Char Dham Yatra- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath

Four Dhams of North India such as Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath, nestles in upper Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state are regarded as most sacred places in India. Char dham can not be visited round the years as temples open only during summer every year. Official date of commencement of yatra is announced every year well before time to let people do their preparation for char dham yatra at ease. Char Dham literally means “The four Abodes” are visited by Hindus. This circuit is often called as Himalaya’s Char Dham too as the bigger circuit of Chardham includes pilgrimage centers such as Badrinath, Dwarka, Jagannath Puri & Rameshwaram. These sacred places are flocked by domestic tourists the most in compare to the foreign travelers. The biggest center for starting the tour to Himalaya’s chardham in North India is Delhi. The last foot hill to these pilgrimage centers is Rishikesh which is 230 km away from Delhi. From here Badrinath is 300 km way up to upper Garhwal region. rnHaridwar is a nearest railway head to Chardham that lies 30 km before Rishikesh on way to Chardham. Though yatra can be done by road or by train up to certain extent but one has to go through some trekking routes as well to get Kedarnath and Yamunotri dham. Wherever trekking routes come across on the way, you also get ponies/Palakies on hire to reach up to most sacred abodes in the Himalayas. rnIf you start your yatra from Delhi, it usually takes 10 to 12 days to complete the circuit by road, though helicopter services have been introduced in recent years to Kedarnath dham. A nearest airport to chardham is located in Doiwala near Dehradun. It is a 45 minutes flight from Delhi. After landing here at Doiwala airport you can start your yatra from here. rnOnce you plan out chardham yatra, one should aware of the fact that Yamunotri abode is visited first amongst four dhams. Due to some mythological belief these sacred places are visited in an order such as Yamutotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath. rnYamunotri: Yamunotri temple is dedicated to goddess Yamuna and also an origin of river Yamuna. There is a trek for six km from Hanuman Chatti up to main temple. rnGangotri : Gangotri temples is dedicated to goddess Ganga and origin of river Ganges.Abode is accessible by road. rnKedarnath: Kedarnath is also regarded as one of the Jyotirlingas of all twelve and dedicated to God Shiva. The main temple is accessible by trek for 14 km though ponies, horses and palanquins are available on hire. rnBadrinath: Badrinath temple is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu and regarded one of the most significant shrines of four. It is accessible by road up to temple. rnIn 2012, Chardham Yatra is commencing from April 24 as Yamunotri & Gangotri opens on the day. Badrinath will open after few days and Kedarnath will open in the first week of May. The closing dates of Chardham Tour will be during Diwali festival period on 13 November 2012.