Pleasant is when everything goes on well as expected in a
tour. Me and my wife had a very pleasant trip of Chardham i.e. Yamunotri,
Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath via Rishikesh and Haridwar from 6.10.2017
to 17.10.2017. I would suggest those who want to go select October only to go
to these places (purely based on my experience). I have already visited in
September 2009. However, it is coupled
with receding rains. Kedarnath and
Badrinath would be very cold, but with proper clothing you can manage.
Day1
(6.10.2017)
Left
from Delhi by road to Rishikesh
 |
| Hanuman Mandir, Delhi |
Day2
(7.10.2017)
 |
| Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh |
Laxman Jhula - This 450 feet wire rope bridge was opened
on 11.4.1930 for use of travellers by H.E.M. Malcolm Hailey C.C.I.E., Governor
of United Provinces. The construction of this bridge was done during 1927-29.
The old 284 feet bridge which was constructed by Roy Bahadur Surajmal
Jhunjhunwala washed away due to left portion washed away in floods in 1924. His
son Roy Bahadur Shivprasad Tulshan has helped in constructing the new bridge at
approximately the same place of the old bridge in his father's memory. No tax
will be levied for using the bridge anytime. The bridge pillar has a plate
"Wilkins Wire and Wire Ropes Ltd., Eastwood, Notts, England 1928" on
it. The company was established in 1850. Later in 1922 this was named as
mentioned in the bridge. After
registering for chardham trip at a biometric centre (which is nowadays
mandatory), reached in the night Barkot, our base camp for Yamunotri.
 |
| Yamunotri Temple |
Day3
(8.10.2017)
Yamunotri
is the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the Goddess Yamuna. It is
situated at an altitude of 3,293 metres (10,804 ft). The sacred shrine is the
westernmost shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas, perched atop a flank of Bandar
Poonch Parvat. The actual source of Yamuna, a frozen lake of ice and glacier
(Champasar Glacier) located on the Kalind Mountain at a height of 4,421 m above
sea level is not frequented generally as it is not accessible; hence the shrine
has been located on the foot of the hill. The approach is extremely difficult.
Day4 (9.10.2017)
On our way to Uttarkashi, we saw Dhari Devi, Tehri Dam, Uttarkashi
Vishwanath Mandir. Dhari Devi is a temple on the banks of
the Alaknanda river in the Garhwal Region. It houses the upper half of an
idol of the goddess Dhari that, according to local lore, changes in
appearance during the day from a girl, to a woman, and then to an old lady. The
idol's lower half is located in Kalimath where mata is prayed in Kali
Roop. This shrine is one of 108 shakti sthals in India, as numbered by Srimad
Devi Bhagwat. Dhari Devi is revered as the protector of the Char Dhams.
 |
| Dhari Devi Mandir |
A legend is that Dhari Devi, guardian deity of
Uttarakhand, whose idol was removed from her temple shifted at about 7.30 pm on
Sunday, 16 June 2013 by priests and locals, few hours before the cloudburst. As
per believers, Uttarakhand had to face the Goddess’ ire as she was shifted from
her ‘moolsthan’ (original abode) to make way for a 330 MW hydel project. A
similar attempt in 1882 by a local king had resulted in a landslide that had
flattened Kedarnath.
The Tehri Dam of Uttarakhand is the highest dam in India, 2nd highest in Asia
and 8th highest in World. It is on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri Garhwal in
Uttarakhand. The dam is expected to generate about 2400 megawatts of
electricity. The total cost associated with the Tehri Dam project is around Rs
8000/- crores. Tehri dam is
about 260.5 metres (855 ft) high rock and earth-fill embankment dam. Its length
is 575 metres (1,886 ft), crest width 20 metres (66 ft), and base width 1,128
metres (3,701 ft). The dam creates a reservoir of 2.6 cubic kilometres
(2,100,000 acre.ft) with a surface area of 52 square kilometres (20 sq mt).
The
installed hydro capacity is 1,000 MW along with an additional 1,000 MW of
pumped storage hydroelectricity. The Tehri Dam and the Tehri Pumped Storage
Hydroelectric Power Plant are part of the Tehri Dam Hydro Power Complex which
also includes the 400 MW Koteshwar Dam.
 |
| Uttarkashi Temple |
 |
| Shakti Pillar |
Uttarkashi is situated on the banks of river Bhagirathi at
an altitude of 1158 m above sea level. According to Kedarkhand 95/60, 61,
Uttarkashi was called Varnavat Gram during the time of Mahabharat. This is where Parshuram, (son of Renuka and
Jamdagni) performed strict penance to gain control over anger. This town was
also the capital of Naga Kings from 1st Century till 5th
Century AD. The Shakti Pillar of approximately 6 meter in height that stand in
front of the Vishwanath temple has etchings about Naga Kings family tree and
its unique feature (believe it or not) is that one cannot make it vibrate this
Shakti Pillar with his/her full force but it vibrates the moment you apply
pressure with one of your fingers. Uttarkashi is surrounded by Balkhily,
Indrakeel (Hari Parvat), Varunavat, Mahendra Parvat (Mahindanda) and Airavat
mountains and situated at the base of Varunavat mountain. Uttarkashi also finds
mention in the travelogues of the famous Chinese traveller Huen-Tsang.
Day5 (10.10.2017)
On way to Gangotri our first stop was at Gangnani, hot
water springs. It is also called Rishikund.
 |
| Gangotri Temple |
Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges and seat of the
goddess Ganga at a height of 3,100 metres (10,200 ft). The river is called
Bhagirathi at the source and acquires the name Ganga (the Ganges) from
Devprayag onwards where it meets Alaknanda river. The origin of the holy river
is at Gaumukh, in the Gangotri Glacier, and is a 19 km trek from Gangotri.
