Introduction
The Char Dham Yatra is a well-known religious pilgrim spots in India. This tour includes making a visit to 4 holy spots of India. This Yatra is mostly revered among the Hindu people and they consider these places to be holy. They believe that this yatra opens up heaven for salvation and washes away all the sins of people. They consider that this has religious implication and believe that people should go on the journey at least once in their lifetime. These places are situated in Uttarakhand which is also called Devbhoomi or the land of Lords
The four temples included in this Yatra are, and it should be visited in the below mentioned order:
Yamunotri:
This is the shrine to be visited first and it is located in a narrow Gorge in close proximity to the rising point of the Yamuna. This river is a sacred river of India and it is located in Uttarkashi district.
The story of Yumunotri is based on the God of Death, Yamraj according to Hindu Mythology is the brother of Yamuna. And on Bhai Dooj he promised Yamuna once that a person who takes a bath in the Yamuna river will not be taken to Yamlok. The person surely will achieve salvation. So, pilgrims have a bath in the river and visit this place from all over India. There are a bunch of thermal springs all around this place. These are called kunds, dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Shakti.
Gangotri:
This temple is worships Ganga,the goddess, it is the most sacred river of India. This is the second Dam of the circuit. The most famous spot of the Gangotri is Gomukh. This is the point where the holy river originates. The stone on which the king Bhagirath sat and meditated is located near this Temple in Gangotri. The tourists usually start their pilgrimage after having a dip in this sacred river.
Kedarnath:
This the most famous Temple in the whole country. With the trek being such a task, hindus take this to be spiritually liberating. This is the next destination of the circuit. As per the legend of Mahabharatha the Pandavas meditated here after the war to attain salvation from their wrong-doings. This came up in the 8th century BC by saint Adi Shakaracharya. This temple is approximately 1200 years old.
Badrinath:
This temple is built for Lord Vishnu who supposedly sat in this place to meditate, not aware of the weather, the freezing cold. Due to this, he was protected by Lakshmi who stalled above his head by taking the form of Badri tree. Thus, Vishnu named this place, the Badrika Ashram. This is the last temple of the dham.
SHORT ITINERARY
Most times people drive to Haridwar from Delhi first. Watch the evening aarti on the ghats of Ganga for the day and stay in a hotel for the day.
Next day, get ready for Yamunotri the next destination, through Barkot. From this place the pahar yatra begins. This trek takes you through green valleys, and has a thick cover of coniferous vegetation and Himalayan Shrubs.
The Yamunotri, sitting at an elevation of 3,291 meters, it is the Western most temple of the dham. Perform the rituals in the temple and you should take a dip in the holy river.
From this place, drive to Gangotri in the Garhwal ranges of Himalayas. This place is situated at an elevation of 3048 meters.
The following stop is the popular temple of Kedarnath. The distance among these places is around 408 Kilometers via road. Rent a car or travel via buses, and you can also take flights, the nearest airport is at Jolly Grant.
Apart from the temple, there are also other spots for you to check out like Anusuya Temple, Chandrapuri, Deoria Tal, Gandhi Sarovar, Vasuki Tal etc.
The final destination is Badrinath. For this place, you can get on a taxi or a bus via Sonprayag. The distance from here is 112 kms. You can also take another less popular route through Rudraprayag that is 224 kms.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
The most comfortable season to plan this journey is between April till starting of June. The weather is not really extreme during these months. Avoid coming to the place during the monsoon season as a lot of landslides occur during this time.
BUDGET
The average cost for a person slightly high but it highly depends on how you plan your travel. So, plan accordingly, try to avail the local transport or hitchhike where possible. This all you need to know.This tour includes making a visit to 4 holy spots of India. These places are situated in Uttarakhand which is also called Devbhoomi or the land of Lords. Apart from the temple, there are also other spots for you to check out like Anusuya Temple, Chandrapuri, Deoria Tal, Gandhi Sarovar, Vasuki Tal etc.
