BADRINATH TOURISM | YATRA, TEMPLES, PLACES TO VISIT & TRAVEL GUIDE TO BADRINATH

At a distance of 1 km from Badrinath Bus stand, Badrinath Temple, also known as the Badrinarayan Temple, is situated on the right bank of the holy River Alakananda. It is considered as the most holy among the char dhams and among the 108 Divya Desams. Badrinath along with Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, one of the important pilgrimages for Hindus.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped in this temple as Sri Badrinath. According to legends, the Badrinath temple dates back to the Vedic age. However, the present temple is believed to have been established by saint-philosopher Adi Shankaracharya in 8th century. Adi Shankara discovered a Saligram idol of Lord Badrinarayan which lay immersed in the River Alakananda. He installed this idol in a cave nearby Tapt Kund. It was later shifted to the present temple by the King of Garhwal in the 16th century.

The temple stands tall at a height .....

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At a distance of 1 km from Badrinath Bus Stand, Brahma Kapal is a sacred ghat situated on the banks of Alakananda River and is situated in the vicinity of Badrinath temple in Badrinath Town.

Brahma Kapal is a flat platform which is of great importance for Hindus who perform rituals and pay homage to the departed souls and also offer Shraddha to their ancestors at this place. It is said that Lord Brahma exists at this place and thus if someone does Rituals and Shraddha Karma for the departed souls of his family they get salvation from the cycle of birth and death. It is situated just 100 meters north of the Badrinath Temple.

Brahma Kapal holds the mythical belief that it was at this place where Lord Shiva relieved from his curse of killing Brahma. It is also believed that Brahma's head had fallen off from Shiva's trident here at Brahma Kapal. The Sheshnetra, Charanpaduka and the Mata Murthy Temple are nearby attractions that hold religious significance.

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At a distance of 5.5 km from Badrinath Bus Stand, Vyas Cave is an ancient cave located on the banks of Saraswati River at Mana village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Mana is the last Indian village situated at Indo-China Border.

Vyas Gufa is believed to be the place where sage Vyas composed the Mahabharata epic with the help of Lord Ganesha. He also composed 18 Puranas, Brahma Sutras and four Vedas. Maharishi Vyas statue is installed in the caves and worshiped by the pilgrims. A distinct feature of the temple is the roof which resembles the pages from the collection of his holy scripts.

There is also an interesting story related to the place that explains the broken tusk of Lord Ganesh. When Vyas was composing Mahabharata, he needed someone to take down his dictation and asked the learned Ganesha for the same. Ganesh agreed but he had a condition - that Vyas would not stop even for a moment or else he would stop writing and leave. Vyas dictating as fast as he could .....

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At a distance of 3 km from Badrinath, Charanpaduka or Charan Paduka is a beautiful rock, which is believed be holding the foot prints of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that the darshan of these footprints will relieve visitors from all aliments.

The Charan Paduka is perched at an elevation of 3,380 feet above sea level. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu set his foot on earth at this place. Bhagwat Purana says that Lord Sri Krishna advised his minister Uddhav to proceed to Badrinath with his Charan Paduka to get rid of his wrongdoings.

Charan Paduka can be reached by 3 km trek from Badrinath. The path towards Charan Paduka is on the left side of Badrinath temple. Walk few meters and on the right side you will see stairs going upwards. Follow the stairs to reach Charan Paduka situated at Narayan Parvat. The 3 km uphill trek takes about 1.5 hours to reach Charan Paduka.

The view from Charan Paduka is excellent. At one side you can watch Neelkanth Peak and the other .....

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At a distance of 1 km from Badrinath Bus Stand, Tapt Kund is a natural hot water spring located at the entrance of Badrinath Temple in Badrinath town.

Tapt Kund is the abode of Lord Agni and is famous for its medicinal properties. Before entering the Badrinath Temple, one has to take a holy dip in the Tapt Kund. The temperature of the water of Kund is 45° Celsius and there are number of hot water springs on the banks of Alaknanda River. It is believed that taking a bath in Hot water spring will cure all the skin diseases.

There is another Kund below Tapt Kund called the Narad Kund where the present image of Badrinarayan is said to have been found by Adi Shankaracharya. Pilgrims usually don't bathe here and the kund is considered sacred. Around the Kund area, there are 5 big stone rocks known as Panch Shilas considered sacred by the devotees. Narad Shila is situated beside the Tapt Kund, and it is said the great devotee of Lord Vishnu, Bhakta Narad used to live here. Garud Shila .....

