“Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times”
Kedarnath is one of the destinations I dream about after watching the Sara Ali khan and Sushant Singh Raj featured blockbuster Kedarnath. As a traveler I got fascinated by the views in the movie. That day I decided to plan a trip to visit this beautiful place in the coming year and yes in October, I visited the same. Guess what ? It is more fascinating, tranquilly and beautiful in real life and I got the chance to capture the beautiful place with my eyes and camera.
Kedarnath is one of the Char Dham Hindu pilgrim centres in Uttarakhand. It is situated on the bank of river Mandakani about 3500 meters above sea level and is flanked by breath-taking snow-capped peaks.
History Of Kedarnath:
Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva who is considered to be the protector of mankind and destroyer of evil. Shiva ! Mahadev - A man, whom legends turned into god. The god of Gods. Jai Shmbhoo.
Legend has it that, after the battle of Kurukshetra, Pandavas searched for Lord Shiva to seek his blessings and atone for their sins. But Lord Shiva eluded them and while fleeing from Kedarnath in the form of a bull he dived into the ground and left his hump behind. The Hindus traveling to Kedarnath worship this conical projection.
In the front of the temple is a large statue of Nandi. The mandapa walls are adorned with idols of the five Pandavas and Draupadi. There is also an image of lord Ganesha.
The present temple, built in the 8th century A.D. by Adi Guru Shankaracharya lies adjacent to the site of an ancient temple built by the Pandavas. Guru Shankaracharya smadhi is located just behind the Kedarnath temple. Adi Guru Shankaracharya after establishing the four sacred dhams ( North – Badrinath , South – Rameshwaram , East – Jagannath Puri & West – Dwarkadhish ) is said to have gone into Samadhi here at an early age of 32 years.
Things to know before planning the trip:
1) Because of the extreme weather conditions the temple closes by November and opens at the end of April the date is decided by the temple committee . During its closure the holy statue of Lord Shiva, is carried down from Kedarnath to Ukhimath and worship is performed at Ukhimath , and is reinstated at Kedarnath, in the first week of May.
2) Kedarnath can be accessed by foot , mule , palki or kandi. It could be visited by Helicopter too which is available from Agastyamuni or Phata. Those who visited Kedarnath by Helicopter , they miss the natural beauty of the valley and the trekking. They miss the opportunity of visiting Gauri kund too.
3) Book the buses and rooms in advance for the hassle free journey. There are many hotel rooms, Ashrams ,cottages and GMVN hotel in Kedarnath , don’t expect luxury hotels here. Follow the link for more details https://www.euttaranchal.com/tourism/haridwar-to-kedarnath.php.
4) For online biometric registration follow the link https://www.euttaranchal.com/tourism/char-dham-biometric-registration.php
Our journey started from chandigarh. We did the bookings in advance. Our first stay was at Guari Kund. The starting point of the trek. After the journey of 18 hrs and trek of 5 km from Soneprayag to Guari Kund. These 5 km one can travel by taxi as well. For boosting our stamina and enjoyment we preferred to cover it by foot. We reached to hotel room around 7PM. We had our dinner and went to bed as we have to start the trek early in the morning.
Around 5.30 AM we started our trekking for Kedarnath. We were passing through the awesome scenic beauty of hills i.e. beautiful waterfalls / glaciers and breathtaking landscapes. As higher we went we found the scenic beauty mind blowing and heavenly.
There was beautiful and wide spaced roads for the trek. Please ensure to get a stick from the shops in Sonprayag, as it will be very helpful in this long trek. We reached Bheembali at 9:30 am. The path after Bheembali started to be steep and there were no more clean roads like what we saw from the starting point of Gaurikund. We reached base camp by 1 pm. Our stay was just 1 km from the temple. After taking a bath and having rest we attended the evening Arti. It was freezing and getting colder but the view and peace took away every worry. After having our dinner we went to our dormitory as we have to get up early in the morning for the Darshan so we slept.
Early in the morning around 5:30 we went for the Darshans, we found a huge queue but patiently we waited for our turn. Although some of the Pandits of Kedarnath ji were offering the special darshan by taking money but I will suggest don’t follow them if it’s not an emergency as they just breaking the rules by providing illegal entry from exit door. Rather than preferring the shortcuts, enjoy the view and heavenly breath of the surrounding. After the darshans we went to the Bhairava temple which is 1.5 km from the Kedarnath ji Temple. The view from the top was breathtaking. After having our breakfast we started our way back to end this beautiful journey. It took around 5-6 hrs to reach Guari Kund from there we again queued for taxi to reach Soneprayag.
We boarded our bus 6 in the morning and after 18 hrs of journey we reached back to Chandigarh. We ended our trip with new memories, experiences and more stories.
Note : Food is expensive throughout all the way from Guari Kund to top. Please do not litter in the mountains during the trek.
