the pilgrims.

Helicopter services make the travel easier and helps one save time and energy. One can have a great  experience of flying above the Garwhal  region .  The  breath taking  aerial view of the meandering river Mandakini, the green  carpeted and the   silvery snow  capped mountains at arms length  is an overwhelming experience. It just takes a few minutes to fly to the the temple and back and we   were fortunate enough to complete the whole trip  worship  included in flat 3 hours as we flew from the closest point Sersi. From the helipad the temple is just  about  half a Kilometre . Dolis are available for those who are unable to walk in cold . One also gets breathless faster as the Oxygen supply dips at times.

Note for pilgrims

The fee for helicopter ride is about 7500 per person (depends on the weight of the individual too)

Fees also differ depending on the distance as heli services operate from 3-4 different areas.

Aadhar card compulsory for registration. Online registration is available for heli rides.

Preference given to those who register online. No luggage allowed except a small bag.

Complete silence to be observed during the ride. Helicopter  carries a maximum of 6 passengers per ride.

Photography a big No during helicopter ride.

Dolis services are offered at around Rs.5500 -6000 and and pony rides above Rs.10000  and are uncomfortable and tiring. (The above rates as per September 2018)

Trekking is for the young and adventurous.

Avoid visits during rainy season which is between July and August.

Try visiting  Triyugnarayan temple yet another ancient temple  which is very near to Gaurikund.

for any queries regarding the Kedarnath trip please email me at manchitra2001@yahoo.co.in

Our stay in Chamoli - an unforgettable experience

The journey from Kedar was pretty long and we reached Chamoli district which is located in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttaranchal around 6 P.M.The district is largely inhabited by Tibetans.

We were advised not to travel as we had to cross the forests to reach Gopeshwar which was only about 25-35 kms. With our super heating car it would have taken at least another two hours if we were to travel there for the night stay. We heard that there was a government tourist bungalow and when we decided to camp for the night, well it indeed turned out to be a camp really as we found the only tourist bungalow at Chamoli was fully occupied. We were little anxious as it was getting dark. A man on the road suggested that some accommodation could be available in a small village little ahead. When we reached there what we found were some tin shacks and a family was coming out nodding their heads unhappily. We learnt that they were unhappy with the accommodation and rejected the same .So, when we reached the owner; he readily offered us the rooms which we gladly accepted because of the predicament we were in.

We found the owner to be very kind and he offered us hot coffee which was refreshing after a long drive but for small halt for lunch in between. We felt it was like a heaven for us. For dinner his family prepared nice phulkas and bindi masala which was delicious, which even now we recall quite often. We posed with his daughter and took snaps. As we were very tired, we straight away hit the bed. No sooner had we done so, it started pouring heavily and the tin roof made it a nice jazz and we slept blissfully. There were only 2-3 cots in the room and bed was hard and the quilt was cold but at that time it felt like five star comfort. Next day when we started early for the Badri journey we saw the family which had rejected the accommodation the previous night, standing under a shelter beside their car. They too were scared to travel in the night through the forest and probably took shelter there. We really wondered how horrible it would have been for them in the miserable cold and wet night which really would have been ours but for their rejection of that shack. Probably this is what people mean when they say the fortune favours the brave.

Happy Moments In Chamoli


From Chamoli, 2 1/2 km. up through a trek is Tunganath temple, it is one among the Panch Kedar temples, but we skipped that as it was not in our itinerary and nobody was in a mood to climb for a 5 km. up and down trek.

As soon as we left Chamoli we were into the forest .The journey was pleasing for the eyes as there was greenery and colorful wild flowers all around and we could see lot of birds and small animals crossing our path at regular intervals. We reached Gopeswar in a couple of hours and we found that was the largest town till then and decided to have our break fast there. After a halt of an hour relishing on Aloo parottas with Dahi and pickles we set forth towards Badri “The Valley of Gods.”


The next halt was Joshi Math which was around 30-40 kms. drive and it took us a couple of hours. We had to wait for our turn for the drive to Badri as only one way traffic was between Joshi math and Badri, the roads being very narrow and it could take one vehicle to pass at a time in one direction. No over taking was allowed and in many places molten streams of snow crossed the roads making the journey even slower. We found on one side the slippery mountain of melting snow and on the other side it was a 200 meters drop into the ravines below. The journey was scary and exciting and we got so absorbed in the surroundings that we never felt we had spent the next 2 hours as we approached Badri.

To be continued….
See you soon.