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At a distance of 5.5 km from Badrinath Bus Stand, Mana village is a quaint tiny hamlet situated on the Indo-Tibetan border in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. This village is the last village of India on Indo - Tibet boarder. It is situated at an altitude of around 3219 m on the banks of River Saraswati which originates in a mountain near the Mana Village.

Mana Village is inhabited by Indo-Mongolian tribes known as Bhotias. The village has about 180 households and a population of about 600. The villagers are culturally associated with activities of Badrinath temple and annual fair of Matha Murthi. They perform an annual traditional act by offering a choli to the deity on the closing day of the temple. When the Badrinath temple reopens in Apr/May, they come and live here for 6 months to keep the culture and traditions of their tribe alive. The rest of the year they live in Chamoli.

Mana village has several caves including Vyas Cave. It is said that Veda Vyas dictated his famous .....

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At a distance of 11.5 km from Badrinath and 6 km from Mana Village, Vasudhara Falls is one of the famous tourist attractions around Badrinath. It is one of the popular places for short trekking near Badrinath.

Vasudhara Falls is surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks. The water of this cascading falls flows down from the height of 400 feet and is situated at an altitude of 12,000 feet. The falls is considered as a haunting site. There is a myth behind this waterfall that the water of Vasudhara Falls turns away from the visitors who are not pure at heart. From a distance, the water of the fall appears like milk flowing down the mountain.

The fall looks stunning during monsoon & post monsoon season with lush greenery and beautiful mountains around. March to June is the ideal time to visit this waterfall. Mana is accessible only when Badrinath season starts in Apr/May, so the best season to visit this place is between May and .....

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At a distance of 30 km from Badrinath and 25 km from Mana, Satopanth is a mountain lake situated close to Swargarohini Peak in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at an altitude of 4,600 m (15,100 feet) in Garhwal Himalayas. It is one of the well known destination for trekking in Uttarakhand.

Satopanth is a triangular lake with three corners spread within the circumference of about a kilometer. The lake is surrounded by snow covered peaks and is named after the Hindu gods Mahesh, Vishnu and Brahma. It is believed that the divine Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh had meditated here and each corner of the triangular lake is named after them.

The lake is considered to be of religious significance to the local people. There is a saint known as Moni Baba, who stopped talking several years ago. There is a common belief that he can live only on sun and air, if food is unavailable. Also some unique birds are found here, which pick up the pollutants of the lake and .....

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At a distance of 38 km from Badrinath and 33 km from Mana, Swargarohini is a mountain range in the Saraswati Range of the Garhwal Himalayas. It lies in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, west of the Gangotri group of peaks. Swargarohini is 8 km trek from Satopanth Lake. It is one of the best trails among Uttarakhand trekking.

Swargarohini is a group of four peaks, of which Swargarohini I draws the attention and lies at a height of 6252 m. Swargarohini trek is the only trek which allows trekkers to go deep inside the Greater Himalayas. This trek is famous for enchanting rocky views and exhaustive conditions. Swargarohini derives its name from the legends associated with the peak which mentions that the path leads to heaven and it was followed by Pandavas & Draupadi.

The ideal time to visit Swargarohini is from May to October. The trek starts from Mana, 5 km ahead of Badrinath. The trek from Mana village to Swargarohini .....

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At a distance of 9 km from Badrinath, Nilkantha is a snowy peak in the shape of a pyramid near Badrinath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The peak is situated at an elevation of 6,597 m above sea level. It is one of the best trekking trails in Uttarakhand.

Neelkantha, which is also known as the Garhwal Queen, is named after Lord Shiva. From a distance the peak resembles Lord Shiva sitting in meditation. It receives the first ray of Sun which glimmers the valley. Nilkantha is a major peak of the Garhwal Himalayas in the Uttarakhand region. Although substantially lower than the highest peaks of the region, it towers dramatically over the valley of the Alaknanda River and rises 3,474 m above Badrinath. Frank Smythe described the peak as second only to Siniolchu in Himalayan Beauty.

The Satopanth Glacier is on the northwest side of Nilkantha, the Panpatia Glacier remains on the southwest side and feeds Khirao Ganga, a small .....

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