Kedarnath Trek

Travel to India > Adventure Places in India > Kedarnath Trek

Kedarnath, as known by all is a holy place. Every year great crowds flock to this sacred land for a pilgrimage. The ancient Shiva temple is located in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. It is said to have been built in the 9th Century by Adi Shankaracharya. The pilgrimage here is believed to be one of the four most important ones in the Hindu tradition. It is 18oo m to more than 3400 m. high. Here one feels like heaven is meeting Earth, water is meeting stone and the Mortal man is meeting cosmos.

Kedarnath Trek

Ideal season to visit Kedarnath :It is during early May-end to June. You can also visit there in September-end to October.

Location of Kedarnath :It is located in Rudra Prayag district in Garhwal Himalayas.

The trek

  • Day 1
    1. Gaurikund : Rambara
    2. Distance : 8 kms.
    3. Time : 3-4 hours
    4. Level : Easy

    You have to tread a well maintained path to Kedarnath. In local parlance it is called six-footer or cheh-footiya. Gaurikund is a town of crude shacks. It holds pilgrims, porters, ponies, dhabas, dharamshalas and shops.

    The dense forests are clothed with oak, bamboo and rhododendron. They look enthralling. You will see both the sides of valley yielding waterfalls and if you are lucky one, you will also see fleeting rainbows. Here you have a savoring walk between the assiduous ascent of the infant Mandakini River.

    The track becomes a little easy at Rambara (2591 m). With some leveled ground around you can find places to camp far from the bulging crowd. You can also opt to stay at a dharamshala.

  • Day 2
    1. Rambara : Kedarnath
    2. Distance : 6 kms.
    3. Time : 3 hours
    4. Level : Moderate

    Follow a wide, rock-strewn path that ascends above the tiny valley to the next ridge and leave behind the settlement of Rambara. By now the air is thinning and progress is slow, but it is not intimidating. As you reach Bhumiadar, there you will see a grand waterfall pouring into a gorge.

    Till now you were longing to see the snow peaks but as you summit the path at Garurchatti and enter the Kedar valley, you develop the feelings of entering into a high place and feel yourself as a dwarf as you see the great banks of moraine and snow and the towering Kedarnath massif.

    Below the ground is carpeted by lavishly green grass, which is drained by countless tiny streams. At present Kedarnath is practically a township Again you have the chance of sleeping on an improvised bed in any of these structures or striking out on the trail to north. You can not stop cherishing the star-studded sky and the fragrance in the air of the Himalayas.

  • Day 3
    1. Kedarnath : Gaurikund
    2. Distance : 13 kms.
    3. Time : 4 hours
    4. Level : Easy

    You can easily walk down to Gaurikund. You still have plenty of time in hand to cover a generous road journey. You can also tread up the valley to Gandhi Sarovar which is a lake at a distance of 1 kms. Here the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were immersed. Vasuki Tal gives you more tedious experience. It is located at approximately 5 kms. distance along a goat track. The terrain is taken to be moraine ridden and unstable, so it is advisable that you take a local guide with you on this path.

    When you return from this Kedarnath trek, you feel fabulous, as you have trekked a place of religious importance. Thus, hit two goals in one shot. Trekked in Himalayas and went on a pilgrimage.