Uttarakhand Chardham Tour (Part 5)

Kedarnath to Badrinath (Day 7)

After returning from the mystical and magical Kedarnath mountains, shrine of Babha Kedarnathji , we were all feeling blessed and  happy.The point that we could make it without helicopter ride enthralled the confidence in ourselves,the tough,long and tiring down-trek was worth the bliss.Now we were set for another journey day towards Badrinath.

Early morning we headed towards Triyuginarayan Temple  situated  14 km from Sonprayag, known as the  place where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati Devi married under the mediation of  Lord Vishnu. Akhand Agni kund is still there, we  put one piece of wood from our side. Knowledgeable Purohits will attend you and explain the details of  Hindu methodology.Place is surrounded by ice capped Himalayas and is very peaceful location, having zero pollution and almost zero commercial activities place. 

Triyuginarayan Temple (See the fumes from the Akhand Agni kund)

Akhand Agni kund 

Another pleasant and picturesque hill town, 41 km from Rudraprayag is Ukhimuth, also a piligrim centre where the Utsav murthy of Kedarnathji is brought down on the 2nd day of Deepawali and worshipped for 6 months during winter when Kedarnath becomes snow capped .In the Omkareshwar temple complex there are other  artistic ancient temples dedicated to  Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Aniruddha ,Usha and Mandhata. Ukhimath is mainly inhabited by the Rawals from Karnataka  who are the head priests (pundits) of Kedarnath. Boards in kannada can be spotted here. Snow capped peaks of the splendid Himalayan range are distinctly visible from Ukhimath. From Ukhimath on a clear day one can see the beautiful view of Kedarnath peak, Chaukhamba & other green beautiful valley.

Ukhimuth Temple-Utsav murthy of Baba Kedarnathji is worshipped during winter

Inside the Ukhimuth temple premises

Enroute to Badri on the Ukhimut -Gopeshwar highway  is an  unspoiled natural destination , Chopta  popular as Mini Switzerland ,the ultimate destination for trekkers ,slowly attracting attention of travellers as a hill station. Our lunch was a bowl of Maggie Noodles and a bottle of Amul buttermilk( very recent batch). I was surprised not to find Pathanjali products anywhere even in remote corners of Uttarkhand.

The challenge is manoeuvring the roads to get to Badrinath as the journey passes through lofty terrain  curves, cliff and waterfalls , landslides seem to be common in this area.Traces of loose boulders on the ground, pulverized rocks ,viscous stones, parked as well as working bull dozers say lot about the frequently occurring hill disturbances and efforts taken to clear the debris for passing of vehicles . Thanks to the maintenance work by Border Roads Organisation , roads were clear, and  divine blessings, luckily  no  natural interruptions , we reached Badri at about 6.00p.m.

,

 Accommodation was arranged at Kashi mutt very close to Badrinathji temple. After  sipping tea, we  made a quick visit to Badri Vishal Temple .The temple complex sports very colorful look with enchanting Alaknanda River flowing in front of the temple. That night platter of dal, subji, chapathi was arranged at Kashi Mutt. Night was very cold

Sree Badrinarayan Temple on the Banks of River Alakananda

Badrinath –Mana  Day 8
 The early morning at 5.10 am was a visual treat to witness the golden hue blazing Neelkant Parvath when the first rays of sun flashed on the mountain for  10 minutes.

Neelkanth parvath during sunrise

 After quick grabbing of south Indian breakfast  we proceeded to Mana. An additional attraction for Chardham pilgrims is this  tiny hamlet on the Indo-Tibetian border (24km from Badrinath) that  has connection with Mahabharatha legends.

With our team mates 

Approach to Ganesha gufa

Last Indian shop -tea stall

 Saraswati river gushes in all her glory in between rocks flows through the village. In fact, Maana is supposed to be the only place in India where this river flows above ground level (the other being a small village in Nepal). It is on the banks of this river, in a cave “ Vyas gufa “sage Vyasa recited the Mahabharatha and Lord Ganesha penned it.  There is Ganesh Gufa, Bheem pool, Swargarahona where Pandavas left to heaven. We sipped basil tea at the last Indian shop ,it tasted more of herbs. Once again visited Badri Vishal temple, collected the oil used in lighting diya ,did some shopping for souvenirs and sweaters. At mutt we met other fellow piligrims from Udupi. Had our dinner and hopped on to our bed for a sound sleep in the shivering cold.