Char Dham Yatra : continued from previous post
Anil Kumar Rajput is well known in the travel trade since 1980. He has worked in India and abroad, a boxer, a rifle shooter and a Para jumper in his college days. As Boy Scout and NCC cadet attended camps at many places which developed his interest in traveling and to explore new places, trekking, he loves driving to adventurous places and photography.
( Get Travel guidance from A.K. Rajput – 9810506646 )
Kedarnath – Lord Shiva’s Abode
Next place in Chardham Yatra is Kedarnath, from Harsil to Uttarkashi is 69 Kms and then to Guptkashi is 230 kms, Total journey time is about 10 hrs. Passing through Srinagar, Uttarakhand, This route is beautifully followed by River Mandakini. At Guptkashi there are few hotels and camps which are available at a very reasonable price. The next morning starts with a nice breakfast which is followed by a travel upto Gauri Kundvia a motorable road or to Phata from where Helicopter Service is availble to Kedarnath. At Gauri Kund which is the starting point of Kedarnath trek is a hot water spring, here the Goddess Parvathi lived and performed sadhna to please Lord Shiva and finally got married to him. It is also the place where Lord Ganesha acquied the elephant head. 14 kms trek from here is very tough and takes about 4-5 hours. On the way is Rambara where small dhabas(restaurant) serve tea and pakoras(snacks). Kedarnath temple is at the height of 3585 meters situated near the head of river Mandakini, sorrounded by snow capped mountains, it’s name is derived from the King Kedar in the Satya Yuga, his daughter Vrinda who is also an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, this temple existed in the Mahabharata period, when Pandavas performed tapasya(prayers) to please Lord Shiva. It was here the Adi Shankaracharya took samadhi at the age of 32 years soon after establishing the for sacred dhams, it is considered a must visit place, there is a small hot water spring which gives relief to the pilgrims from the tiredness of hard journey, there are dharamsalas, camps and small guest houses, the temple opens at 6 o’clock in the morning and closes in the evening, Kedarnath is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlings, it is buit of massive stone slabs over a rectangular platform, here Lord Shiva who was evading the Pandavas hide himself as a bull, on being followed, he dived in the ground leaving behind the hump, the conical rock inside the temple is worshiped as Lord Shiva in hisSadashiva form, outside the temple there is a large statue of Nandi Bull as a gaurd. One has to be carefull while staying at night here because of low oxygen concentration at this altitude. Pilgrims are advised not to exert themselves.
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| Kedarnath, Lord Shiva’s Abode |
After staying overnight and performing poojas in the morning one can return to Gauri Kund and drive toJoshimath, there are two routes, one is which normally pilgrims take is driving through Rudrapryag, second is through Chopta which is the most beautiful, passing through dense forests of Mandal andGopeshwar, from Chopta one can take a trek to Tungnath, it is Lord Shiva’s temple situated at about 4 kms from Chopta. Drive to Joshimath is about 7 hrs. It is better to stay night in Joshimath and take a morning drive to Badrinath, road from here is one-way traffic which opens turn by turn in each direction, it is a 44 kms distance very bad road takes about 4 hrs to reach there , on the way is Gobind Ghat from where trek forSikh pilgrimage, The Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers starts.
Badrinath – Final Destination of Yatra
Shri Badrinath Dham is the temple dedicated to lord Vishnu’s dual form Nara-Naryana, the temple is 15 meters tall with top covered with gold gilt roof, it is built of stone with arched windows, the main entrance is a arched gate, inside is mandapa a large pillared hall leading to the Garbha Griha.
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| Badrinarayan Temple, Final destination of the Char Dham Yatra |
Returning Home
