Uttarakhand Chardham Tour (Part 4)

Trek to Sri Kedarnathji Temple  (Day 6)

Sonprayag-Gaurikund-Kedarnath 

The Kedarnath shrine, one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, is a divine scenic spot situated, against the backdrop of the majestic Kedarnath range. According to legend, the Pandavas after having won over the Kaurava in the Kurukshetra war, felt guilty of having killed their own brothers and sought the blessings of Lord Shiva for redemption. He eluded them repeatedly and while fleeing took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a bull. On being followed he dived into the ground, leaving his hump on the surface. There is also a close connection between Adi Guru Shankaracharya and Kedarnath Dham.

Kedarnath can be accessed by Helicopter(available from Agastyamuni or Phata) foot , mule , palki or kandi. Those who visit Kedarnath by Helicopter are on the mercy of  several causes like –bad weather conditions , technical reasons, VVIPS visits etc.If the flight is cancelled / rescheduled the passenger is required to travel on his own .Further you stand to miss the natural beauty of the valley and the trekking or may have to wait till backlogs are cleared. Gaurikund is the base for trek to Kedarnath & serves as a roadhead, the village has hot springs & a temple dedicated to Gauri. Gaurikund is at an elevation of 1,982 meters and Kedarnath is at about 3,582 meters. The elevation of nearly 1,600 meters is to be accomplished in  19 km or an average of nearly 8,5 % gradient. These statistics would discourage most persons but not the many pilgrims (including us) who have waited for this day for a long time!

Sri Kedarnathji Temple at 3582 metres above MSL

At about 6.00 a.m,we left to Gaurikund( 5 km) in our Traveller. As soon as we reached  the office of booking mules and dolis. there were plenty of people on the side ways asking for a mule. All of us wanted to be together, one of our member Mr. Chennakeshav being overweight, we  were forced to wait  till a strong mule was provided. We visited Maa Gauri temple to seek blessings.

Sree Gauri mayi Temple at Gaurikund

 

Concrete road from Gaurikund (Trek route)

Once you start from Gaurikund, there is a concrete road to walk on there is a small shop for every 200 meters  till first 3Kms ,where one can get some tea, chocolates, biscuits, maggi noodles etc. After 3kms we were passing through the awesome scenic beauty of hills , waterfalls / glaciers and breath taking landscapes. As higher we went we found the scenic beauty mind blowing and heavenly. We stopped after 5km had tea and  biscuits ,did not feel like having any noodles due to anxiety. Do not expect express standards of service or hygiene, meanwhile  mules also had their breakfast of Jaggery balls and water.

After the June 2013 flashfloods tragedy when everything was devastated, the Govt handed over the charge of redevelopment of the Kedarnath new route 2015 to NIM ( Nehru Institute of Mountaineering) and the NIM has done a remarkable job in this area. The trekking route is around 8 ft to 10 ft wide and it has an iron railing on the edge. They have made proper shelters for tourists to take rest after every 400-500 meters .There are medical facilities, Bio-friendly toilets available at every halting place. They have also built emergency helipads at Gaurikund, JangalChatti (4kms), Bheembali (06kms), Lencholi (11 kms), Kedarnath base Camp and 02 more helipads at Kedarnath ji. At  Bhimbali, and Linchuli ,refreshments , fiber cottages , overnight halting facilities are available.

Bheembhali  from here views of Kedarnath mountain range 

Ponies are parked here ,2 kms Walk from here to Sree Kedarnathji temple

At 10.15 a.m we reached the Kedarnath horse camp place ,from there one has to walk 2 Kms to reach the temple. The view of snow clad mountains, River Mandakini flowing nearby, full circle of mountains, some of them covered with moving clouds was a mesmerizing sight. 

Elderly lady carried in a Khandi from the mule-stop point  2km from temple

Reaching towards Sree Kedarnathji temple

The Shikahara of temple can be conspicuously spotted from this place. It was a sunny morning, I started walking almost forcibly taking long breaths. (There are no trees here, is this Oxygen shortage ?) After a short break, resumed walking,had I not opened my umbrella, it would have been tiresome. There is a big commercial helipad, helicopters which operate from Guptkashi and Phata land here. One Panditji approached us offering his facilitation to perform Abhishekam at Kedarnathji temple. Instantly we agreed ,he directed us to wash our feet , bow to Nandi and get inside the Mandir.
There were lots of people (about 30 or so), as per the custom in many North Indian Temples, everyone can go inside Garbha Griha, touch the huge Shivalinga, apply ghee (we had carried  Nandini Ghee all the way from Sullia)one can also prostrate with head touching the deity etc

After the Pooja rituals 

Bheem shila,-Huge boulder from the debris that saved the temple during 2013 June floods

You get transformed to another world when the pandits begin the chanting of mantras. It feels  like an unearthly experience, as though Lord Shiva Himself is present inside the Sanctum of the Temple. It is an experience that one must celebrate at least once in their life time. After that successful worship, Panditji took us outside to perform the closing ritual .He offered us Silver coin, Trishul and Prasadam. We did pradhakshina around the temple, spotted the Bheem Shila that protected the temple from devastation during 2013 tragedy .

By then our group members started arriving, we reciprocated our experiences, clicked some pics, paid the dakshina to Panditji . It was 12.00p.m ,never in my life  worked so much with only 1 cup tea, 3 biscuits and 4 dates , unbelievable to me .After relishing the day’s lunch Parota and Chana masala, we headed towards Helicopter waiting centre to check whether return tickets are available. After an  optimistic “please wait “response, 10 minutes later the counter was closed citing  flights are cancelled. Meanwhile the horse riders were with us, Pradeepji declined to ride the horse, I rode for a short distance of 4km,after a while  joined him committing that trek would include more stops at all pits.

 We had refreshments to overcome restlessness, and not tiredness, chatted with other pilgrims.We felt as though distance of one Km was too much here,gazing at the perspective view of never ending  curves , descents and the scenary.  Kedarnath gave us  the immense pleasure both spirituality and adventure-wise .Reached Gaurikund at 5.00p.m ,had a cup of hot tea , boarded a  Jeep to Sonprayag, reached our hotel before 6.00 PM.