Journey
Himalayan Char Dham / Chota Char Dham
The Himalayan Char Dham, or Chota Char Dham, is a compact 20th century pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand covering Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. It links the sources of the Yamuna and Ganga with major Shiva and Vishnu shrines. The route opens seasonally from April or May to November. Kedarnath and Badrinath are also on the older all-India lists, so the small circuit overlaps the large one.
Stops (4)
- Yamunotrī · First — the Yamunā
Yamunotri, at around 3,290 metres in Uttarkashi district, marks the source of the Yamuna river. Pilgrims worship Yamuna as the daughter of Surya and sister of Yama, and cook rice in the Surya Kund hot spring as prasad. The shrine opens on Akshaya Tritiya and closes at Diwali.
- Gangotrī / Gomukh · Second — the Gangā
Gangotri, at 3,100 metres, marks the terrestrial descent of the Ganga. The 18th century temple was built by the Gorkha general Amar Singh Thapa. The actual glacial source lies 19 kilometres uphill at Gaumukh. Ganga is worshipped here as Bhagirathi, named for the sage-king whose penance brought her down.
- Kedāranāth · Third — Shiva
Kedarnath, at 3,583 metres, houses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and is a principal Shiva shrine. The lingam is a natural rock formation said to be Shiva's hump when he fled the Pandavas as a bull. The stone temple, credited to Adi Shankaracharya's revival, survived the 2013 flash floods intact.
- Badrīnāth · Fourth — Vishnu
Badrinath, at 3,300 metres on the Alaknanda, is the northern dham of the pan-Indian Char Dham. It enshrines Vishnu as Badrinarayan, a black shaligram murti Shankara is said to have recovered from the river. Nara-Narayana meditated here, and it is counted among the 108 Divya Desams of Vaishnavism.