How to plan trip to Badrinath – Kedarnath ?

How to plan a trip to Badrinath – Kedarnath ?

Travelling to Kedarnath
Kedarnath and Badrinath are two destinations which are located on the Garhwal Himalayan range and these are most auspicious and holiest temples of Hindus. Kedarnath doors open in the month of May and it closes before karthik poornima . The mountains surrounding the temples are some of the steepest and dangerous mountains.
Kedarnath is devoted to lord shiva and it is one of the 12 jyotirlinga of the Shiva shrines . It is believed that during Mahabharata, Pandavas came to this place and there are many symbols of Pandavas in kedarnath.

The story of Kedarnath 
It is believed that Pandavas left Kashi and reached Himalayas where lord Shankar saw them and hid himself .The place where Shiva hide is called GuptKashi or Rudraprayag, and from here Pandavas went to Gaurikund where Nakul found a unique he – buffalo .Bheema pulled the tail of the Buffalo and the face of the buffalo is called Pashupatinath - -which is found in Nepal. The hind part of the buffalo formed the jyotirlanga at kedarnath as lord Shankar appeared there.
The hills close to badrinath and kedarnath are very steep and it is very risky to drive on these roads. If you have planned the trip to badrinath or kedarnath – prefer to take a driver who is expert on mountains because the roads are very dangerous at places.
From Chandigarh or New Delhi or Haridwar or Rishikesh, you can get a vehicle on rent to Badrinath – Kedarnath which can cost you more than Rs 10 per kilometer (10 seater).

How to reach Kedarnath 
First you will have to find out if the door of Kedarnath temple are opened or not for people.
The railway stations close to Kedarnath is Rishikesh .You can get state buses or rent a car to Gaurikund(that is the last stop) from Hrishikesh .From Gaurikund you have to walk uphill 14 km (walking is very difficult on the steep mountains to Kedarnath. You can see people in midway searching for pony and on the mid way pony charge very high) or you can hire a pony.
You can go by helicopter from Phata (Rudrapyarag) to the Kedaranth temple (which is uphill) which can cost Rs 6990 for the return journey for one person.
You can get car rentals and tourist buses to Kedarnath, from where you go either walking or on pony to the temple.
From Hrishikesh to Kedarnath it is 189 km .A tour package to Kedarnath and Badrinath can cost up to Rs 8000.

Expenses in Kedarnath
You will have to spend on pony and room at Gaurikund. Room rent is very high during May and June .You should be ready to pay around Rs 1000 for room. (The owner of the room said “the rent should not go above Rs200 but only for these tourist seasons it is high.” Many travelers to Kedarnath sleep in the open areas of the hotel in Gaurikund and even they have to pay a huge room rent.

Important tips

1. The buses do not go to Kedarnath temple, it goes to Gaurikund from where you have to travel uphill on your own or hire a pony .You can even take helicopter from Phata.

2. Traffic jam can be a big problem on the way as the roads are very narrow. Traffic jams can happen anytime which cannot be predicted .The local government keeps the road passage switching – one time one way traffic is allowed to pass for an hour, and your car or bus will be stopped for an hour one or two times on the way from Hrishikesh to Kedarnath or Nadritnath.

3. After 8pm the roads are closed from Hrishikesh.

4. Even parking is a big problem in Gaurikund and you should be careful. You cannot start the journey above the hill in evening from Gaurikund and it is very difficult (impossible) to reach uphill to the temple on foot therefore ,you should take the pony at the start because if you do not hire the pony at the bottom of the hill , the price asked for pony increases as you go up. Generally, you pay Rs 500 to Rs 1000 for the pony.

5. In Kedarnath and Badrinath the temperature is very low even during the month of May and June, and you can see icebergs in surrounding mountains close to the temple, therefore, you need to carry woolen clothes to protect from cold.

6. The Kedarnath temple closes at 2 pm and reopens at 4 pm and similar timings are seen in Badrinath (where temple closes at 11 pm and reopens in the morning).

How to plan your journey to Kedarnath and Badrinath?