Badrinath Dham - A Famous Holy Shrines of Chardham

Badrinath is one of the holy shrines of  Chardham. Here we can see 108 incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is located in Garhwals's  silent valley on the shore of Alaknanda river. Badrinath is at  3415 metre  altitude in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. You will enjoy several festivals like kedarbadriutsav, Mata Mruthi ka Mela, Janam ashtami.

 History of Badrinath shrine

Adi Shankaracharya  made Badrinath temple years back. At first he discovered the famous idol,  Badrinarayan idol( the idol of Narayan ) in Alaknanda river. Then he kept the shrine in water of Tapt Kund. But, with time a new temple was in necessity to be built. Lord Shiva used to meditate here and Lakshmi Maa used to cover him in the form of a tree. From this, the place is named as Badrinath. King of Garhwal had built the present temple.

Places you must visit in Badrinath

one should definitely visit Narayan temple,vasudhara falls, Panch prayag temple,Geyser (hot water springs ), Mana village, Bheem pul, Alkapuri glacier (source of Alaknanda river), Satopanth trek, Pandukeshwar,Govindghat, Ghangaria, Valley of Flower, Hemkund sahib, jyotimath,  Auli, Adi badri, Malari, Niti valley etc. Snow covered mountains,plants, flowers, soothing environment attract a lot of  pilgrims every year. One should have few days in hand to visit Badrinath if you want to see everything here with devotion.Badrinath temple is the main temple that attracts pilgrims.

Here are the descriptions of some Places and Attractions Near or En route to Badrinath:

1. Vasudhara Falls

It falls from a height of 400 ft. People believe that those who are pure by heart Vasudhara fall drops on them only. Distance of it is 9 km from GMVN tourist rest house in Badrinath. There is no entry fee here.

2. Alkapuri glacier

It is the source of Alaknanda river ( famous river in Uttarakhand). This glacier is located at 4600 m above sea level in Uttarakhand. It is 15 km away from GMVN tourist rest house in Badrinath.

3. Taptkund

Taptkund is the natural hot water spring, whose temperature is 45 degree, situated between Alaknanda river and Badrinath shrine. It is just 0.5 km from GMVN tourist rest house in Badrinath.

4. Mana village

It is also known as “Tourism Village “and it is one best sites in Badrinath. Mana is the last village exists between India and China border.  It is just 3-4 km away from Badrinath. Beauty of this village allure travellers to visit.

5. Pandukeshwar

Distance between Pandukeshwar and GMVN tourist rest house is near about 22 km. Pandukeshwar has two famous temples, one is yogdhyan badri temple and another is temple of Lord vasudeva.From mythology it is known that pandu,  father of pandavas used to worship Shiva here.

6. Yogdhyan badri temple

It is situated near govindghat and 23 km from GMVN tourist rest house. This temple is one of the two famous temples of Pandukeshwar.

Distance between Badrinath and different cities in Uttarakhand and NCR region (By road trip)

Here  the distance for road trip  is mentionedin kilometers. Check out properly before choosing your transportation mode.

1. Delhi- Badrinath: 526 KM
2. Noida- Badrinath: 530 KM
3. Lucknow- Badrinath: 689 KM
4. Meerut- Badrinath: 460 KM
5. Shimla- Badrinath: 562
6. Bareilly- Badrinath: 441 KM
7. Ghaziabad- Badrinath: 505KM
8. Gurgaon- Badrinath: 561 KM
9. Kanpur- Badrinath: 711KM

Route and transport to Badrinath

According to Hindu mythology and Indian beliefs one should travel in clockwise manner that is from West to east. As per this belief you need to start journey from Haridwar first and visit at Badrinath at last. You can come to Badrinath from anywhere in India and also from outside India. Each year lacks of visitors come to Badrinath from different places of the world. It doesn’t matter where you are from you can come to Badrinath fromNorth, South, East, and West as well.

At  first youjust have to come to Haridwar. You can come to  Haridwar from your location using the information from Google or from any other tourist guide.  Youcan take the below mentioned services to reach Haridwar first and  Badrinath from there.

• Train service

You can use railway network to get reached toHaridwar.  There are several train routes available which connect Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun. After reaching Haridwar you can easily get any local transport like bus,  taxi, cab to reach your destination. Journey  through train can be time taking but it is no doubt  pocket friendly.

• Air service

you can take air services towards your journey to Badrinath. There is a famous airport in Dehradun, named jolly grant airport. Reaching  the mentioned airport you can take helicopters to visit Badrinath for your own ease of travelling. Air services take less time to make you reach to Badrinath but it is costly in comparison to the train services.

• Rental Self drive car

You can also take self drive cars for rent. If you want privacy with your family om journey and enjoy pleasant cool weather and scenery you must choose self drive cars.Before going for the self drive cars for rent check out the best deals.

How to Reach Badrinathfrom Delhi

1. If you are going by road you have to come to Haridwar or Rishikesh first, due to unavailability of direct busses from Delhi to Badrinath. You can easily get any bus, ac Volvo to reach Rishikesh or Haridwar. Then take bus or taxi to reach Badrinath.
2. You can come to jolly Grant airport (which is 310 KM away from Badrinath) from Delhi and can fly to your destination.
3. There is also railway service. Several railway connections with kolkata, Delhi are available. Haridwar railway station is the nearest station (320 KM from Badrinath).

Right time to plan Badrinath trip

During the time of winter it is all covered with snow. From November to April Badrinath is kept closed to avoid mishaps. If you are planning for Badrinath trip then you must plan from July to September. In this time period there is low rush as compared to May and June.

Opening and closing time of shrine

Darshan time

You can visit temples within a particular timing only.

At morning: 4:30 AM- 1:00 PM & At evening: 4:00 PM- 9:00 PM.

Things you should know before heading towards Badrinath

• If you choose to go with self drive car then make sure you are very good at diving. Hilly areas and mountains can become hectic while you drive. Drive slowly and use break and horn cautiously and make sure you are not driving after sunset, as it can cause accident.
• Keep fuel tank of your car full when you are driving yourself. Check your car property before starting journey.
• Do not try to overtake or overdrive. If you are feeling sleepy simply ignore driving.
• Vehicles are allowed to a certain point only. From there traveller’s have to walk few kilometers to reach temples.
• You should check out opening and closing time for Badrinath yatra.
• You need to follow few basic rules like take off your shoes and cover your head before going inside temple.
• You cannot throw dust on the roads during the trip.
• Keep necessary stuffs like- proper clothing as weather can change any time, medical kit including medicines for fever, cough, dizziness, painkillers, antiseptic cream and routine medicines as well.
• Electricity can be a major issue in such hilly area, so always keep your phones, batteries charged and if possible carry extra batteries also.
• Be aware of landslide.
• If you are not allowed to click pictures don’t click then.
• Make sure if you booked hotel before moving towards Badrinath.
• You will not be allowed to have non- veg food on the tour to Badrinath.

Conclusion

If you are looking for any pilgrimage site to visit  you must go on Chardham yatra , mainly Badrinath shrine.A tour towards Badrinath changes your mind, the way you think.  It is a place of devotion. Devotional ambience of Badrinath heals you from core.