Kedarnath Temple: A Journey to a Dream Destination

The Kedarnath shrine reopens for the season on 25 April 2023 @ 6:20 am and closing on 12 Nov 2023 the Eve of Bhai Dooj. One of the most revered sites for Hindus, especially devotees of Lord Shiva, the temple has many intriguing facets. Learn about 5 of them here.

Kedarnath is one of the Hindu Char Dham Yatra (pilgrimage) temple sites. Called the Shiv-Lok on Earth (Prithvi) this Jyotirlinga is considered the most important among the 12 revered Jyotirlingam sites across India.

Due to extreme weather conditions, the Kedarnath temple takes a six-month winter break that begins with the Diwali time festival of Bhai Dooj and is reopened to devotees after the Akshaya Tritiya festival in late April or early May.

During that time, the idol is taken to Ukhimath at Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand and the priests carry out the worship there for the following 6 months until its return to Kedarnath.

The important point to remember before visiting the Kedarnath temple

All the devotees visit Kedarnath temple from all over the world. The Government of India has made the pathway to Kedarnath highly accessible to everyone, as it is a very famous attraction. The entire travel to Gaurikund has been made pretty much hassle-free, given the decent roads, a subsequential majority of buses, private automobiles, and other kinds of transportation.

• It is mandatory to register for the Badrinath and Kedarnath Yatra since you will be obliged to submit permission to sleep before beginning the Yatra.
• Both online and offline registration options are available. The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam management board has an online registration form available on its website.
• For offline registration, you must bring some vital papers, such as ID proofs to the enrollment center.
• The Haridwar train station, Rishikesh bus terminal, Guptakashi, Phata, Sonprayag, Joshimath, and Govindghat all have registration facilities.

Ways to reach Kedarnath Temple

By Air: Kedarnath Does not have an airport of its own which makes Jolly grant airport in Dehradun the nearest civil airhead. Located around 250 km from Kedarnath, Jolly grant airport is connected to the major cities of India including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Once you are in Dehradun, you can either take a bus or hire a cab to reach Kedarnath.

By Road: Kedarnath is well connected to New Delhi and Dehradun by the bus network. If you land in New Delhi the best way is to take a bus to reach Dehradun which is about 260 km from the Indian capital. Kashmiri Gate Bus Terminal and Anand Vihar Bus Terminal in Delhi are the two major interstate bus depots that run regular bus services to Dehradun. Once in Dehradun, you can take a bus to Kedarnath. Buses take about 5 hours to cover the distance from Dehradun or Haridwar. Gaurikund is the nearest Motorable area from Kedarnath. You can also hire a cab from Dehradun if you want to enjoy that lovely stretch at your own will. She is ply between Dehradun and Kedarnath and the fair varies depending upon the size/seating capacity of the vehicle.

By Train: there is no railway station at Kedarnath. Rishikesh railway station is the nearest railways head from Kedarnath. Located about 210 km from Gaurikund, Rishikesh Railway Station is well connected to almost all major cities of India and has a regular train on a daily basis. From Rishikesh, when can take a bus to Gaurikund.

How to get Epass for Kedarnath Temple

• Epass Using WhatsApp: there is also a WhatsApp number for Chardham registrations for 2023. Save the number +918394833833 on your mobile phone. Then open WhatsApp and type the word “YATRA”. It will start in the registration process. As per new government orders for Chardham yatra 2023, there is a limit on the number of Chardham yatra pilgrims.
• Only registration in the tourist care portal is needed which can be done at https://registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in/, for steps, please refer to the following link https://www.sacredyatra.com/char-dham-registrations
• For commercial vehicles, a green card or trip chat permit from the transport department Uttarakhand is compulsory. For private vehicles go to http://greencard.uk.gov.in

Advantages of Chardham registration

• Special Registration Card/ Yatra Card will issue to pilgrims after Char Dham registration
• Registration card/ Yatra Card will help in tracking en-route pilgrims
• Pilgrims can avail of government services like food & lodging using a registration card/ Yatra Card

Kedarnath helicopter booking online

Latest helicopter ticket prices for Kedarnath as per the new upgrade in charges. Book your Luxury helicopter tour to Kedarnath with us !!

