Badrinath Yatra (journey) is as much a pilgrimage as it’s a journey through the grand Himalayan vistas and ancient Indian spiritual towns. Starting from Haridwar, the journey takes one through the towns like Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Joshimath- all important sites for Hindus. Interestingly, it’s also a journey along the course of the great Ganges river system through the Himalayas. My Badrinath trip last year (May 2024) was fascinating, beautiful, and awe inspiring all at once. However, if one travels with family, there are a number things one must be aware of beforehand. For one’s convenience, here is my account of the Badrinath Yatra with my family with tips on how to make it enjoyable.
Unlike other three Char Dham sites, which are in coastal towns, Badrinath is located high above the mountains. The temple sits between Nar and Narayan mountains of the Himalayas at an altitude of 10,279 feet (3133 meters). This makes Badrinath Yatra the most difficult of the Char Dham sites in India to undertake. So, it takes special efforts and good planning to reach there.
{For more such spiritual destinations in the mountains, check out: Vaishno Devi (J&K) ||| Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)}
Completing my Char Dham Yatra
With this Badrinath trip, unintendedly I completed a holy Hindu pilgrimage circuit called “Char Dham Yatra”. Puri-Jagannath, Dwarka , Rameswaram and Badrinath make a holy quartet that’s on every devote Hindu’s pilgrimage bucket list. Since I’m not religious, it was quite a bonus for me.
Because I’m from Odisha, I have lost count of how many times I would have visited Puri-Jagannath (read: Odisha Golden Triangle). And then because Gujarat is my second home (Parina’s home actually), I had the opportunity of visiting Dwarka at least 6-7 times. I have been to Rameswaram only once (read: Rameswaram travel guide). So, with this Badrinath Yatra, I completed the holy quartet. Even though I’m not sure of its religious significance for me, it was quite satisfying to accomplish this feat.
I must say that all the four destinations across the four directions of India are quite different from each other. The presiding deities, the locations, cultural settings, history and heritage of these places are refreshingly different. The only similarity perhaps is that they all belong to Hinduism! At some point of time, I will write a separate article comparing the four destinations.
{For more Hindu historical destinations, do check out: Angkor Wat (Cambodia) ||| Varanasi (UP) ||| Bhubaneswar (Odisha)}
Badrinath Yatra: Significance
- Badrinath is not only one of the four sacred Hindu sites called “Char Dham“, but it’s also one of the “Chhota Char Dham“- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath (all in Uttarakhand)
- The temple played a key role in revival of Sanatan (Hindu) religious traditions in India in the 8th century
- Besides, it’s one of the 108 most holy sites for Lord Vishnu devotees
- The temple houses one of the 8 self-manifested statues of Lord Vishnu
- Apart from its religious significance, it can be a very educative journey as well. The yatra itself is a study in spiritualism, history, heritage and geography.
Badrinath Yatra Route:
As they say, the journey is more important than the destination. While on Badrinath Yatra, it was easy to see why. If one undertakes Badrinath Yatra at slow pace, this can be one of the most amazing journeys ever. Just think of the places one passes by on the way- Delhi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag (detour options: Chopta- Tungnath- Chandrashila), Karnaprayag, Joshimath (detour options: Auli, Valley of Flowers, Hemkund Sahib), Nandaprayag, all quite wonderful destinations themselves!
Apart from these places on the way, the view of lower Himalayas all around is so spectacular! Every corner, every turn on the way is a stop-over point! So, if you have time on hand, plan for a twelve-fifteen day trip at least.
Panch Prayag:
Literally, Prayag means confluence of rivers. So, “Panch Prayag” means five confluences. In Hinduism, rivers are generally revered, and river Ganges (Ganga) is especially pious. The river Ganges takes its name at Devprayag, the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers. While Bhagirthi originates at Gaumukh in the Gangotri glacier, Alaknanda originates from Satopanth glacier, both in Uttarakhand Himalayas.
On its way, hundreds of rivers contribute to its flow, but five rivers hold special significance. Apart from Devprayag, the other four confluences are: Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag and Vishnuprayag. One of the major attractions of Badrinath Yatra is that all these five confluences come on the way.
Distances:
- Delhi to Haridwar: 225 kms | 4 and half hours drive
- Haridwar to Rishikesh: 25 kms | 45 minutes drive
- Rishikesh to Devprayag: 70 kms | 2 hours drive
- Devprayag to Rudraprayag: 66 kms | 2 hours drive
- Rudraprayag to Karnaprayag: 32 kms | 1 hour drive
- Karnaprayag to Nandprayag: 20 kms | 35 minutes drive
- Nandprayag to Joshimath: 60 kms | 2 hours drive
- Joshimath to Vishnuprayag: 12 kms | 30 minutes drive
- Joshimath to Auli: 10 kms | 30 minutes drive
- Vishnuprayag to Badrinath: 37 kms | 1 hour drive
- Delhi to Haridwar: ~ 530 kms ||| 13 hours drive.
