Kedarnath, the land of Lord Shiva located in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand. It is very famous worldwide, and anyone can go there by car, bus or helicopter. If you are planning to go there then this blog is for you. The temple will be open from 17 May. You will get complete information in this blog about the expenses, food, and stay during this trip.
How to reach there?
One can go to Haridwar or Rishikesh by train or bus and then by bus go to Sonprayag. The distance between Haridwar to Sonprayag is 230 km, and the distance between Dehradun to Sonprayag is 250 km and the distance between Rishikesh to Sonprayag is 210 km.
Timing of Bus
The bus is available since 05:00 am morning to 09:PM evening from all location (Haridwar, Dehradun and Rishikesh). One can book bus online or offline at bus stand with the help of travel agent near bus stand and for government bus, ticket counter is available. The fare for Sonprayag of seating bus is INR 350 per person for offline ticket booking from bus stand ticket counter and INR 500 per person when we book online and the fare for Sonprayag of semi-sleeper bus is INR 500 per person for offline ticket booking from bus stand ticket counter and INR 700 per person when we book online.
From where to book ticket online?
One can use Uttarakhand Government's site Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam to book bus tickets online or you can also use third-party app.
It takes approximately 8-9 hours to reach Sonprayag and let me tell you that if you are going by your personal car then you have park your car in Sonprayag and you cannot take it further to Kedarnath and the fare for car parking is INR 50 for 24 hours.
After Sonprayag, you have to go to Gaurikund. The distance between Sonprayag and Gaurikund is 5 km. For Kedarnath, you can use Mule, ass or horse from Sonprayag. The fare for one person is INR 2500 for single side or you can use local taxi, as I already told you that we cannot take our car further from Sonprayag, we have to use local taxi which may be bolero, sumo or any other big car. The fare for taxi is Rs. 30 per person till Gaurikund. I will recommend you to leave Sonprayag for Kedarnath in early morning because the travel is tough and it will take time. You will reach there in the evening.
Places to visit in Gaurikund
1. Gauri mai Temple
It is a small temple of Goddess Gauri maa and Lord Ganesha. You can visit Gauri mai temple. It is small but very beautiful temple. Generally, during the tour to Kedarnath, the tourists also visit to Gauri mai temple.
2. Gaurikund Lake
Gaurikund lake is a famous pilgrimage site and it is 5 km away for Sonprayag.
Further way to Kedarnath
From Gaurikund, the distance of Kedarnath is 16 km. In Gaurikund, if you want to eat something, then you can have it in local restaurants made in Gaurkund.
If you are going by taxi from Sonprayag to Gaurikund, then again you can take Mule, horses for Kedarnath but this time the fare will be INR 2300 per person for single side. You can also hire Pitthu, they will charge approximately 5000-6000 per person for single side.
Mostly visitors visit Kedarnath by walking only. You can go to Kedarnath by walking 16 km. For this travel, you must have to take bamboo stick for support. You can purchase it from local shops and it costs approximately INR 30.
If you don't want to walk or you have a problem with breathing, then you can use a helicopter. If you want to visit Kedarnath by helicopter, then you don't have to go to Sonprayag. You leave the bus in between from Rishikesh, Dehradun for Phata. You can hire a helicopter in Phata and the fare for single person for both side is INR 6000. They will take you to Kedarnath and also will bring you back to Phata. You can also book helicopter using online website.
Walking Tour
I will recommend you to visit by walk because you will get to see the most beautiful sceneries and mountains in the way. If you are interested in photoshoots, then you have enough sceneries to capture.
You can see River Mandakini, Glacier, Mountains, Overbridge on Mandakini River and many more. In your way, you will also get small stalls for tea and snacks. You will also get washrooms in your way and also First aid centers. The average timing of walking is 7-8 hours approximately including rest in midway.
1 km before Kedarnath, there is a basecamp for tourists where they can stay, have food and rest. There is a guest house made by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, you can book it online and offline also.
You can stay in base camp in 3 ways:
1. Tent
10 beds are placed inside a tent and it costs approx. INR 350 per person per day.
2. Hut
3 beds are placed inside a hut and they have arrangements for 10 beds and it costs approx. INR 750 per person per day.
3. Hut house
6 beds are placed inside a hut house and very suitable for a family. It costs approx. INR 990 per person per day.
Kedarnath
From base camp, you can visit the temple. The temple opening time is from 06:00 am morning and you can visit there after it. During May-June, the queue is very long and you have to wait too much but during September-October, you will get less crowd.
Things to do in Kedarnath
You can see the Rock situated behind the temple, which saved the temple during Uttarakhand flood tragedy. You can also meet a baba who went there as a tourist but now started living there.
Places to visit in Kedarnath
Bhairaw mandir
Vasuki taal
Gandhi Sarowar
Aarti time:
The timing for aarti is 06:00 AM morning and 06:00 PM evening.
Best time to visit Kedarnath
The Kedarnath opens only from May-June to September-October but the best time to visit is September -October. You will feel mild cold there but there will be less crowd at that time and you will get very good discounts. During May- June, the crowd is at peak and you cannot visit Kedarnath properly and in July August, you may face rain during traveling. So, September-October is good to visit and due to overcrowding, the hotels starts charging double and triple price for available rooms.
Where to stay and what is the price
If you want to stay in Sonprayag then you can get numerous hotels and the fare varies between INR 800 to INR 1000 per room during off-season and in May-June, the hotel charges may vary between INR 3000 to 4000. If you want to stay at very less price then you can use Dormitory. It charges approximately INR 350 per person and if you want more cheaper accommodation, then you can use hall in which you will get a bed with a pillow and blanket and you will also get clock room for your bags and things.
This was the complete guide and details about Kedarnath yatra. If you liked it then please share it with your friend.
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