Besides its affiliation with Shiva, Kedarnath is also believed to be the site of Shankaracharya's samadhi (achievement of beatified afterlife). The actual temple is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date - Online Booking of Ek Dham Yatra.

Visit Kedarnath is accessible only after a steep 13 km trek through a paved path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from Gaurikund, which is connected by road from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other important hill stations of the Garhwal and Kumaon regions in Uttaranchal - Ek Dham Yatra Kedarnath. The temple is open only during the months of May to October, due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold weather during winter.

Travel Information :

Airport : Nearest airport is Air Jolly Grant, Dehradun.
Railhead : Nearest Railway Station is Rishikesh.

Brief Itinerary :

Detail Itinerary :

Day 01 : Delhi/ Haridwar :

Assemble at Delhi Railways Station (Hazrat Nizamuddin) to catch your Train to Haridwar. Overnight at Train.

Day 02 : Haridwar/ Guptkashi – 205 kms :

Arrive at Haridwar and transfers to the hotel for the fresh up. After breakfast proceed to Guptkashi through Rishikesh & Devprayag. Brief Stopover at Devprayag, confluence of River Bhagirathi & River Alakhnanda. En route, Lunch at Kirtinagar. Continue your journey to take another en route break at Syalsaur. Reach Guptkashi in time for your Lunch.

Today's Route –

HARIDWAR ---- [20] ---- RISHIKESH ---- [70] ---- DEVPRAYAG ---- [29] ---- KIRTINAGAR ---- [4] ---- SRINAGAR ---- [35] ---- RUDRAPRAYAG ---- [46] ---- GUPTKASHI
Route Remarks – Stopover at Devprayag, Kirtinagar & Syalsaur.

Today's Sight –

Devprayag - Situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi, the town of Devprayag lies at an altitude of 472 m. on the metaled road running from Rishikesh to Badrinath and about 87 km. from Narendra Nagar. Near the town there are two suspension bridges, one each on the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda. The metaled road to Badrinath crosses the former by a third bridge. The town is the headquarters of the tahsil of the same name and is one of the five sacred prayags (confluences) of the Alaknanda. Tradition has it that the town is named after Deosharma, a sage, who led a life of penance here and succeeded in having a glimpse of God.

The great temple of Raghunathji is claimed to have been erected some ten thousand years ago and is built of massive un cemented stones. It stands upon a terrace in the upper part of the town and consists of an irregular pyramid capped by a white cupola with a golden ball and spire. Religious ablutions take place at 2 basins excavated in the rock at the junction of the holy streams - on the Bhagirathi known as the Brahm Kund and the other on the Alaknanda called the Vasisht Kund.

The town is the seat of the pandas of the Badrinath Dham. Besides the temple of Raghunathji, there are in the town Baital Kund, Brahm Kund, Surya Kund and Vasisht Kund; the Indradyumna Tirth, Pushyamal Tirth, Varah Tirth, Pushpavatika, Baitalshila and Varahishila; the shrines of Bhairava, Bhushandi, Durga and Vishveshvara; and a temple dedicated to Bharata. A bath at Baithalshila is claimed to cure leprosy.

Nearby is the Dasharathachal Peak, containing a rock, known as Dashrathshila, on which Raja Dasharath is said to have led a life of penance. A small stream, the shanta running down from the Dasharathachal, is named after Shanta, the daughter of Raja Dasharath and is considered to be sacred. Guptkashi - Guptkashi has a great importance quite like that of Kashi. The ancient Vishwanath temple, Ardhnareshwar temple and Manikarnik Kund, where the two streams of Ganga and Yamuna are believed to meet, are the main places of attraction in Guptkashi.

It is believed that after the battle of Mahabharata, the Pandavas wanted to meet Lord Shiva and seek his blessing. But Lord Shiva evaded from Guptkasi to Kedarnath as he did not want to meet the Pandavas, the reason being that although they had fought for the right cause, they were also responsible for destroying their own dynasty. Guptkashi is situated at an elevation of 1319 mts. The one Stupa is situated in Nala which is quite close to Ukhimath. Some local people call it the grave of Rana Nal.

03 kms from Guptkashi, the remains of Ramgarh (in Ronitpur) still seem to echo the love between Lord Krishna's son Anniruddha and Vanasur's daughter Usha.

Day 03 : Guptkashi / Kedarnath :

Post your leisurely breakfast; leave by vehicle for Gaurikund and from their join other pilgrims for 14 kms trek of Kedarnath. On reaching Kedarnath, meet our representative at Kedarnath. Our representative would lead you to hotel & guide you through other logistics at these high altitude destinations. Evening darshan and Pooja at Kedarnath Temple. O/N stay at Kedarnath. Today's Route – GUPTKASHI ---- Guptkashi ---- [32] ---- Gaurikund ---- [7 kms trek] ---- Rambara ---- [5 kms trek] ---- Garudchati (Hanuman Gufa) ---- [2 kms trek] ---- Kedarnath
Route Remarks - Ideal stopover is at Rambara for Lunch, take a break at Garudchati and meet the sage, who lives here all 12 months facing extreme weather conditions.

Today's Sight –

Kedarnath Temple, 1st of Do Dham Yatra: The present temple built in 8th Century A.D. by Adi Guru Shankaracharya lies adjacent to the site of an ancient temple built by Pandavas. The temple has a conical lingam - the main idol, a statue of Nandi - the celestial bull, a 'Garba Grah' for worship and a man dap for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. The temple is more than 1000 years old.

Other Important Sights –

Shankaracharya Samadhi: The Samadhi of Adi Guru Shankaracharya is located just behind the Kedarnath temple. It is said that after establishing four sacred Dhams in India, he went into his Samadhi at an early age of 32 years. The lake fascinates the visitors.

Bhaironath temple: About half a kilometer away from Kedarnathji, a small temple is dedicated to Bhaironath. It is worshipped on the opening and closing day of Sri Kedarnath Shrine. Ii is believed that when Kedarnathji temple is closed. Bhaironathji protects this land from evil.

Day 04 : Kedarnath / Guptkashi 14 kms trek & 32 kms Drive :

Leave post breakfast from Kedarnath to reach Guptkashi. However you would have sufficient time to visit Triyugi Narayan, should you intend to.

Day 05 : Guptkashi/ Haridwar 205 kms :

Post Breakfast, leave for Haridwar with en route stopovers at Kirtinagar & Rishikesh.

Day 06 :

Haridwar/ Delhi 215 kms