Chardham is a major pilgrimage of India. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are together called Chardham. These four holy fanes are situated at Uttarakhand. And there are many Hindu joss houses are scattered around Uttarakhand and this is why Uttarakhand is called ‘Devbhumi’ or ‘adobe of gods’. It is one of the most important centres of religious travel throughout India. Huge numbers of devotees from every corner of India take part in Chardham Yatra to remove the odds and sin made by them wittingly or unwittingly. The Chardham Yatra starts with Yamunotri and then Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath respectively. For people, who have lack of time or have financial issues, Chardham Yatra is split into Do-dham Yatra for them. In Do-dham it covers Yamunotri, Gangotri or Kedarnath, Badrinath.
Vishnu is idolized in Badrinath. But several deities and saints have been placed inside the temple. The temple was found at a city, named Badrinath, in Uttarakhand, on the bank of Alakananda stream. According to an other belief, the temple was a Buddhist temple up to the eighth century after which Adi Shankar converted it into a Hindu temple. The temple Badrinath is additionally opened for pilgrims from April to November. Badrinath has a record of most visiting temple in India . Badrinath is a city rich in sacred stories of many ancient Hindu scriptures. There’s no history concerning this temple, the mythological story says that Vishnudeb once sat here to meditate. Badrinath is also called as Vishal Badri. Badrinath Temple has a heated pool, a hot water spring which is believed to have medicinal value.
In the Vamana Puran it is written that the 5th incarnation of Lord Vishnu used to sit on meditation here with the great saints like Gautama Kashyap, Kapila Muni. Medieval religious scholar Adi Shankaracharya came here to study and meditate and according to the Skanda Puran, the idol of Lord Badrinath was figured out by Adi Guru Shankaracharya from Narad Kund at Badrinath.
Lord Shiva is idolized as Kedarnath, in Kedarnath temple. Kedarnath was found within the Garhwal region in Uttarakhand and built quite one thousand years past. There’s no direct road connected to the temple. It is told that the Characters of Pandavas was going to Kailash visiting Lord Shiva to get rid of the guilt of killing people in the war of Kurukshetra. Pilgrims have to be compelled to walk nearly 19 kilometres through uneven, sacred methods. In 2013 Uttarakhand was hit by a huge Natural disaster and it destroyed almost everything, but the incredible thing is the Kedarnath temple was safe and steady. This incident left a mark on Hindu pilgrims about deity and a tendency was increased to go for Chardham Yatra. Actually a huge rock between the ruins worked as a barrier that protected the temple from flood.
Gangotri and Yamunotri are 2 origins of the stream Ganga and stream Yamuna severally. These 2 destinations have a high pietism among Hindus. Said in Hindu mythology, Gangotri was an area where King Bhagirath created a vow, when that the Ganga lessened to earth. Yamunotri is that the place where pilgrims obtain the blessings of Yamuna, the ‘god of death’ Yama’s sister. According to Hindu legends, Goddess Ganga, has a form of a river to dispel the sins of King Bhagirath’s ancestries.
Take a time of 11 to 13 days to complete the full Chardham Yatra. And the Chardham Yatra should be like this-
First reach to Haridwar, spend 2 nights there and enjoy the holy city.
After 2 days reach Barkot from Haridwar. It covers 215kms routes and takes 7hrs. Stay 2 nights at Barkot. Overnight stay at hotels in Barkot.
Next day depart from Barkot for Yamunotri at dawn. First go Janaki Chatti, from where you travel to your first Chardham destination, Yamunotri. You have to trek 7 km through Phul chatti and Hanuman chatti. Reaching there dip yourself in the hot spring and worship at the sacred Yamunotri. Get back to Barkot at the same day.
After spending 2 nights in Barkot, move toward Uttarkashi, which is 82 km away and will take 5 hrs. Spend the day as you wish in Uttarkashi. Next day set for Gangotri and after visiting reach Uttarkashi in evening and take rest.
Next day start journey for Guptakashi, 223 km by car and will take average of 10 hours. Stay the night and the next day you have to start for Kedarnath. To reach Kedarnath, you have to trek 18 km or you can hire a chopper. Stay the night near Kedarnath temple. In the next morning worship in Kedarnath temple and get back to Gourikund by walking. Then get your car and move to Rudraprayag. By car the route is almost 80 km and will take 4-5 hrs. Stay the night at Rudraprayag.
And next day start for the final Chardham Yatra destination Badrinath. (157 km in 7 hours) Reaching at Badrinath in evening, have rest the rest of time. In the morning visit the Badrinath temple and get back to Rudraprayag. And your sacred Chardham Yatra ends here.