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| HOME > India > North Uttar Pradesh > Kedarnath | ||||
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Kedarnath Alt: 3583m (11824 ft) Kedarnath is on the bank of the Mandakini River between Gangotri and Badrinath. As the crow flies Kedarnath is only 42km from Badrinath. Over 100,000 pilgrims come here each year. It is believed that Sankaracharya passed away here about 820 AD. Kedareswar Siva is the presiding deity. Behind the Kedarnath temple is an impressive mountain range, with the beautiful Kedarnath Mountain (6,970m). Kedarnath
Temple Inside the temple there is an irregular, three-faced linga, representing the hump of Lord Siva when he took the form of a bull. It is about 3m (9 ft) long, 1m (3 ft) wide, and 1.3m (4 ft) high. Pilgrims are allowed to touch the linga, perform worship, abhishek (bathe), and massage the linga with ghee. There are deities of goddess Parvati and Ganesh in front of the main altar door. Outside the second door are Lord Krishna, the five Pandavas, their wife, Draupadi, and their mother, Kunti. In the temple is a Lakshmi-Narayana Deity, which was installed by Adi Sankaracharya. The temple faces south, which is a unique feature, as most temples face east. This temple is very solidly built. The temple opens the first week of May and closes either the last week of October or the first week of November. May/June is the busiest time of the year. Worship of Sri Kedarnath is continued in the village of Okhimath in the winter by the priest from the Kedarnath Temple. The
waiting time to enter the temple in the afternoon is about 15 minutes,
otherwise if you go at 7 am the waiting time may be two hours or more.
The main pujas are at 6 am and 6 pm. A temple was then constructed and worship has been going on here ever since. Other parts of Lord Siva’s body appeared in other places in the area. It is said that the Pandavas also built temples at these places. They are known as the Panch Kedars: Kedarnath, hump (pinda); Tungnath, arm (bahu); Rudranath, face (mukh); Kalpeswar, hair (jata); and Madhyamaheswar, navel (nabhi). Other
Places Just behind the Kedarnath Temple is the Mahapanth Trail (Gate of Heaven). It is said that from this place there is a path that goes north up to Swarga-rohini (path to heaven). It is said that the five Pandavas took this path after performing a huge yajna (sacrifice). Other people said that the Pandavas ascended from Badrinath. A path to the east of the village, to the right of the temple, leads to the Bhairava temple. Bhairava is the furious form of Lord Siva. It is a 20-minute walk. Before you cross the bridge that crosses to the town you come to a path that leads to a glacier, 4km away. The path here can also be reached by crossing the river over the bridge that is behind the temple and climbing up the hill. Chorabari Tal lake, an emerald green lake, is next to the glacier. It is also known as Gandhi Sarovar, because some of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were throw here. It takes 1½ to 2 hours to walk here from Kedarnath. About a km from the lake is the source of the Mandakini River. Vasuki
Tal (4320m) is a tough 9km trek from Kedarnath. The path begins
near the Tourist Bungalow. Past Vasuki Tal is the Khatling Glacier
via the Painya Tal and Maser Tal lakes. For this trek you need
a good guide and proper equipment. There
are basic places to stay at Rambara, at the halfway point walking up
to Kedarnath. Food in Kedarnath is basic and expensive, as it all has
to be brought up by horseback. From Gaurikund you should make sure you reserve early morning buses the night before. Even if you are told you can get a ticket the next morning, do not believe it. You have to walk 14km, at least 4 hours, up a steep incline to get to Kedarnath from Gaurikund. The trek along the Mandakini River to Kedarnath is slow and tiresome. If the sky is clear, at the 10km stone you can view the Kedarnath mountain peak at 6,640m (22,770 ft). As the walk is very tough, it is advised to carry as little as possible up the hill. Even the smallest load can feel like a lead weight after a few km. If you cannot walk, you can rent a horse for about Rs 250 one way. To be carried by four people up the hill costs Rs 900 one way. You should be prepared to stay the night at Kedarnath, as it is difficult to go both up and down in the same day. Some
people stop for the night halfway up at Rambara (7km), which has several
simple eating places and some basic rest houses. There is a hot sulfur water spring here named Gaurikund (Tapta Kund), where you can bathe. It is said to mark the place where Parvati did austerities. It is a great place to bathe after returning from your walk to Kedarnath. Next to the spring is the Gauri Devi Temple, dedicated to Parvati. There
is a temple called Sirkata Ganesh, the beheaded Ganesh,
about half a km from Gaurikund. The Skanda Purana says this was the
place where Lord Siva beheaded his son Ganesh and then gave him an elephant
head. The story says that Ganesh was guarding his mother, Parvati, who
was bathing in Gaurikund. When Siva, who had been traveling for a long
time came, Ganesh stopped him. Siva, not recognizing his own son, then
became angry and cut off the head of Ganesh. When Parvati found out
this had happened, she requested Siva to bring him back to life and
give him another head. Siva said he would give him the head of the first
creature that came by, which happened to be an elephant. So he gave
Ganesh the head of an elephant. Bharat
Seva Ashram and Punjab Sindh are basic places and some of the rooms
have bathrooms. You can leave your extra luggage at a cloakroom to your left, just after going up the steps from where the buses park. There is a Nigam Tourist Lodge with rooms for Rs 400 in Sonprayag, which is six km south of Gaurikund. Sonprayag is much more laid-back than Gaurikund, but you need your own transportation to stay there. If you know of a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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