Char Dham Yatra – How we did it.

Map for Char Dham yatra

Visit to Haridwar, Yamunotri, Gangorti, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Rishikesh

Total days: 15,
Journey: From and back to Howrah

The long wait was over when our train Upasana Express finally chugged out of Howrah station on the 25th of July 2008. We were a group of 13 people (including my 3 yr old daughter) destined for Hardiwar for our onward journey to Char Dham Yatra(Pilgrimate to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath is collectively known as Char Dham Yatra).
The train was on time when it reached Haridwar the next day, 26-07-2008. Since we went during the Kanwaria festival (celebtrated in the month of Shravan), the whole of Hardwar was filled with Kanwarias. Kanwarias, as they’re popularly called, are devotees of Lord Shiva. Clad in orange coloured clothes, they carry holy water of river Ganga from Neelkanth, Gomukh or Haridwar to be poured on the Shivlinga in their hometown on the occasion of Shivratri. This journey on foot, when completed, is supposed to please Lord Shiva for full-filling their wishes.

Haridwar:
On the day of our arrival at Haridwar, we had a refreshing bath in the river Ganga and witnessed the Ganga Aarti (performed for Goddess of Ganga on the bank of the river Ganga) at Har-Ki-Pauri. We had taken up accommodation in Bharat Sevashram Sangha who had very kindly provided us three rooms with basic facilities. We stayed for one more day in Haridwar for local sight seeing. The notable places to visit are Chandi Devi Temple, Mansa Devi Temple, Vaishno Devi Temple, Pawan Dham and Bharat Mata Temple. Mansa Devi temple, located on the top of Bilwa Parvat, is dedicated to the Goddess Mansa Devi. A beautiful view of the city can be had from this place. A rope way carriage operates between Upper Road, near the station and Mansa Devi Temple and the service is commendable. Chandi Devi temple can also be accessed through the ropeway carriage and combined package return tickets can be purchased to the see both the temples.

Yamunotri:
We set off for Yamunotri (traditionally the first place to see in the Char Dham yatra) on 28-07-2008. We had hired an 18-seater bus from Haridwar to cover all the four places viz., Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Yamunotri is about 234 kms., from Haridwar. The nearest point up to where buses can go is Hanuman Chatti from where one can take a jeep to Janaki Chatti. From Janaki Chatti it is a 7 km steep trek. We stopped at Barkot(49 km from Yamunotri) for our night stay at a roadside hotel and started early on the next day morning(29-07-2008). We started our trek from Janaki Chatti on the same day morning (at about 09:30 hours). We reached the temple at about 13:30 hrs. All of us took bath in the hot spring inside the temple and finished the darshan in the next one hour. By the same evening we had trekked down to Janaki Chatti from where we drove in jeep to Sayan Chatti(21 km from Yamunotri) for our night stay.

Gangotri:
Next day morning(i.e.30-07-2008) we set off for Gangotri (via Chamba, Uttarkashi), the next destination in the Char Dham Yatra. We were in for bad luck as the road leading to Gangotri was blocked due to landslide. Not wanting to give-up easily, we halted at Maneri, about 82 kms before Gangotri in the hope that the road would be cleared the next day. However, the situation was grim and we came to know from other tour operators that the road would remain closed for the next three to four days. We decided that there was no point in staying back any more and so we resumed, with a heavy heart, our journey the next day (i.e. 31-07-2008) towards Kedarnath which is about 252 kms from Uttarkashi.

Kedarnath:
On the way to Kedarnath we made a night stay at Srinagar(in Baba Kali Kamli Ashram) on 31-07-2008 and resumed our journey the next day early morning(01.08.2009). We then made a stopover at Rudraprayag where confluence of Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers takes place. We took a bath at the confluence close to Rudranath temple, which is considered holy. It was 10:30 hrs by the time we reached Gaurikund from where Kedarnath is about 14 kms uphill.

There is no motorable road from Gaurikund to Kedarnath. One has to either trek or hire a pony/ palanquin. We left our luggages (excepting woolen clothes, raincoat and some dry-food items) in a room at Bharat Sevashram Sangha at Gaurikund and commenced our trek. It was evening when we reached Rambara, 7 kms trek from Gaurikund, and it had started raining heavily. We decided to stay in Rambara at Baba Kali Kamli Ashram for that night. We resumed our trek at about 06:00 hrs the next day(02-08-2009) and reached Kedarnath temple by 10:30 hrs.

Since it was a lean season, there was no rush and we had a hearty darshan of Lord Shiva. Adi Shankaracharya’s samadhi is located behind the temple and this is among the other shrines to be seen here. By afternoon we started climibing down. While returning back too, we stayed in Rambara at the Ashram that night and resumed our climb down the next day morning (03.08.2009). We boarded the bus at Gaurikund by noon and proceeded towards Badrinath.

Badrinath:
Before reaching Badrinath we made a night halt at Joshimuth on 03-08-2009. Badrinath is about 48 kms from Joshimuth where the gates open at regular intervals to allow vehicles to pass to proceed to Badrinath. The next day(04-08-2008) we left Joshimuth at 6:30 a.m when the gates opened first. The vehicles again need to stop at Pandukeshwar (21 kms from Badrinath) for permission as from here the traffic is only one way. The road at this stretch is narrow and is prone to landslides. Drivers need to be very careful in negotiating the bends. We reached Badrinath at about 9 a.m and took up accommodation at Sri Ramanuja temple aashram.

Places to see at Badrinath: Badrinath Temple, Mana Village(this is the last village on the India-Tibet border), Vyasa Gufa, Ganesh Gufa Temple, Bhima Pul(bridge) and the Saraswati River gushing out through the rocks and boulders.

Rishikesh:
Finishing our sojourn at Badrinath, we proceeded towards Rishikesh on the morning of 05-08-2009. We stopped at Deoprayag on the way for a bath at the confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi takes place. From here it is known as Ganga that flows through Rishikesh and Haridwar. We reached Rishikesh by the evening on 05-08-2009.

At Rishikesh, we stayed at Swami Sivananda Ashram who had kindly provided us a three room apartment with basic amenities. We stayed here for three days and four nights. Guests can have breakfast, lunch and supper in the ashram itself.

Places to see: The main attractions here are Lakshman Jhula, Ram Jhula, Lakshman Temple. There are various ghats alongside the banks of River Ganga where one can take bath and also witness evening arti.

We returned back to Kolkata by Upasana Express from Dehra Dun with fond memories albeit with a slight disappointment of not being able to visit Gangotri

Information & Tips:

1. Plan your journey and itinerary well in advance.

2. Best time to visit: May – June, September, October. July-August is the lean season when these places will not be crowded due to the rains and the accommodation will be cheap. If you are visiting during this season have two three days extra in hand and be prepared for the rains.

3. If traveling in group it is advisable to hire vehicles for the full trip. Garwhal Motor Owners Union Ltd.(GMOU) are the largest transport service provider in the region with a good network. Different types of vehicles are available for hire from GMOU. They also provide replacement vehicle in case of any break-downs.

GMOU also arranges conducted tours to Char Dham and also point to point tours.

4. There are sufficient accommodation facilities available enroute Char Dham. GMVN has a good network of hotels where accommodation can be booked in advance. Many ashrams and Dharmshalas provide accommodation against a nominal donations. The notable ones are Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Baba Kali Kamli Aashram.

5. Carry woollen garments, Umbrella/raincoats, water bottle.

6. Food is available throughout. Keep handy some dry foods like biscuits, nuts, puffed rice, chewing-gum etc.

Tags: Badrinath, Char Dham Yatra, Kedarnath, Uttarkhand