Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand | You should visit Before you Die.

 Char Dham : Remembering experience for life

Life is like a Coin, you can spend it anywhere you want but only once !! So Spend it like worth remembering. 

Trip/Yatra you have to visit at least once in a lifetime. 

1.  Kedarnath 

Kedarnath

Kedarnath is one of the most religious place in  Uttarakhand. Thousands of devotees come every  year here between April to November. It is one of  the five Kedar in India. Five Kedar includes  Kedarnath, Rudranath, Kalpeshwar, Tungnath  and Madhyamaheswar. It is situated in  Rudraprayag a beautiful city in Uttarakhand. This  Year 2020 Kedarnath yatra was started on 29th  April at 6.10 AM but for Devotees Kedarnath was  opened on 14th May 2020 with all safety measures  (as per UK Govt Instructions) the gates will closed  on 16th Nov 2020. Kedarnath is situated between  the High altitude mountain from the three sides it  is surrounded by (22000 feet aprx) high  mountains. Kedarnath is situated on the bank of  Mandakini River. In 2013, Flood occured in the range of himachal pradesh and Uttarakhand which all most destroy every part which come in across of the flood BUT a big rock which come with the flood come in front of the Holy place protected the Kedarnath temple.

                                                Yaaahh that was a Miracle !!!!

Best time to Visit Kedarnath April to June

Route to KEDARNATH :

Distance between Delhi - Kedarnath is 455km by NH 58 and it takes all most 10-11 hrs to reach at your Destination.

 

Delhi to Haridwar - 206 km

Haridwar to Devprayag - 100 km

Devprayag to Rudraprayag - 68 km

Rudraprayag to gaurikund - 75 km

Finally , Gaurikund the place from where you have to start your walking  journey to the most beautiful place. Distance will be apprx. 14 km to reach on the top of Kedarnath.

2. BADRINATH

Badrinath Temple

Badrinath is 2nd place which is mostly visited by the devotees in Uttarakhand. Temple gates were open on 30 April 2020 at 04:15 am and will closed in the month of Oct/Nov(closing date is not mentioned yet due to Covid - 19 virus). It is also the part of the Panch Badri temples which are dedicated to the Lord Vishnu. It is said that Lord Vishnu meditated under the tree of Badri then after this placed is named as BADRINATH. 

People usually plan to visit Badrinath along with Kedarnath as it is one of the 4 Dhams in India. At the altitude of 10830 Feet, where the temperature is extremely cold, Badrinath is situated in 123456789 city of Uttarakhand. Not only the Badrinath temple beautiful seeings, there are many activities you can do in badrinath like You can take a Holy dip in Surya Kund, visit Narad Kund, visit to the last village of india - Mana, Vasundra Falls, Local sight seeing to the villages and much more!!!

One of the main attraction point is a  3.5 feet long statue which is situated on the entrance of the Badrinath Temple. various treks start from Badrinath, which can give you the thrilling experience like Satopanth Trek, Mana pass trek, Charanpaduka trek and some more. 

Route to Badrinath : 

Badrinath is reached by national highway 58 that connects Delhi to Mana pass in Uttarakhand. Distance between Delhi to Badrinath is approx. 550 km and the time it will take upto 14-15 hrs to reach your destination.

Routes to Badrinath

 

Delhi to Haridwar - 206 km

Haridwar to Devprayag - 100 km

Devprayag to Rudraprayag - 68 km

Rudraprayag to Joshimath - 110 km

Joshimath to Badrinath - 42 km

Best Time to visit Badrinath is From April to June and in Oct - Nov. 

3.  GANGOTRI : The Origin of Ganges

Gangotri

Gangotri is a town in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Gangotri temple is one of the holy places among the Char Dhams. It is the highest and the most worshipped temple of river Ganga or (Maa Ganges) Indians worshiped Ganga as a Goddess. It is a major Hindu pilgrim on the banks of the Bhagirathi River and it is known as the origin point of River Ganges. Gangotri is a small town centered around the Gangotri temple; Local surroundings believes that Gangotri temple always there to blessed them in their difficult situations. Hindu mythology says that  Gangotri is the place where river Ganga descended from heaven when Lord Shiva released the mighty river from his luscious locks. At an altitude of 3,130 meters this temple was originally built by the Nepalese King Amar Singh Thapa in the nineteenth century. 

