Destination
Badrinath Dham
Badrinath Dham is a significant religious shrine in Hindu mythology. The Dham is part of India’s Char Dham religious circuit, which includes Jagannath Puri, Dwarka Dham, and Rameshwaram Dham. Not only this, but Badrinath is also a major shrine in Char Dham of Uttarakhand and Panch Badri Circuit. The temple is located in the Chamoli district of the Himalayan state Uttarakhand. Positioned between the Nar and Narayan peaks of the Garhwal Himalayas, Badrinath is full of scenic wonder with a backdrop of Nilkanth Peak.
The shrine of Badrinath Dham is dedicated to Shree Hari Narayan. As per Hindu mythology, it is believed that Bhagwaan resides here to meditate. Many different legends are related to the establishment of this temple. A story describes that once Shree Vishnu sat in meditation in this exact place, and due to extreme winter, it started snowing on him. Seeing this, his consort goddess Lakshmi took the form of a Badri tree (a form of wild berry) and stood over him to protect him from extreme snowfall. Since then, the place has been known as Badri Ashram or Badrinath. The glory of this holy place is mentioned in Vishnu Puran, Bhagavat Puran, Mahabharat, and Skand Puran.
In Badrinath Dham, Shree Hari Vishnu is worshipped in the form of Shaligram along with Kubera, sage Narada, Uddhava, Nara and Narayana. The head priest of the Dham offers the offerings to Badrinath ji. The head priest of Badrinath Dham is known as Rawal, who traditionally belongs to the Nambudiri caste from the South Indian state of Kerala.
The winters of the northern Himalayan district Chamoli of Uttarakhand are extremely harsh. Hence, the shrine is closed for the winter season every year. Generally, the doors of the shrine are closed in the month of November and reopened in April or May every year.
Badrinath is situated on the banks of the sacred river Vishnuganga, which originates from Satopanth Lake. The nearby sightseeing to Badrinath Dham includes Tapta Kund, Bramha Kapal, Bheem Pul, The Cave of Veda Vyasa, Saraswati River, Yogadhyan Badri, Vishnuprayag, Shri Ganesh Gufa, Vasudhara Falls and Mana village.
The journey to Badrinath Dham starts from Haridwar. To reach Badrinath Dham, one has to travel to major destinations like Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnprayag, Nandprayag, Joshimath, Vishnuprayag, and Pandukeshwar.
Badrinath Dham
On day three, we will commence our journey from Barkot to Uttarkashi.