KEDARNATH TOURS

Kedarnath is a small town in the midhills of the Himalaya mountains in the state of Uttarakhand in north-western India. It is a Hindu holy town and is one of the Himalaya Char Dham yatra. Kedarnath is located at about 3584 mtrs. above sea level and lies near to the head of river Mandakini. It is flanked by many breathtaking peaks. If you arrive in the early or late season, you will most likely find your path in the morning and evening to be frozen and slippery. Then the temple and houses are all under a pack of snow and the people around packed with many layers of clothes and all chiffering, sipping tea at the teashop next to the temple. Sadhus camp on the streets while trying to stay warm by burning locally found woods.

Kedarnath hosts one of the holiest Hindu temples and is a ever more popular destination for Hindu pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. In a scenic spot at the origin of the river Mandakini, the shrine of Kedarnath is most venerated amongst the Hindu pilgrims.

Kedarnath is accessible by a 13 km trek through a hilly paved path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from Gaurikund. Gaurikund is a one day's travel by road from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other important hill stations in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand.

As the legend goes, in the Mahabharata, while on their Himalaya pilgrimage, the Pandavas decided to pay homage to Lord Shiva. But Lord Shiva was not interested in meeting them as they were guilty of gotra hatya(killing their brethren). Seeing the Pandavas coming, the Lord disguised himself as a bull. But the Pandavas saw through Shiva's disguise. Realizing that his disguise had not worked the bull tried to plunge himself beneath the ground. But Bhima was swift and held on the hind legs of the bull, thus preventing it from vanishing. In the struggle that ensued different parts of Lord Shiva's body appeared at various places in Kedarkhand. The forehead showed up at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, the hump of the bull at Kedarnath, the torso including the navel at Madhmaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar. The Indian Panch Kedar trek includes all the five shrines associated with the Kedar legend. All of them are situated in the Kedar Valley.

Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva, and the name for the stone rounded by years long travel in Ganga (Ganges River). In all there are over 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Chamoli district itself, the most important surely being Kedarnath. Kedarnath is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

There are a few small places en route from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, like Janglechatti, Rambara and Garurchatti, where you can rest a while or spend the night if the travel becomes too tiring, or if you wish to take it a bit slower and enjoy the magnificent surroundings. Just one kilometer before Rambara there is a high and beautiful cascading waterfall which crashes down the heights.

As one approaches from Garurchatti, the Kedarnath temple is visible on advancing some 500 meters. With the background of towering white mountains mantled with snow, the temple presents an enchanting sight. All around it is an aura of peace and purity. Here, the unholy are said to become holy and the holy, holier still.

The temple is magnificent in its style and architecture. It is built on a morainic ridge jutting out at right angles from the snowy range. The present temple, built in the 8th century by Adi Shankaracharya, stands adjacent to the site of an earlier temple built by the Pandavas. The inner walls of the assembly hall are decorated with figures of various deities and scenes from the Indian mythology. Outside the temple door a large statue of Nandi Bull stands as guard. Built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones, it evokes wonder as to how these heavy slabs had been handled in the earlier days. The temple has a Garbha Griha for worship and a Mandap, apt for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form.