How to Reach Kedarnath Temple ?

kedarnath templeKedarnath is  one of the Holiest Shrine for Hindus and is considered to be one of the most difficult-to-reach places, next only to Shrikhand Mahadev. It is one of twelve Jyotirlinga of God Shiva and also part of the Chota Char DhamYatra.

It is located atop the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Kedarnath (or Kedarnath Main) and Kedarnath Dome (or Kedar Dome) are two mountains in the Gangotri group of peaks in the western Garhwal Himalayas. In this region Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the ‘Lord of Kedar Khand’, the historical name of the region. Kedarnath is located at 30.73°N  79.07°E.  It has an average elevation of 3,553 metres (11,657 feet). The Nearest Airport to Kedarnath is Dehradun and the nearest Railway Station in Rishikesh.

Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months.

The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) uphill trek from Gaurikund,which is connected by road from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other known hill stations of Garhwal and Kumaon regions in Uttarakhand.

Kedarnath is a steep 14 km trek from Gauri Kund (horses and palanquins are available for hire). There is even a helicopter service during peak season, which is run by Pawan Hans Helicopter service.

From Haridwar every day morning buses start to Gaurikund. It takes almost one full day journey to reach Gaurikund if there are no Landslides. Bus journey is very beautiful because most of the 240 kms is ghat road journey with many mountains around and river Ganga following you through out the way.

At Gaurikund, there are some privates guest houses to stay. Garhwal Mandal owners Association’s guest house is usually the best option and bookings can be made online as well.

Once you start from Gaurikund, there is a concrete road to walk on and there is a small shop for every 200 meters where you can get.  After 7kms , you reach a place called Rambara.

The air gets thinner after Rambara and many people experience breathing trouble between Rambara and Kedarnath. This is particularly acute for people walking up. The ascent flattens out about a km before Kedarnath. Thus, one climbs up about 1500 m in the 13 KM between Gaurikund and this point.

NOTE: Kedarnath Pilgrimage has been suspended for one year due to the massive Devastation caused by Torrential rains,Flash Flood and Land Slide in the Month of June 2013.