Introduction
India is sought out to be one of the most visited countries every year for pilgrimage, and one of the famous and awaited trips is the “Char Dham pilgrimage trip”. Millions of people from all over the world come to experience this amazing journey. The Char Dham consists of four shrines that are “Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri”. It is said that one who takes this trip is washed off from all sins and attains salvation from the almighty lord.
Char Dham
The Char Dham is located in Uttarakhand within the Himalayan ranges. The Char Dham of Uttarakhand have a clockwise time schedule where they usually open up during the month of May or April and close during November before the heavy snow gathers around. The best time to visit the Char Dham is during May-June to avoid all the hassle and monsoon.
The Char Dham is a pretty tiring trip and one can avoid that by travelling via helicopter. There are many travel routes for pilgrims to choose from, but this article will lay out the most used and most adequate route for the first timers to Char Dham where one can complete the entire trip with adequate amount of rest.
1st day: Let’s march towards Barkot!
Start your Char Dham journey from Haridwar from where you need to go to “Barkot” which is approximately 215 km which takes around 6-7 hours at maximum, do stop and look at the view of “Kempty falls” and then continue your trip. Once you reach Barkot then the entire day is for you to rest, eat and sleep. There are some pretty nice hotels present there for overnight stay.
2nd day: Get ready for that dip!
Resume your journey early in the morning for the first “Pahad Char Dham Yatra” starting from Janki Chatti via “Hanuman Chatti” and “Phool Chatti” which is a 6 km trek which you can travel via walking, pony or a plaki. On the way, enjoy the green valleys of Yamunotri which is the place of origin of the Yamuna River. After reaching the destination do take a dip at “Garam Kund” and perform puja at the Yamunotri temple.
After completion of all the activities, return back to Barkot the very same day and sleep out all the tiredness.
3rd day: Head towards Uttarkashi
Leave Barkot for Uttarkashi which is approximately 84 km which might take around 4-5 hours. Enjoy the beautiful nature that surrounds you and remember to visit the “Vishwanath temple” and “Prakateshwar” caves formed from limestone and dedicated to Lord Shiva.
4th day: Time for a dip again
Early morning head towards the place from which the Ganga river originates “Gangotri” and take a dip there, the location is present among the “Garhwal Himalayas”. Enjoy the beauty the place holds and do visit the temple dedicated to the goddess “Ganga” and then leave for Uttarkashi the same day.
5th day: Let’s begin the trip to Kedarnath!
To avoid extreme tiredness and fatigue the trip is divided into two parts for the 5th day let’s focus on one of the parts that is travel from Uttarkashi to”Guptkashi,” which is around 223 kilometres, may take between 10 and 11 hours. After that, take some time to recover so that you may start the next day with all of your energy. There are pretty nice lodges in Guptkashi to stay in.
6th day: Trek to Kedarnath!
Trek to the hills of Kedarnath, enjoy the view and holiness the wind of Kedarnath provides and then go visit the temple and stay the night in its vicinity.
7th day: Your next destination is Rudraprayag
After spending the night in the temple, wake up and trek back to “Gaurikund” from where you can drive to Rudrapraya which is around 80 km and can take up to 5 hours to travel. Rudraprayag is considered the best place for someone who is heading towards Kedarnath or Badrinath. The Abode of Gods is another name for this location.Look for a place to stay and rest your body and boost up your morale.
8th day: I thought someone wanted another dip!
And alas there it is the fourth and last shrine “The Badrinath ”. Enjoy your hassle free darshan and puja at the infamous temple of Badrinath and then go for a quick dip in the “Tapt Kund” and also do visit “Mata Bhim Pul, Vyas Gufa, Narad Kund, and Mana Village are examples of nearby landmarks. There are various comfortable accommodations in Badrinath, go and take a rest because it’s time to return.
9th day: Retrace your steps
Now leave back for Rudraprayag in the morning and explore the town and visit the Vishwanath temple and visit all the places that you might have missed and remember to rest your body.
10th day: Remember that sense of mesmerisation
Collect all your experience and then share it with your friends and remember you embarked on a beautiful journey and that too a difficult one but were able to successfully complete it.
