Chota Char Dham

There are four abodes in Himalayas collectively

referred as “CHOTA CHAR DHAM”, which

includes four holy shrines of Hindus Badrinath,

Kedarnath, Gangotri & Yamunotri. All of these

temples are situated within the Garwhal region of

Uttarakhand.

Among 4 sacred sites Kedarnath is dedicated to

Lord Shiva while Badrinath is dedicated to lord

Vishnu. On the other hand Yamunotri and

Gangotri are dedicated to Goddess Ganga and

Yamuna rivers respectively.

DELHI - HARIDWAR - BARKOT - YAMUNOTRI -

UTTARKASHI - GANGOTRI - GUPTKASHI -

KEDARNATH - BADRINATH - RISHIKESH -

Chardham Route Map

Yamunotri

First stop over for Char Dham Yatra.

Origin of the River Yamuna.

Situated 3293m above sea level

The temple at Yamunotri is dedicated to

Goddess Yamuna.

The temple at Yamunotri was built by Tehri

Naresh Sudarshan Shah in 1839.

In the late 19th century, it was rebuilt by

Maharani Gularia of Jaipur.

Major Attractions at Yamunotri

The main temple built by the Maharani of Jaipur

is the center of attraction at Yamunotri.

Divyasheel' is the stone placed before the

temple and it is a ritual to worship it before

entering the sanctum

Surya Kund, a hot water spring- where the

temperature reaches 88 degrees.

Saptrishi Kund or the origin of the Yamuna,

there is a 12km trek

The Hanuman Kund is about a kilometre away

How to reach?

By air-nearest airport to Yamunotri is Dehradun,

located 190km away.

By Railways-nearest railhead is at Rishikesh, 202

km away from Yamunotri.

By Road-There are taxies and buses available.

Further the trek to the temple is about 14kms

from Hanuman Chatti and 6 kms from Janki

Chatti.

Images of Yamunotri temple

Gangotri

The Gangotri Temple is situated on the right

banks of the Bhagirathi river.

This temple is dedicated to the goddess Ganga.

This temple is situated at a height of 3140 meters

The original temple was constructed by the

Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa in the early

18th century and later rebuilt by the Maharaja of

Jaipur.

Major Attractions

Bhagirath Shila- where Raja Bhagirath used to

worship Shiva is situated near the temple.

Shivlinga-There is a natural rock Shivling which

is submerged in the river and an amazing place

to visit.

Gaumukh-The Gaumukh (Cow's Mouth) is the

snout of the Gangotri Glacier and the source of

the Bhagirathi river. The Gangotri glacier is

situated at a height of 4255 meters and 18 kms

away.

How to reach Gangotri?

By Air: The nearest airport is in Dehradun,

situated about 226 kms from Gangotri.

By Rail: The nearest railway station is located in

Rishikesh, about 249 kms.

By Road: Gangotri is well connected by road to

Rishikesh, Dehra Dun, Haridwar and Delhi.

Gaumukh Glacier

Images at Gangotri

Kedarnath

Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is one of the most

prominent sacred pilgrimages, particularly for the

Hindus.

Kedarnath is located in the Himalayas, about

3,583 m above sea level

The temple was built by Pandavas and revived

by Adi Sankaracharya in 8th Century.

One of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva

Major Attractions

Gaurikund :- At a distance of 5kms from

Sonprayag and at an altitude of 1982 meters.,

one can take bath in the hot water pond here and

visit the Gauri Temple. This is the place where

Goddess Parvathi meditated to attain Lord Shiva.

Triyugnarayan- where wedding of lord shiva and

parvati was solemnised.

How to reach?

By Air : The nearest convenient Air port is Delhi and

Dehradun

By Rail : The nearest convenient railway station are

Dehradun and Haridwar. These are well connected with

Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and rest of India through Rail

netwaork.

By Road : Kedarnath is connected by road with

Badrinath (242 KM), Dehradun (268 KM), Delhi (450

KM), Haridwar (250 KM), Kotdwar (256 KM), and

Rishikesh (226 KM).

Route : Rishikesh to Kedarnath vai Rudraprayag :-

Rishikesh -> Rudraprayaga -> Agastamuni -> Kund ->

Gupta kashi -> Phata -> Soneprayag -> Gauri Kund.

Images at Kedarnath

1880 2012

Kedarnath 2014

Images

Gaurikund Triyugnarayan

Badrinath Badrinath temple is one of the famous shrines of

Chardham Yatra dedicated to Lord Vishnu

Badrinath has an average elevation of 3,100 metres

The major attraction of Badrinath Dham is the one meter tall statue of Vishnu in the form of Lord Badrinarayan.

The temple's was built by the Kings of Garhwalabout two centuries ago.

The temple has three sections - Garbhagriha(Sanctum), The Darshan Mandap, and SabhaMandap. The Garbhagriha (Sanctum) houses Lord Badri Narayan, Kuber (God of wealth), Narad Rishi, Uthavar, Nar & Narayan.

Major attractions

The pilgrimage centre boasts of two natural hot

water springs - Tapt Kund and Surya Kund.

The sulphurous waters have a temperature of

55C. A bath in these springs is believed to purify

the body and soul and is done before visiting the

temple.

How to reach? Air

The nearest airport is in Dehradun 317 km (197 mi)

away by road.

Railway

The nearest railway stations are at Rishikesh (at 297 km)

. However, Rishikesh is a small railway station not

connected by fast trains. Haridwar railway junction, 24 km

farther from Rishikesh, has train connections to most of the

major cities in India and is, therefore, the railhead for

Badrinath.

Road

Rishikesh is the major starting point for road journey to

Badrinath.

Regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to

Badrinath and

Images at Badrinath