Kedarnath Yatra

Kedarnath Yatra — Pilgrimage to the Lord of the Himalayas

Kedarnath is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and the most important of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites accessible from Uttarakhand. The temple at 11,755 ft (3,583 m) sits in the shadow of the Kedarnath peak and glacier in the upper Mandakini valley — a setting of extraordinary natural grandeur that has drawn pilgrims for over a thousand years. The 16 km trek from Gaurikund is one of the best-known pilgrimage walks in India: well-paved, well-serviced, and surrounded by mule-traffic, palanquins, and the collective energy of India's most devout mountain yatra.

The temple

The Kedarnath temple was built in the 8th century by the philosopher-saint Adi Shankaracharya — tradition holds that he found the original lingam here and rebuilt the temple above it. The main sanctum holds the sadashiva lingam, a triangular hump-back form said to represent the hind quarters of the divine bull through which Shiva disappeared into the earth to evade the Pandavas. The surrounding stones — Bhim Shila, Udar Ganga, and the Chorabari glacier above — are all named in the Mahabharata and Puranic texts.

The 2013 disaster and reconstruction

Kedarnath was devastated by the June 2013 flash flood and debris flow that killed over 5,000 people in the Kedarnath valley. The Bhim Shila — a massive boulder lodged directly behind the temple — is credited with protecting the main sanctum from the debris flow. Reconstruction of the ghats, pilgrim facilities, and the trail itself was completed between 2015-2020. The current trail is significantly improved over the pre-2013 version and the town of Kedarnath has been rebuilt with modern flood mitigation.

Practical details

The Kedarnath temple opens in late April-early May (Akshaya Tritiya) and closes on Bhai Dooj (November). Biometric registration is mandatory — we handle all registrations and the Yatra passes. Medical fitness is advised: the trail climbs 3,255 ft over 16 km at altitude, and the sudden altitude gain from the plains to Gaurikund can trigger AMS in susceptible pilgrims.

Drive from Haridwar or Rishikesh to Gaurikund (220 km, 8–9 hours) via Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Sonprayag, and Gaurikund. NH-107 follows the Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers — the drive is scenic but slow (especially Rudraprayag to Sonprayag where the road narrows significantly). Our shared transport departs Haridwar at 4:30 AM. A mandatory biometric registration counter at Sonprayag must be cleared before boarding the shared jeep to Gaurikund (last 5 km are restricted to govt-approved jeeps).

Cancellations must be requested in writing.

- More than 30 days before the trek start date: 90% refund. - 21–30 days before: 50% refund. - 11–20 days before: 25% refund. - 10 days or fewer: no refund, but you may transfer your slot to another trekker or to any future batch within 12 months at no extra charge.

Refunds are processed to the original payment method within 7-10 working days. Trip cancellations triggered by us (weather, force majeure, government restrictions) are refunded in full or moved to an alternate batch at your option.