Due to its Religious recognition and beautiful view, the town is also a popular tourist spot. The river Ganga originates from Gangotri glacier and the origin point is called Gaumukh (or Gomukhi). It is located about 19 km from Gangotri and one can reach there with ease by trekking. The water stream that originates from Gaumukh is called River Bhagirathi that merges with Alaknanda River at Devprayag to form the river GANGA. Reaching to Gangotri is not a difficult task at all. The place is properly connected by the roads that remains open for almost whole year.

Routes to Reach Gangotri :

The journey distance is aprx. 500 km and to reach to the destination it may take at least 16-18 hours. The gates of Gangotri temple open during the start of summers when the weather is pleasant and sky is clear. Avoid to visit this place at time of Monsoon. 

Routes to Gangotri

Route 1.

Delhi – Meerut – Muzaffarnagar – Roorkee – Haridwar – Rishikesh – Narendranagar – Chamba – Uttarkashi – Harsil – Gangotri.

Route 2.

Delhi – Meerut – Muzaffarnagar – Roorkee – Dehradun – Mussoorie – Suwakholi – Almas – Marad – Bhenti – Dharasu – Uttarkashi – Harsil – Gangotri.

*In my opinion it is a 2 day Journey. Stop Stations will be Rishikesh or Mussoorie.

Tourist Places in Gangotri :

Bhagirathi Shila

Pandava Gufa

Gaumukh (Gomukh)

Tapovan

Gangotri Temple

Vishwanath Temple

Kedartal

Jalmagna Shivalinga

Harsil

Dharali

Bhairon Ghati

Gaumaukh trek

*April to June and then Sep & Oct are considered to be the best time to visit Gangotri.

4. YAMUNOTRI : Origin of Yamuna River

Yamunotri

Yamunotri is origin point of River Yamuna, same like River Ganga, Yamuna is also treated as the goddess in India. It is located in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand which is situated in the Garhwal Himalayas. The King of Tehri , Pratap shah originally built this temple. One of the most significant religious places for devotees. Every year thousands of Devotees come in search of peace and mostly those are commencing there char Dham Yatra as it is one of the four sites of Char Dham . The main attractions is the temples devoted to Goddess Yamuna and the holy thermal springs at Janki Chatti. Yamunotri opens in the end of april on a specific date called “Akshya Tritya” and closes after Diwali in Nov. This year the doors of Yamunotri Temple will be open on 26 April 2020 at 12:41 PM. The closing day is always on the sacred day of Bhai Dooj. All the sides are fully surrounded by mountains The Bandarpunch Mountain is at a height of 6310 mts and lies north of Yamunotri. It also lies close to Indo-China border and located at a altitude of 3700 meter above sea level.

Beautiful View of Yamunotri

It is a legendary place, which demands lots of courage and stamina to reach and not as easy as to reach Gangotri or Badrinath. Yamunotri would be a perfect place for those who love escapades. The trek to Yamunotri is magnificent, from the snow-clad peaks to the turquoise lakes, Yamunotri has unbelievably romantic allures on store for those who are young at heart. A thrilling and exhilarating location in the footsteps of Garhwal mountain ranges. The trekking route is picturesque with gushing mountain streams, boulders, waterfalls and hot springs surrounded by dense forests over mountainous terrain. But if are not familiar with walking for long then practice to walk regularly before going to Yamunotri, as it is a difficult trek. But beautiful scene, weather and holy dip in Kunds are the reward you can get after the long and tired journey.

Routes for Yamunotri :

Starting from Delhi ; it is near 450 km far from Yamunotri and take at least 10-12 hrs to reach at your destination.

1. Rishikesh → Narendranagar (16 km) → Chamab (46 km) → Brahmkhal (15 km) → Barkot (40 km) → SayanaChatti (27 km) → HanumanChatti (6 km) → PhoolChatti (5 km) → JankiChatti (3 km) → Yamunotri (6 km)
2. Delhi to Yamunotri Via Dehradun.

By both the routes you will reach at Barkot then Janki chatti which is last stop for every motor vehicle. Then the Yatra for Yamunotri start it will take 3-4 hrs to complete this 6 km trek.

There are many places around worth visiting few are mention below :-

* hanuman chatti

* janki chatti

* Surya kund

* Divya shila

* yamunotri temple

* Uttarkashi

* Narad Fall ( Narad Ganga)

 

Best time to visit is from April to June. As temperature will go from 5 degree to 25 degree. You can see rain usually whole year. Apart from all, Yamunotri is a wildlife enthusiast dream destination and never forgetting trek for any one.

****You Should visit****

*These are the most famous and most religious place, we called it Char dham. A lifetime experience you will get once you visit for this Yatra.