The next stoppage after Haridwar is Rishikesh which is another 27 Kms. from Haridwar and is the actual launching pad for onward journey to the Garwal Himalayas. The Gharwal Nigam Vikas Mandal, GMVN for short has a tourist office here and during the yatra period advance bookings as well as spot bookings are undertaken by them for packages to any one, two, three or all four destinations that are covered under the Chardham yatra pilgrimage. Busses, shared taxis/jeeps etc. are also available for hire for the Chardham Yatri from this place. Rishikesh is home to many famous temples as well as shops selling curios.
Chardham Yatra is usually performed starting from the westernmost Yatra and then proceeding on to the Easternmost destination. Accordingly, the
first Yatra destination is the
Yamunotri. It is considered sacred to Hindus as it is considered to the source of mighty river Yamuna, named after daughter of Yam or God of death. From Rishikesh the journey commences and passes through Narendra Nagar (at a distance of 16 Kms. from Rishikesh), Chamba (62 Kms.), Dharasu mor/bend (120 Kms.), Bramhakhal, Barkot (175 Kms.), Syanachatti (204 Kms.) and Hanumanchatti (209 Kms.) - which is the final motorable road head on this circuit. Since the roads are not very good, it is advisable to restrict ones journey to within 150 Kms. per day to avoid over exhaustion. The GMVN has many small rest houses/hotels enroute for overnight stay which may be booked in advance. After reaching Hanuman Chatti one can hire the local jeeps which can travel another distance of 12 Kms. upto Janiki Bai Chatti (2576 meters) via Phool Chatti and this torturous journey will take upto 1 hour 15 minutes depending upon road conditions, like overnight rains etc. From here one can either trek for the remaining 7 Kms. upto Yamunotri (3323 meters) or else hire ponies, dandies or palkis and rates are displayed on the board but usually higher rates are quoted and one has to do a bit of haggling & bargaining to get the right price.
The ardous trek to Yamunotri
Source of river Yamuna - Bandarpoonch range
The panaromic view of the river & Yamunotri temple
The Yamunotri temple
Prasad being cooked in hot water spring in Yamunotri temple
Small snow glaciers - tributaries to Yamuna at Yamunotri
After visiting Yamuntori, the pilgrims then head towards
Gangotri, the second destination in the Chardham circuit. Gangotri is one of the most sacred pilgrimages as it is considered as the sources of the holiest of all rivers i.e. river Ganga where it is in form of Mandakini. Having started from Yamuntori, the pilgrims have to retract their steps upto Dharasu mor/bend wherefrom the road meanders through Uttarkashi (128 Kms. from Yamuntori), Gangori, Maneri, hatwari, Gangnani, Sukhi, Jhala, Harsil (202 Kms.), Lanka, Bhaironghati (215 Kms.) & finally Gangotri (228 Kms. from Yamuntori). I would again repeat my advice here that the roads are not in very good condition and it is best to restrict oneself to within 150 Kms. journey every day. GMVN as well as some private orgnisations have good setups of overnight rests.
After having visited Gangotri, the pilgrims next head to
Kedarnath, the abode of Lord Shiva which is one of the most auspicious pilgirimages. This place finds mention even in the Mahabharatas and the legend goes that in order to seek redemption from the sin of having killed their kins, the Pandavas sought the blessings of lord Shiva but he was not akin to this idea and fled from Kashi to live incognito to Guptkashi. However, on being detected fled to Kedarnath with Pandavas in pursuit. Here lord Shiva assumed the shape of a bull and started grazing, but Bhim detected at dusk when all cattles proceeded towards their homes except lod Shiva, in form of Bull. On realizing that his alibi had been revealed he tried to push himself through the ground but his hump or back portion was caught by Bhima and this part has remained exposed as such and a temple was built by great Hindu benefactor Shri Shri Adi Shakaracharya during the 12th Century A.D. Eversince, this place has been reverened by the Hindus as one of the holiest places of pilgrimage and it is considered that a person is brefet of all sins if he makes pilgrimage to Kedarnath.
Bridge accross the Tehri Dam near Ghansali
Helicopter service from Agast Muni to Kedarnath
View of Mandakini at Sonprayag
A view of Rambara enroute of Kedarnath
View of Garur Chatti enroute Kedarnath
The mighty mountains looking over Kedarnath
The Kedarnath temple
The temple top view of Kedarnath templeedarnath (3583 meters), can be reached from Gangotri by first coming back to Uttarkashi and from there two separate routes emnate - The first route is via Tehri, Ghansali, Chirbatta, Tilwara and second route via Srinagar and Rudraprayag to Tilwara. The distance from Gangotri to Gaurikund is a whopping 334 Kms. and it is advisable that a night halt is taken in between. From Gaurikund, the last motor head one has to either trek or take pony/dandi/palki for the remaining 14 Kms. trek via Rambara & Garurchatti.
The final destination in the pilgrimage circuit is
Badrinath. This pilgrimage is the most important pilgrimages amongst all and the place is also referrred to as 'The heaven on earth'. This hold place also owes its rebirth to the holy saint Shri Shri Adi Shankaracharya who established this present day temple in the 12th Century A.D. In this temple the idol of Lord Badrivishala is made of black shaligram shila which is in a padma ashana pose and it is said that it is actually a sclulpted image of lord Buddha. However, as per Hindu mythology, Budha is the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The other notable fact about this place is that the chief priest of this temple is from the Ravals of a specific Kerala village. It is also said that all other pilgrimages may be made many times over but one visit to Badrinath suffices and is equivalent to all other pilgrimages taken together. From Kedarnath, the distance to Badrinath is almost 235 Kms. and after retracting upto Tilwara via Agast Muni one has to pass via Rudraprayag, Gauchar, Karaprayag, Nandprayag, Chamoli, Pipalkoti, Garuru Ganga, Helang, one reaches Joshimath (188 Kms. from Gaurikund) where one has to wait his/her turn to embark upon the final stretch of journey in convoys as only one way traffic is allowed every two hours because of the treacherous route. From Joshimath one climbs down to Vishnu prayag and then through Govindghat, Pandukeshwar, Hanumanchatti one reaches Badrinath by road. Badrinath is situated at a height of 3110 meters and is flanked by two mountain ranges one either side of river Alaknanda, know as the Nar (human) & Narayan (God) ranges.
