Kedarnath and Badarinath tour

We started our Kedarnath Badrinath journey( in fact it is called char Dham, the other two dhamm being Gangotri and Yamunotri)  without collecting a lot of information. What little information we collected was nowhere near sufficient.   I want to help you readers not face similar problems if at all you plan on such pilgrimage .

First of all, these are two holy places are located in the himalayan mountains, so it is not for feeble hearted or feeble bodied. The temperature will reach around 2 to 3°C. You will need layers and layers of warm clothes and like any other tourist place, it is swamped with all kinds of hawkers  trying to fleece you.

Kedarnath temple is at a distance of 16 km from the base - a place called Gaurikund where no vehicle goes. You should either hike the distance, if you’re strong  or you should ride a pony or you can go in a palki. 

Of course there is a helicopter service too which is extremely difficult to get and not very unreliable too. You have to book the helicopter ride, using irctc website .

Have heard at least three people tell me that while coming back, though the helicopter journeys were booked, they could not get it and they had to stay back overnight in Kedarnath. 

Let us talk about staying in Kedarnath. Kedarnath has some dormitories and  very few hotels which are ill equipped for the Sub sub zero temperature.  Again not  for feeble minded, or nor for the people who are feeble faithed .

So I skipped Kedarnath stayed back in. Sitapur, went till the foothills of the mountain and pray to goddess Gowri and asked apply her  influence on her husband to bless me.

My question is, you are taking an arduous journey, with so much of physical pains, and tell God, “see, I have come so far, walked such a long distance. All for your blessing. Now you better bless me.”

But now you or I make others to carry our big fat body for 32 kilometers. What should we ask him? When we prostrate before the God Kedarnath, who  should he bless? Us or the poor little people who carried us? 

Next was Badrinath Temple . Luckily, for me, there is not much walking involved here. You just go to the entrance of the temple, then stand in a Serpentine queue. Wait in the queue , which is  1 km long at least. And then a funny thing happened. Once we entered the temple premises. suddenly, the queue is broken and people Crowded at the steps of temple. The crowd was so bad, like it was inviting a stampede. Men, women, children, old people , everyone was standing with the God in their mind and fear in their heart , afraid  they may fall down. Or some one may squeeze them to direct swarg. 

Very few like me, were cursing the mismanagement of the crowd. Once in front of deity, we were not even allowed to look at the deity. The security was pushing us literally.

Oh Himalayan  God, help the staff to  better manage the people arrived for Darshan, So that women, children and old men feel safe, while taking your blessing.

Fellow tourists told me that,  similar situation prevails in Kedarnath Temple too. 

So that is another very important preparation, you must do. standing in a loooong queue and standing in a very crowded non-queue.