{"id":848,"date":"2016-03-31T10:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T04:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/?p=848"},"modified":"2016-03-31T10:00:46","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T04:30:46","slug":"chardham-yatra-holiest-hindu-pilgrimage-in-himalayas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/chardham-yatra-holiest-hindu-pilgrimage-in-himalayas\/","title":{"rendered":"Char Dham Yatra, Holiest Pilgrimage in Himalayas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Char Dham Yatra<\/strong> is the holiest of journey for Hindus \u00a0in Uttarakhand \u00a0Himalayas<\/strong>, this pilgrimage starts with the opening of the doors (Kapat) of four temples, \u00a0are closed\u00a0during\u00a0the winters due to heavy snow , normally opening of doors is announced on Shivaratri.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0This year 2016 \u00a0journey starts from 8th May with opening of Kapats (Doors) 09 May\u00a0Sri Yamunotri, Sri Gangotri 09 May, Sri Kedarnath and Sri Badrinath on 11May.<\/strong>
\nThe Starting point Yamunotri<\/strong>
\nThe journey starts from\u00a0Rishikes<\/strong>h full day\u00a0road journey\u00a0passing through <\/span>Dharsu<\/strong>, <\/span>Sayanachatt<\/strong>i and <\/span>Barkot<\/strong>, entire route is full of beautiful view of snow capped <\/span>Banderpunch Range<\/strong>, Pine forests<\/strong> and water falls, pilgrims stay at \u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Hanuman Chatti or Barkot<\/strong>, where most of the hotels,\u00a0guest houses and dharamshalas are situated, it is also confluence of river Hanuman Ganga<\/strong> and river Yamuna<\/strong> . Next day one is to cover\u00a06 Kms by Jeeps\/SUVs up to <\/span>Janki Chatti<\/strong> , there are guest houses with basic facilities at Janki Chatti the trek 6 Kms .\u00a0to the <\/span>Yamunotri Temple<\/strong> starts from here<\/span> ,\u00a0 it is on the left bank of the river, a\u00a0 <\/span>hot water spring is near the temple the “<\/strong><\/span>Surya Kund<\/strong>”\u00a0<\/strong>, \u00a0pilgrims tie potatoes and rice\u00a0in cloth\u00a0 dip in boiling hot water of Surya Kund<\/strong> , so cooked rice is taken as prasad back home, pilgrims take bath at \u00a0“<\/strong><\/span>Gauri Kund<\/strong>“<\/strong>\u00a0 which has hot water suitable for bathing. Prayers are offered first at\u00a0the “<\/strong><\/span>Divya Shila<\/strong>“<\/strong> a Black stone slab\u00a0\u00a0 then in the Temple. The actual source of river \u00a0is further ahead 1 Km at\u00a0 <\/span>Champasar\u00a0Glacier<\/strong> on <\/span>Kalind Mountain<\/strong>, it is\u00a0very difficult to reach there, people offer the prayers at the temple situated at the foot hill . Pilgrims return \u00a0same day and take rest for the next day onward journey to the <\/span>Gangotri<\/strong>.
\n\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The next stop Gangotri<\/strong>
\nTo reach Gangotri<\/strong> we have to returned to Dharsu<\/strong>\u00a0and then drive to Uttarkashi<\/strong> to reach Harsil<\/strong> a 250 Kms drive,\u00a0it is a\u00a0small town\u00a0famous for its natural beauty<\/strong>, apple orchards<\/strong>, trekking routes<\/strong> to lakes and undiscovered stretches of grassy meadows. One can reach Gangotri by road from here\u00a0distance 23 Kms passing through pine forests ,\u00a0 transport is available till the Temple dedicated to Goddess Ganga<\/strong>, on the banks of River Bhagirathi<\/strong>, the glacier mouth is further ahead 18 kms trek, towards Gaumukh<\/strong>, The Ganges<\/strong> is known as Bhagirathi<\/strong> here, it unites with Alaknanda<\/strong> at Devprayag<\/strong> to form Ganges<\/strong>. Temple is at a very picturesque location amidst high mountains , towards east is the Gaumukh Glacier<\/strong>. It is here\u00a0 the \u00a0Bhagirath shila where King Bhagirath performed the tapasya<\/strong> to bring Ganga from the\u00a0heavens\u00a0to earth,\u00a0water is ice cold here\u00a0, it is difficult to stay in water for even half a minute. This place is at a height of 3142 meters<\/strong> . Those who want to trek to Gaumukh can spend two more days, which needs clearance from the local authorities, the trek passes through Chirwasa<\/strong> and Bhojwasa<\/strong>, Gaumukh is one of the Largest Glacier in the World<\/strong>, on the way one can find the Ibexes<\/strong>(Snow Goat) grazing on high mountains, the opening of glacier to from where it releases water to form Bhagirathi is a shape of Cows mouth\u00a0that is\u00a0why it is called Gaumukh. From here one can have a\u00a0panoramic\u00a0view of mountains, Shivaling<\/strong> (6540 meters), Meru<\/strong> (6660 meters) and Bhagirathi<\/strong> (6500 meters).
