Introduction
How to plan my trip to Kedarnath?. This has to be the most most frequently asked question I always get once I have started traveling and also it makes sense because it’s a dream of many to complete the Kedarnath trek and visit the lord sitting at a gracious height of 11,800 ft far from the ground.
About Kedarnath
So, Kedarnath is one of the very famous pilgrim centers in India. Let’s discuss the history and significance of Kedarnath temple and the 2013 floods elsewhere, but just to give you a brief information. According to Hindu legends, the temple was initially built by the Pandavas, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. It’s one among the Panch Kedars and Chardhams in Uttarakhand.
Location
Located on the Garhwal Himalayan Range in Uttarakhand, near the Mandakini river, the temple is open to the public only from April(Akshaya Tritiya) to Karthika Purnima(November). The remaining 6 months, the shrine would be in Ukhimath, on the way to Kedarnath. The temple can only be reached by a trek of 22km, where one can also reach it by helicopters, mules. But many prefer to trek the distance of 22 kms and get the darshan of the lord.
How to Reach
The trek actually starts from Gaurikund, which you can call Base Camp, and one has to reach Sonprayag by bus/car/jeep and then you get a shared bolero to Gaurikund and then one can start the trek. So the first task is to reach Sonprayag and then the procedure is the same.
By Air
The nearest airport to reach Kedarnath is Dehradun, but many prefer Delhi. Once you reach either of these, direct buses to Sonprayag frequently are available from Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun, Badrinath and nearby cities to Sonprayag. All these buses start early in the morning and reach Sonprayag by evening. No buses usually travel at night.
Train
This is the most economical and convenient option. Many direct trains from all over India are available till Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun. One can also reach Delhi and then to Haridwar by train. One can reach here and take the early morning bus starting from 4AM. The ones who reach Delhi can come to Haridwar by bus or train and catch the early morning bus.
Bus
Direct buses are available by various operators to Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun from various parts of North India and can reach early morning here to catch the bus to Sonprayag. From Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun govt and private buses run till Sonprayag early morning, which can be even booked online. These are normal buses and don’t expect Volvo and luxurious buses. The distance is 240 kms and takes almost 10 hours depending on delays.
Private Vehicles
One can also reach Sonprayag by private vehicles and there is a spacious parking space in Sonprayag. The distance from Delhi is 470 kms, though the road is good until Rishikesh, later one is unpredictable.
Registration for Yatra
There is mandatory registration for Kedarnath and other pilgrim centres here. One can register themselves in the Uttarakhand Tourist Care play store app or here or send ‘Yatra’ to +91 8394833833 for registration. One can give flexible dates without any issues and also it’s free, so tick all the nearby pilgrim sites like Badrinath, Chopta Tungnath and other dhams as well.
Stay
As there are many places which you have to stay, there shouldn’t be any trouble with respect to staying in any area. Dorms, hotels, ashrams are easily available in Haridwar, Rishikesh at any budget.
Stays are also available in Sonprayag, Gaurikund but the facilities are limited and get crowded and expensive on holidays/weekends. Those are usually basic hotels and tent stays.
Hotel, Sonprayag – 7817891008
During the trek and in the temple area also there are basic rooms and mainly tents ranging from 400 to 5000 along the whole trek route. Stay shouldn’t be a problem at any point.
The trek
Once you reach Sonprayag, one has to verify their yatra pass and get on the bolero to Gaurikund and start their trek.
Once you reach Gaurikund, there are options to take mules for half of the journey or even full journey. Palkis are available (people carry you) in the same way. The third option and the best one is the trekking way. It is approximately 22 kms long and trust me it’s challenging though pretty easy and worth experiencing.
Helicopter
This option is available as well, but one has to get down at Phata before Sonprayag and this is the place to board helicopters. But the slot should be booked online which is quite expensive and also hard to get. One can book their slots here.
Food Options
The amenities are pretty basic though far developed as far as the weather and conditions are concerned. Few hotels and small restaurants are available in Sonprayag, Gaurikund. But once the trek starts, you get small shops serving Maggi, tea, coffee, snacks and paratha. Though the cost is a bit higher than normal cost.
Network
This is the best part of this trek. Jio has made a special effort to provide best connectivity to all Chardhams to boost travel and also the main reason was the 2013 floods where the pilgrims were left clueless about what was happening and network connectivity would have saved a lot of lives. The network strength is very good, not sure about Airtel.
ATM
I have observed a HDFC ATM in Kedarnath temple premise and not sure if its working all time. Though online payments are accepted everywhere, make sure you have enough cash, as charging also might be an issue.
The Temple Premise
Once you finish the trek, the temple premise is such a bliss. The darshan is open from 7 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 7 PM. Also aarti timings are 4 AM to 7 AM and evening 6 to 7:30 PM.
There is Bhairavnath Mandir at a small additional trek which everyone visits after Kedarnath.
The darshan gets crowded after 8AM as helicopters come, so morning and evening is the best time for darshan along with aarti.
Trek Difficulty
The length of the trek is pretty long, though that shouldn’t be a problem because the trek is filled with a lot of scenic views and pilgrims in all their energy. Also there are shops almost every 100m and you don’t actually feel like trekking as you don’t feel isolated and exhausted. Anyone with average physical fitness can easily complete their trek as even 60+ aged pilgrims also trek with full energy.
Weather
This would be the most challenging part of the trek and hence the temple is closed for 6 months. It would be totally bright and suddenly it would start snowing or raining. Even the roads in these areas in the mountains are already narrow, so landslides, roadblocks are common. Even in the trek, if it rains, it rains too heavily, also before you reach the temple, it snows very much sometimes, even in feets. Trekking in these terrain areas is very challenging. Make sure you are ready for all of these challenges.
Time to Visit
As the temple is open from April to November. Once it starts the crowd would be crazy, even after snowfall season, there would be feets of left out snow. Till may end the crowd would be very high. It’s not recommended to travel at this time.
The period from June to August is the season of crazy rain. When I say rain, you can’t even imagine. Also the floods in 2013 took place in June itself. The rain is extremely unpredictable and too high. Though the crowd is comparatively lesser.
The seasons from September to November are the best season to visit here. The rain is lesser and snowfall starts from mid October. The crowd is decent, the weather is pretty decent.
Conclusion
This is everything you need to know before planning your trip to Kedarnath. There is much more to be added with respect to cost incurred, ideal plan to visit Kedarnath, nearby places to visit, things to keep in mind, other pilgrim centres to visit nearby and many other things, which I would cover in the upcoming blog. Comment down if you wish to add anything to this information and have any doubts about the same. This information is based on my visit to Kedarnath and other pilgrim centres of Uttarakhand in October 2023.
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