Badrinath is perhaps the most popular of the Chardham. Badrinath is an avatar of Lord Vishnu and also known as Badri-vishal ,Badri-Narayan etc.The average elevation is 3100 mtrs and the entire region is surroundede by mountains and glaciers.As it is accessible by road more people come here every year.
Season : Same as Kedarnath. June-July & September -October.
Route : From Haridwar direct buses are available (refer to Kedarnath post ).Distance from Rishikesh is 301 km. One can take buses to Chamoli, Joshimath as well. From Joshimath direct car-service is available to Badrinath on share or reserve basis.
Most people goes to Badrinath from Kedarnath (distance from Gaurikund 233km) but unless you have a reserved car you will not have any direct transport.From Guptakashi there are many transports going down to Rudraprayag, from where one can go to Badrinath via Joshimath. The best option is via mountain road through Ukhimath.This road is of spectacular view and takes much less time to traverse.
We followed the following route from Guptkashi. First we went to
Gopeshwar by the mountain road. On the way you can see two very popular
trekking /pilgrimage routes. Chopta is from where trek to Tunganath starts. Then you will pass through the village of Mandal and Sagar which are popular starting points for the trek to Rudranath. Then we reached the town of Gopeshwar (9 Km from Mandal).
If you visit Gopeshwar do not miss the temple of Gopinath. It is the temple where Rudranath resides in the winter.
From Gopeshwar we took shared jeep to the district town of Chamoli. From there we went to Joshimath and from there started the final phase of our journey.
The Majority of the road goes along Alakananda river. On the way you will see Govindghat from where the trek to Hemkund Saheb starts.
The temple town of Badrinath is much bigger and crowded than our anticipation.Thousands of people gather here everyday. The temple itself is spectacular ,standing tall with its gold-glit roof.It is one of the most colourful temples that I have seen.
Do not forget to take free coupon from counter before enetering the temple premises and standing in the long queue. The queue can be very long and it can take you anywhere between three to six hours to do Darshana. Keep your belongings and shoes near the temple within your line of sight ,preferably in a paid counter.
 |
| Badrinath Temple |
Route : From Haridwar direct buses are available (refer to Kedarnath post ).Distance from Rishikesh is 301 km. One can take buses to Chamoli, Joshimath as well. From Joshimath direct car-service is available to Badrinath on share or reserve basis.
Most people goes to Badrinath from Kedarnath (distance from Gaurikund 233km) but unless you have a reserved car you will not have any direct transport.From Guptakashi there are many transports going down to Rudraprayag, from where one can go to Badrinath via Joshimath. The best option is via mountain road through Ukhimath.This road is of spectacular view and takes much less time to traverse.
If you visit Gopeshwar do not miss the temple of Gopinath. It is the temple where Rudranath resides in the winter.
To enter the main temple where the deity is and perform "special' puja you have to get special permission and maybe some amount of money is involved. Anyway after Darshana look for a place to stay that suits you because it can prove to be quite a task.
