Kedarnath, the Himalayan mountain temple, evokes a sense of wonder because of its remoteness and difficulty of the trek. It is a trek that very few people would undertake, preferring rather to go on a mule or be carried on palanquins.
Nestled in the heart of thickly wooded mountains, Gaurikund is the place where you finally disembark from your vehicle. You can go no further. The place is crammed with cheap Rest Houses (with few facilities), eatery joints, shops selling woolen clothings, curios, medicines and even toys. There are lanes and by lanes and of course the humanity from just about all parts of the country. Remove the mountains and the trees you could very well mistake the place for a poorer version of Chandini Chowk in Delhi!
There is a paucity of parking place here. If you are coming in your car, you have to search for a good place to park your vehicle. However make sure you do not park your car close to the wall of the mountain- chances are that a rock can roll down and damage your car ( as it happened to ours)!
Take a days rest at Gaurikund. The acclimatisation will stand you in good stead for the 14 km trek to the Kedarnath temple. Cheap raincoats made of polythene are easily available here- buy one, it rains frequently- without much ado. A word of warning about these rain coats. You need to walk very daintily when you have this rain coat on. These coats are made of very flimsy polythene material. Take a longish stride and the coat will end up having a vertical split without as much as a whimper!
Wear loose fitting shoes with a tough base. The trekking path strewn with pebbles all along, would make your trek slow and painful, if you do not have inadequate footwear.
Beginning from Gaurikund, the track to Kedarnath temple is barely four meters wide with a steady upward gradient. You have to jostle your way up with the mules, horses and the palanquins bearers. The pathway has animal droppings and urine all the way. To make matters worse, it rains quite often which turns the track into a quagmire of slippery slush.
Gaurikund is at 6000 ft, which makes the 12 km trek to the Kedarnath temple, in the rarefied is rain coat on. atmosphere, slow and arduous. The trek can take up to 6 hours. So start well on time from Gaurikund.
There is a paucity of parking place here. If you are coming in your car, you have to search for a good place to park your vehicle. However make sure you do not park your car close to the wall of the mountain- chances are that a rock can roll down and damage your car ( as it happened to ours)!
Take a days rest at Gaurikund. The acclimatisation will stand you in good stead for the 14 km trek to the Kedarnath temple. Cheap raincoats made of polythene are easily available here- buy one, it rains frequently- without much ado. A word of warning about these rain coats. You need to walk very daintily when you have this rain coat on. These coats are made of very flimsy polythene material. Take a longish stride and the coat will end up having a vertical split without as much as a whimper!
Wear loose fitting shoes with a tough base. The trekking path strewn with pebbles all along, would make your trek slow and painful, if you do not have inadequate footwear.
Beginning from Gaurikund, the track to Kedarnath temple is barely four meters wide with a steady upward gradient. You have to jostle your way up with the mules, horses and the palanquins bearers. The pathway has animal droppings and urine all the way. To make matters worse, it rains quite often which turns the track into a quagmire of slippery slush.
Gaurikund is at 6000 ft, which makes the 12 km trek to the Kedarnath temple, in the rarefied is rain coat on. atmosphere, slow and arduous. The trek can take up to 6 hours. So start well on time from Gaurikund.
The path, fortunately is dotted with dhabas where you can have tea, paranthas and of course the omnipresent Maggie (which never tasted so delicious before!).
Avoid eating heavy meals while you are on the trek, difficult though it may be, to overcome the delicious aroma of cooked food wafting from the Dhabas. Eat little or subsist on light food. You can feast after you reach your destination. A heavy stomach will dramatically slow down your progress.
Finally do remember that Kedarnath is a pilgrimage center and like such centers, do not expect the niceties of life. The food is mediocre, the motels are just bearable, hot water is not readily available (forget about any kind of service), there is frequent breakdown of electricity, the weather can be wet and clammy, cell phones may not work at all. The good old land line in a public kiosk would be your life line to the outside world.
But do not get discouraged by these negatives. Its a wonderful and a challenging trek- you see some of the most spectacular mountain ranges - awesome and absolutely majestic in its splendor-a visual delight for the city bred eyes!
The temple made of granite rocks is ideally situated in a wide open expanse surrounded by ridges. It is as if the traveller, after a bone breaking climb, reaches this flat piece of land for a respite and to recoup his energies. Whoever built this temple had probably this in mind.
Avoid eating heavy meals while you are on the trek, difficult though it may be, to overcome the delicious aroma of cooked food wafting from the Dhabas. Eat little or subsist on light food. You can feast after you reach your destination. A heavy stomach will dramatically slow down your progress.
Finally do remember that Kedarnath is a pilgrimage center and like such centers, do not expect the niceties of life. The food is mediocre, the motels are just bearable, hot water is not readily available (forget about any kind of service), there is frequent breakdown of electricity, the weather can be wet and clammy, cell phones may not work at all. The good old land line in a public kiosk would be your life line to the outside world.
But do not get discouraged by these negatives. Its a wonderful and a challenging trek- you see some of the most spectacular mountain ranges - awesome and absolutely majestic in its splendor-a visual delight for the city bred eyes!
The temple made of granite rocks is ideally situated in a wide open expanse surrounded by ridges. It is as if the traveller, after a bone breaking climb, reaches this flat piece of land for a respite and to recoup his energies. Whoever built this temple had probably this in mind.
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| The temple (Wikipedia) |
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| The temple stands on a plateau over looking the village. |
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| Queuing up for darshan |
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| Temple precincts. Did not see much people here-probably owing to the difficult trek . |
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| The town in front of the temple. The entire place is shut down after the festival of Bhai- duj in Oct. It is literally turned into a ghost town.It is opened again next year in May. |
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| The temple is surrounded towering mountains forming a rampart. |
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| A glacier trail behind the temple. |
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| First rays of the morning sun. Do fight the cold and rise up in the morning- its beautiful. |
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| A beautiful day-on the way to Kedarnath-but the weather can be capricious and can change dramatically to pelting freezing rain. |
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