Day6 (11.10.2017)
 |
| Guptkashi Temple |
Guptkashi is located at an altitude of 1,319 metres
(4,327 ft) in the Kedar-khanda, in Garhwal
Himalayas of Rudraprayag. It is known for its ancient Vishwanath Temple dedicated to the god Shiva. The other well-known temple here is
dedicated to Ardhanarishwara, a half man half woman form of Shiva
and Parvati.
It has the scenic backdrop of the snow-covered peaks of Chaukhamba. Popular legend holds that subsequent to
the Kurukshetra war of the epic
Mahabharata, the Pandavas on the advice of Lord Krishna and other sages wished to atone for their sins
of fratricide and Brāhmanahatya committed by them during the war by seeking pardon from
Shiva and also pray for his blessings before attaining salvation. But Shiva was
not willing to meet them since he was annoyed with them for the unjust events
of the war. He, therefore, avoided meeting them at Kashi and went incognito as
the bull Nandi to Guptakashi in
Uttarakhand. But Pandavas pursued him to Guptakashi and recognized him in the
disguised form of Nandi. When Bhima,
the second Pandava brother tried to hold the bull by its tail and hind legs,
Nandi vanished from Guptakashi, into the ground (into a cave for hiding), but
reappeared later as Shiva in five different forms namely, hump at Kedarnath, face at Rudranath, arms at Tungnath, navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar and the locks at Kalpeshwar. The vanishing act of Shiva gave the name Guptakashi
to this place on the bank of the Mandakini River. Reached Sitapur our base camp for Kedarnath.
Day7 (12.10.2017)
 |
| Mandap at Ukhimath |
Ukhimath
is situated at an altitude of 1311 meters. Its ancient name is Ushamath. It is named after Banasur’s daughter
Usha. Usha and Anirudhha (grandson of
Lord Krishna) got married here, and the mandapa is still located here. Lord Shiva is in Omkareshwar form. Every year in winter, Lord Kedarnath is
worshipped for 6 months at Ukhimath.
 |
| Kalimath |
Kalimath is regarded as a divine place and shakti peeth.
It lies at an altitude of around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) on the river Saraswati in
the Himalayas,
surrounded by the peaks of Kedarnath.
Kalimath is situated close to Ukhimath,
and Guptakashi.
It is one of the "Siddha Peeths" of the region and is held in high
religious esteem. This holy shrine is one of 108 Shakti Peeth as
per Srimad Devi Bhagwat. The upper part of Goddess Kali is worshipped
in Dhari Devi and the remaining part in
Kalimath Religious tradition is that Kalimath is where Kali killed the
demon Raktavija and
had gone under the earth. Kalimath is only the place where the goddess Kali is worshipped
along with her sisters Laxmi and Saraswati.
A peculiar thing about the temple is that there is no idol that is worshipped
here, instead, the Shri Yantra, is the object of devotion.
According to Hindu mythology, Triyuginarayan is the venue
of the celestial marriage of Shiva and Parvati, during the Satya Yuga,
witnessed in the presence of the holy fire that still burns eternally in front
of the temple in a Havana-kund. Vishnu formalized the wedding and acted as
Parvati's brother in the ceremonies, while the creator-god Brahma acted
as the priest of the wedding, that was witnessed by all the sages of the times.
The exact location of the wedding is marked by a stone called Brahma Shila, in
front of the temple. The greatness of this place is also recorded in
a sthala-purana (a
scripture specific to a pilgrimage centre).
The Triyuginarayan temple resembles the temple of Kedarnath in
architectural style and hence attracts a lot of devotees. It is believed to
have been built by Adi Shankaracharya. The shrine houses a silver,
2 feet image of god Vishnu (Narayana), accompanied with consort - goddess of
wealth Laxmi and
the goddess of music and learning - Saraswati.
In front of the temple, the havana-kund with the eternal flame - the witness of
the wedding of Shiva and Parvati - is situated. A stone called the Brahma Shila
- in front of temple - is regarded as the exact spot of the divine marriage.[The ponds of Rudra Kund, Vishnu
Kund, Brahma Kund, where the Gods bathed at the time of Shiva-Parvati
Wedding. The water in these kunds flow
from Saraswati Kund which is said to have sprang from Lord Vishnu’s Navel.
Day8 (13.10.2017)
Kedarnath
temple, at a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), on the shores of Mandakini river, a
tributary of Ganga, is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date. Due to
extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between April-end to
October-end. The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be
reached by a 16 kilometres uphill trek from Gaurikund. Helicopter, Pony and
manchan (doli) service is available. The temple was built by Pandavas and
revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest
Hindu shrines of Shiva.
 |
| Kedarnath |
 |
| Kedarnath side view |
 |
| The stone which diverted the cloudburst on both sides of the temple, Kedarnath |
Day9 (14.10.2017)
Reached Badrinath in the evening
Day10 (15.10.2017)
Badrinath is at an altitude of
3,100 metres (10,170 feet) on the banks of the Alaknanda River. The town lies
between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges 9 km east of Nilkantha peak. According to legend, Lord Shankar discovered
a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan made of Saligram stone in the
Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot
springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the
present temple.
 |
| Badrinath |
 |
| Sun rays on Neelkanth Peak, Badrinath |
The way to Satopanth Glacier, Badrinath
Day11 (16.10.2017)
Due to technical snag in the engine of the bus, we were
held up at Nandprayag for over 9 hours which resulted in skipping of our Aarti
at Haridwar. We saw Rudraprayag one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of
Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda (on the left) and
Mandakini (on the right). Rudranath Temple at the confluence.
Finally, we reached Haridwar around 1.00 am on
17.10.2017, and Delhi at 5.30 am on 17.10.2017
