Chardham

Hi Sriram,

Chardham Temple opening dates are announced as below:

Kedarnath-27 April 2009
Badrinath- 1 May 2009
Yamunotri- 27 April 2009
Gangotri - 27 April 2009

Yeah thanks for the dates -

Well start at Yamunotri opening - obviously you would miss Gangotri opening, where the palki proceeds to Gangotri from Mukba (Dharali) with 2 days of walk and preceeded all the way by the pipe band of the Garhwal Rifles, in their tartan and kilts. But if you came for that you'd have to go back for Yamunotri and backtrack to get round for Kedar. So Yamunotri opening is also fine, arrive the day before and come up from Kausali (opposite Janki Chatti) with the Palki of Yamuna and her brother Yama. Kausali has a very old Shani Temple, superb 3 story wood and stone and the village itself is a must see....

Hari - Thanks for the dates..Any idea from which source you got this information. I was not able to find any in GMVN site.

Also..Do you guys thinks,the rush will be less during the opening dates ( May 1st and 2nd week )

I don't want to get entangled in a heavy crowd of noisy devotees..(similar to thirupathi :-))

Sriram.B

hi sriram,
The gmvnl guy at bangalore reccomended just before diwali- the best time or first or second week after the temples open. For more information contact Chennai
Uttranchal Tourism
PRO Chennai
Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd.
C/o Tamilnadu Tourism Complex
Wallajah Road,Chennai -600002
Tel.:044-25363524,
E-mail:gmvn@vsnl.com .
www.gmvnl.com

I got it from Gangothri travels web site. I got a reply mail from the admn of Badrinath Kedarnath temples committee as "The kapat of Shri Badrinath Ji will open on 1st May at 9:15 AM & the kapat of Shri Kedarnath Ji will open on 30th April at 6:15 AM. The Darshan Timing is from 4:30 AM to 9:00 PM."

First two weeks of May should not be as noisy/Crowdy as June.The weather at Badrinath could still be cold during May. I guess Visiting Badrinath / Kedarnath needs some special /prolonged spiritual contemplation.

We are trying to make it in the third week of May to Badrinath and Varanasi along with my parents, children and wife. (If HE permits us to visit HIM.)

No match to Tirupathi crowd. Thirupathi is visited by more common man from all walks of society hence the rush.

Thanks HAri. I am trying to make it from chennai..but all the trains are already full and showing wait list bookings..

Lets see how it goes ?

I got the quotation from Skylark adventures. They are quoting 12000 per person ( Travel + accomodation) for all the 4 dhams.

Sriram.B

Either go in the very first week of opening, or October. Starting the 2nd week, the crowds will start appearing.
Be assured, October is absolutely grand weather-wise. Let me tell you about my trip to Badrinath, altho that was Nov - I wandered in and out of the temple complex as I liked, stayed in the courtyard as long as I liked, looked and walked around as long as I liked - October will have more people, but otherwise not very different. During season you stand in line for 3 hours for a 2 minute darshan, no joke (unless you pay thousands for special darshan).

Kedarnath opens 30th April.

GMVN's info is up now.
Char Dham - temple opening and closing dates

If GMVN gives the Kedarnath date as 27/4, the temple committee must be right.
Er, reverse that - GMVN publicises the dates after receiving them from the temple committee - no doubt the temple committee's date is authentic.

No doubt the fact that Tirupati is in the plains helps.
Otherwise it's not as if the Char Dham are exclusive for any section of society, they wud receive many more visitors if it weren't such a difficult trip
(Phew! imagine what it must have been like a hundred years ago . I believe many people died without completing the trip).

Kharsali, sir.
Yes, I liked the place.

Quite - it's how it sounds to me phonetically, but the nuances of pronunciation will always elude me... I always like the Chardham Temple opening or closings, following the Palki up and down, along with the band - Gangotri is definitely the most picturesque and processional. It's a great site from across the way, of the Palki followed by the bright colours of the ladies wending along a hillside path.

Have anybody has experienced the helicopter service to kedarnath. My gang has some age > 60 fellas.. and I am thinking og getting them to kedarnath using helicopter.

I was able to get details on agencies providing such services,but no first hand experiences.

It would be great to hear,if anybody have used them and probably let us know which is better.

Sriram.B

For senior citizens, helicopter services is the best option.
They can finish the darshan and comeback down within 3-5 hrs instead of staying at high altitude as some of them might experience AMS during night. Also, its very cold there on top. The view from the helicopter is supposed to be very good... it takes only 5-10 mins by helicopter. By walk 6 - 7 hrs, by horse 3.5 - 4 hrs and dholi will also take approx 5 - 6 hrs.
Trekking 14kms either by walk / horse / dholi is very painful for most senior citizens.

I used the helicopter service for my parents and I did that nice decent trek. It costed around 7k for renturn joureny per person since we joined others in a group and got good discount.
Last october, the normal price was around 10k for return ticket. You can also avail one way tickets. It would be cheaper if there is a group of 15+ people. I am not sure of the price now....it might have come down aswell.

Here's a pic...

Cheers!

Haridwar in Mid-October
http://www.gmvnl.com/newgmvn/updates/updates.asp?id=2

Thank you guys for the information. I am planning for kedarnath on May 1st ( one day after opening )..

It looks like all helicopter services start only after May 15th. All are booked by our political dealers for the election campaign..

Just check with prabhatam and uttaranchal tourism and got the above reply..

Sriram.B

Which is the best route for teendham ? I am skipping yamnotri for lack of time.

My travel agency says this.

day 1 - Haridwar to Uttarkashi (170 kms)
Day 2 - uttarkashi -gangotri-uttarkashi. (100 kms - each side )
Day 3 - uttarkashi - Rudraprayag (175 kms)
Day 4 - Rudraprayag - Gaurikund - Kedarnath (Trek) 75 kms
Day 5 - Kedarnath - Gaurikund - Rudraprayag (75 kms)
Day 6 - Rudraprayag - Badrinath (170 kms)
Day 7 - Badrinath - Kirthinagar ( 200 kms )
Day 8 - kirthinagar - HAridwar.(100 kms ).


When I look at the maps, uttarkashi to rudraprayag..seems to be a round-about way to kedarnath. Is there any shorter route ?

Similarly, for Day 5 .. Is there any other shorter route to badrinath.

Any information will be helpfull.

Sriram.B