\n

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Ma Gangotri Temple<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Sri Kedarnath – Lord Shiva’s Abode<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Next place in Chardham Yatra is Sri\u00a0Kedarnath<\/strong>,\u00a0 Harsil to Uttarkashi is 69 Kms, then to Guptkashi<\/strong> is 230 kms, Total journey time is about 10 hrs. Passing through Srinagar, Uttarakhand<\/strong>, This route is followed by River Mandakini.<\/strong> Hotels, camps and guest houses at Guptkashi\u00a0are available at a very reasonable price.\u00a0Morning starts by a travel upto Gauri Kund<\/strong> , a\u00a0motor able\u00a0road or to Phata<\/strong> from\u00a0where Helicopter Service<\/strong> is\u00a0available\u00a0to Kedarnath. Gauri Kund\u00a0the starting point of Kedarnath trek is a hot water spring, here the Goddess Parvathi<\/strong> lived and performed sadhna to please Lord Shiva<\/strong> to finally got married to him. It is also the place where Lord Ganesha<\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0acquired\u00a0the elephant head. 15 kms trek from here is very tough and takes about 4-5 hours.\u00a0 Rambara<\/strong> . From Rambara the Yatris cross the River Mandakini to reach Limchuli and then to Kedarnath temple . It is at the height of 3585 meters situated near the head of river Mandakini, surrounded by snow capped mountains, it’s name is derived from the King Kedar in the Satya Yuga, his daughter Vrinda who is also an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, this temple existed in the Mahabharata period, when Pandavas performed tapasya<\/strong> (prayers)\u00a0to please Lord Shiva. It was here the Adi Shankaracharya<\/strong> took samadhi at the age of 32 years, \u00a0soon after establishing the four sacred dhams<\/strong>, it is considered a must visit place<\/strong>, there is a small hot water spring which gives relief to the pilgrims from the tiredness of\u00a0hard journey,\u00a0there are dharamsalas, camps and small guest houses, the temple opens at 6 o’clock in the morning and closes in the evening, Kedarnath is the\u00a0highest among the 12 Jyotirlings<\/strong>, it is built of massive stone slabs<\/strong> over a rectangular platform, here Lord Shiva who was evading the Pandavas hide himself\u00a0as a bull, on being followed, he dived in the ground leaving behind the hump, the conical rock<\/strong> inside the temple is worshiped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form<\/strong>, outside the temple there is a large statue of Nandi Bull<\/strong> as a\u00a0guard. After the floods of year 2013 a big boulder named as Divya Shila is also worshiped as it saved the temple by obstructing the flow of flood water to cause any damage to the temple.
\nOne has to be\u00a0careful\u00a0while staying at night here because of low oxygen concentration at this altitude. Pilgrims are advised not to exert themselves too much and\u00a0breathe normal.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nStaying overnight and performing poojas in the morning one returns to Gauri Kund<\/strong> and drive to Joshimath<\/strong>, there are two routes, one is which normally pilgrims take is driving through Rudrapryag<\/strong>, second is through Chopta<\/strong> which is the most beautiful<\/strong>, passing through dense forests<\/strong> of Mandal<\/strong> and Gopeshwar<\/strong>, from Chopta<\/strong> one can take a trek to\u00a0Tungnath<\/strong>, it is\u00a0Lord Shiva’s temple situated at about 4 kms trek from Chopta<\/strong>. Drive to Joshimath is about\u00a07 hrs. It is better to stay night in Joshimath and take\u00a0a morning drive to Sri Badrinath \u00a0a\u00a044 kms\u00a0distance is very rough \u00a0and takes about 4\u00a0hrs\u00a0drive , on the way is Gobind Ghat<\/strong> from where\u00a0trek for The Hemkund Sahib, Laxman Temple<\/strong> and Valley of Flowers<\/strong> starts.
\n\"Sri<\/a><\/p>\n

Sri Badrinath The Lord Vishnu Dham<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shri Badrinath Dham<\/strong> is the temple dedicated to lord Vishnu’s dual form Nara-Naryana<\/strong>, the temple is 15 meters tall with top covered with gold gilt roof, it is built of stone with arched windows, the main entrance is a arched gate, inside is mandapa a large pillared hall leading to the Garbha Griha<\/strong>. It is surrounded by Nara-Narayan<\/strong> peaks and in the backdrop is the Neelkanth<\/strong> peak. Legends says that to reduce the impact of Ganga on earth it was split into twelve rivers and one of them is river Alaknanda<\/strong>, the other legend is that the Pandavas passed through Badridham<\/strong> and to Mana village<\/strong> to ended their life by climbing\u00a0the heights of peak Swargarohini<\/strong>, there is a cave near the village Mana<\/strong> where the Vyas Rishi<\/strong>\u00a0complied\u00a0\u00a0the Mahabharata<\/strong>. Before entering the temple, pilgrims must take bath in hot water spring at the Tapta Kund<\/strong> and Surya Kund<\/strong> fed by thermal sulphar springs<\/strong>, the boiling hot water falls into ice cold water of Alaknanda creates the steam over the water surface. North of the temple is a Bharama Kapal<\/strong> where Lord Bharama<\/strong> is said to reside, here the last rites of departed souls are performed. There are lots of other places around like foot prints of Lord Narayana<\/strong> on rock is about 3 kms called Charan Paduka<\/strong>, over a kilometer \u00a0on the other side of river is Shesh Netra, the eye of Shesh Nag<\/strong> on which the Lord Vishnu rests is seen on a rock, about 8 km. is the source of Alaknanda the Bhagirath Kharak<\/strong> and Satopantha Glaciers<\/strong> this place is called Alka Puri<\/strong>. One can return same day to Joshimath or stay one night to visit all these places. Sri Badri Dham is also\u00a0referred\u00a0as Badri Vishal<\/strong> thus giving the supreme status among the all Dhams.