Kedarnath Helicopter Tariff	Cost per person	Heli Operator
Guptkashi to Kedarnath to Guptkashi (with Return flight)	INR 7750/-	Arrow Aircraft Aryan Aviation
Phata to Kedarnath to Phata (with Return flight)	INR 4720/-	Pawan Hans Chipson Aviation Thumby Aviation Pinnacle Air
Sersi to Kedarnath to Sersi (with Return flight)	INR 4680/-	Arrow Aircraft Himalayan Heli Kestral Aviation

Luxury helicopter tour to Kedarnath

*Prices are subject to Govt Orders

Refunds & Cancellation Policy for Kedarnath Helicopter Service

• For online booking of Kedarnath Helicopter Service, the refund shall be done to the source account
• For booking against cash, the refund shall be done at GMVN booking counter from where the booking was done.
• If the flight is canceled due to bad weather, technical reasons, or Govt orders, a full refund would be done within 14 days of the flight. For refund, the Flight ticket is to be stamped canceled and signed by an authorized signatory of the flight operator and presented at the Guptkashi or Phata booking counter of GMVN or by mail to heligmvn@gmail.com. After 14 days no refund is applicable. The refund amount would be based on the below table.

Time of Cancellation before booking slot	Refund Amount
Within 24 hours/ No show by passenger	No Refund
Within 48 hours but more than 24 hours	50% of the ticket amount
With 5 days but more than 48 hours	75% of the ticket amount
More than 5 days	75% of ticket amount

Cancellation Charges

• For partial cancellation, the refund shall be given only if the original boarding pass verified by Heli Operator with stamp and signature is submitted at GMVN counters at Guptkashi & Phata or by mail within 14 days. After 14 days no refund is applicable.
• A cancellation charge of INR 200/- per passenger will be applicable and collected by GMVN as per the below table.

Refund Case	Deduction
No refund	From Heli Operator
Full Refund	From Passenger
Partial Refund	From Passenger

Cancellation Charges

• Heli Operators can reschedule the tickets. UCADA and GMVN are not responsible for rescheduling tickets.
• Due to cancellation or delay of flying/ tickets due to any reason, there will be no liability of boarding and lodging on GMVN, UCADA, or Heli Operator.

A short travelogue to Kedarnath Temple Visit

I am from Uttarakhand. We always plan our vacations around, and it was late October 2021 we visited Kedarnath. So we were five members in total and we left for Kedarnath in our family vehicle.

This trip included the Kedarnath Temple visit after that Chopta, Tungnath, and Chandrashila trek.

So we left our home early morning at 8 AM that is Kapkote a village in Bageshwar District. And since there was damage in the normal route to reach Sonprayag, we took the route through Srinagar and by the evening around 6 PM we reach Sonprayag.

So we booked a room for five people and we stayed overnight there. It included breakfast at INR 1000. There are many Hotels and Dharmshala with lower tariffs and good comfort. There we got a Map saying Tourist Guide Map of Garhwal Hills

The next morning at 8am after breakfast we covered vehicles and there is a big parking area where we can park our personal or commercial vehicles from that place we had to take a taxi to reach Gauri Kund.

So from Gauri Kund, it is a 16 km trek to reach Kedarnath Temple. There are a few shops near Gaurikund where we can purchase some necessary items like medicines or some jackets or some foods and they will sell sticks to walk for Rs.20-Rs.30.

The 16 km trek has 2 to 3 stoppages where we will get some food and water and on the way, there are some sitting places where you can take a rest in between trekking.

Anyone can go on a walk or by Mule or there will be few people who will carry you and you can reach the temple area. and the Map from Gaurikund to the Kedarnath Temple is below.

• Gaurikund to Jungle Chatti is 4 Km from Rambara Bridge
• Jungle Chatti to Bheembali is 3 Km
• Bheembali to Linchouli trek is 4 Km
• Linchouli to Kedarnath Base is 4 Km
• Kedarnath Base to Kedarnath Temple is 1 Km

We reach the destination at around 3 PM and literally the view was so mesmerizing, snow-covered mountains and the peace of the Kedarnath Temple. It was so awesome. and the best part was when the sun’s rays were striking, the mountains kept with snow. It was glowing.

The Daily puja rituals at Kedarnath Temple. Start early morning around 4 AM with Maha Abhishek and end at around 7 PM with the Shayan Aarti. The temple opens for darshan for the general public around 6 AM and there is an afternoon recess between 3 to 5 PM. The public timing for darshan at Kedarnath Temple ends at 7 PM.

Again, we booked a room near Temple and it cost around Rs.1000 which included dinner for the same day and breakfast for the next day.

So we can purchase some Prashaad outside the temple and there are many beautiful photos of Rudraksha, mala bracelets, and other goodies. We can purchase for our loved ones. And since we have to reach the Chopta by the evening of the day, we left the premises at 9 AM and by going down quite fast. Is two with each of the Gauri Kund at 2 PM. The weather was so cold we had to wear thermals inside our normal clothes so it is always better to carry thermal wear.

Here is some Glimps of Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila Trek:

That’s all from my end and for any kind of queries, you can comment below. Do share your experience of the Kedarnath Temple Visit in the comments. Have a nice day.

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