\n

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Sri Badrinath Ji Temple<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Returning Home<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One may stay a full day at Joshimath , take an excursion to Auli<\/strong> which is at the height of 3050 meters, there are Taxis available to reach\u00a0a famous winter sports destination for\u00a0Skiing<\/strong>, there is a rare medicinal plants nursery and little above one can trek to Gorson<\/strong>, Tali<\/strong>, Kauri Pass<\/strong>, Khulara<\/strong> and Tapovan<\/strong>. One can have a\u00a0panoramic\u00a0view of Himalayan mountain range of Nanda Devi<\/strong> (7818 meters), Mana <\/strong>(7272 meters), Kamet<\/strong> (7728 meters), Mount Neelkanth<\/strong>, Mount Chaukhamba<\/strong> (6874 meters), Mount Hathi Ghora Palki<\/strong>. One can also visit Vishnu Pryag<\/strong>, the confluence of River Alaknanda<\/strong> and Dhauli Ganga<\/strong> from Joshimath .
\nReturn journey starts from Joshimath<\/strong> passing through Rudraprayag<\/strong> and Srinagar, Dev Prayag\u00a0<\/strong> and reaching Rishikesh\/Hardwar\u00a0\u00a0a 250\/275 km. journey for a night stay, participating at Aarti at Ganga Ghats and to leave for home next day.
\nFor More information and packages Contact +91\u00a09810506646<\/span><\/strong>
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\nOffice contact 011 – 45725562, 45725563, 45725563<\/span><\/strong>
\nEmail : promark@promarktravels.com<\/span><\/strong>
\nWebsite :\u00a0promarktravels.com , yatrachardham.com<\/span><\/strong>
\nBlog :\u00a0promarktravels.com\/blog<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Char Dham Yatra is the holiest of journey for Hindus \u00a0in Uttarakhand \u00a0Himalayas, this pilgrimage starts with the opening of the doors (Kapat) of four temples, \u00a0are closed\u00a0during\u00a0the winters due to heavy snow , normally opening of doors is announced on Shivaratri.\u00a0\u00a0This year 2016 \u00a0journey starts from 8th May with opening of Kapats (Doors) 09 … →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,19,25,26],"tags":[60,90,133,134,193,216,217,243,257,282,326,457,467,492,522,659,685,807,810,812,831,832,864,871,920,969,991,1010,1044,1076,1176,1247,1328,1369,1515,1598,1623,1833,1996,2146,2253,2310,2341,2375,2394,2413,2485,2635,2636,2770,2822,2847,2852,2990,2992,3011,3053,3097,3105],"class_list":["post-848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-pilgrimage","category-trekking","category-uttarakhand","tag-adi-shankaracharya","tag-alaknanda","tag-anil-kumar-rajput","tag-anil-rajput","tag-auli","tag-badrinath","tag-badrinath-dham","tag-banderpunch-range","tag-barkot","tag-bhagirathi","tag-bhojwasa","tag-chair-lift","tag-champasar-glacier","tag-char-dham-yatra","tag-chirwasa","tag-dharsu","tag-divya-shila","tag-gandola","tag-ganga","tag-gangotri","tag-gaumukh-glacier","tag-gauri-kund","tag-gobind-ghat","tag-goddess-ganga","tag-guptkashi","tag-hanuman-chatti","tag-harsil","tag-helicopter-service","tag-himalayas","tag-hot-water-spring","tag-janki-chatti","tag-kalind-mountain","tag-kedarnath","tag-king-bhagirath","tag-largest-glacier","tag-lord-ganesha","tag-lord-shiva","tag-meru","tag-neelkanth","tag-phata","tag-rambara","tag-returning-home","tag-river-bhagirathi","tag-ropeway","tag-rudrapryag","tag-sadashiva-form","tag-sayanachatti","tag-ski-lift","tag-skiing","tag-surya-kund","tag-temple","tag-the-ganges","tag-the-hemkund-sahib","tag-uttarakhand","tag-uttarkashi","tag-valley-of-flowers","tag-vyas-rishi","tag-yamuna","tag-yamunotri-temple"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promarktravels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}