Our Badrinath Yatra: The summer road trip, 2024
As I said earlier, our Badrinath Yatra was a family affair, a big gang of eight people. We hired two taxis in Delhi and planned for a five-day drive. On day-1, we left late in the afternoon to reach Rishikesh late in the evening. Next day, with a number stops on the way, we reached Joshimath in the evening. Third day was for Badrinath- Mana. Leaving Joshimath on fourth morning, we visited Auli, and then drove back to stay the night at Karnaprayag. On the last day, with stops in Rishikesh and Haridwar, we reached Delhi late evening.
Though the schedule was hectic, we made it quite enjoyable with various stops and activities on the way through out the journey.
Day-2, Leaving Rishikesh and Badrinath Yatra permit issue:
As per plan, we checked out early morning. But there was a hindrance: we didn’t have the Badrinath Yatra permit that is available online. The online quota for the next few days was exhausted. So, we couldn’t get a permit before we started. We checked at the Rishikesh office; it was not available there too. However, we thought of proceeding anyways.
Just on the outskirts of Rishikesh, a police check post (where there was a long queue of vehicles) stopped us to ask for the Badrinath Yatra permit (it’s compulsory). Since we didn’t have the permit, we told them that we were going to visit Auli, and not Badrinath. So, they allowed us to go ahead. There were a few more similar check posts on the way, but we applied the same trick successfully.
Devprayag:
Our first stop was Devprayag on the way, 70 kms away from Rishikesh; took us 2 hours to reach there by 1 PM. Devprayag is where Alaknanda river meets Bhagirathi river at about 2723 feet (830 mts) elevation to form the great river Ganges. Sight of the confluence, about 100 meters below the road level, was breathtaking. The colours of the two rivers were distinctly different! While Alaknanda looked green, Bhagirathi looked brown. One may visit the Raghunathji temple near the confluence. But we decided to move on.
Next stop was at Srinagar, 36 kms away from Devprayag. It was 2.30 PM, and we were really hungry. Lunch was good; it took us about an hour.
Rudraprayag:
About 35 kms away from Srinagar, our little stop was at Rudraprayag. It’s the place where Alaknanda river meets Mandakini river at an elevation of 2936 feet (895 mts). The actual confluence is not seen from Badrinath road. From there, one has to take the Kedarnath road to see the confluence. But since we were already running late, decided to skip it. However, the sunset over Alaknanda river overlooking Rudraprayag town was splendid.
Karnaprayag:
It was 6 PM by the time we reached Karnaprayag. The confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar rivers at an elevation of 2820 feet (860 mts) looked lovely from the road. However, we thought of descending to its shores, especially because everyone wanted a break from the long drive. There’s a little temple at the confluence, and a large river beach to walk around.
Since it was just about sunset time, the atmosphere became serene with cool breeze flowing by. We took a stroll by the river, and sat down on the soft sand enjoying the natural beauty. I saw some sadhus (ascetics) in a little shade by the river beach. Being curious, I walked up to them, and they seemed to be enthusiastic to have a conversation. After spending about 45 minutes, it was time to get back to our cars. It was already dark by then, and Joshimath was 80 kms away, where we had booked our stay.
Nandaprayag:
20 kms away from Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag came on the way. But since it was dark, and we were still a long way from Joshimath, there was no point stopping over. Nandaprayag is where Alaknanda river meets Nandakini river at an elevation of 4455 feet (1358 mts).
Joshimath:
We reached Joshimath a little later than we planned, around 8.30 PM. But that was fine, since the stops we took on the way were really enjoyable. The homestay (Kafal Homestay) we had chosen was really nice with quite extraordinary views of the Himalayas.
Joshimath sits at 6150 feet (1875 mts) above the mean sea level. Its significance comes from one of the four Maths (other three: Puri, Dwarka, Shringeri) established by Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century. Joshimath also serves as a base town for Badrinath, Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib.
Day-3: Badrinath Yatra continues from Joshimath
Next morning, waking up early, I took a stroll around the village. While talking to a couple of women, they invited us to their home. We had a nice warm conversation about their village, life, livelihoods, etc. Like in most parts of India, they offered us tea and snack. It was so sweet of them!
This was the main day of our Badrinath Yatra. Badrinath is only about 45 kms from Joshimath. Leaving around 10.30 AM from Joshimath, we planned to have darshan at the temple, then visit the nearby Mana village and come back by evening. However, the route was so scenic that we couldn’t but stopped over at many places. A bridge near Vishnuprayag was quite an amazing location. In fact, the whole route was serene.
Vishnurayag:
This is where Alaknanda river meets Dhauliganga river. At an elevation of ~4500 feet (1372 mts), the confluence of these two rivers makes for a lovely sight. If you go by legends, it derives its name from the belief that lord Vishnu had appeared here before sage Narada. More importantly, this is the first of the five confluences (Panch Prayag) on the course of Alaknanda river.
Reaching Badrinath:
From Vishnuprayag at 4500 feet to Badrinath at 10,279 feet, it was quite a steep drive for 36 kms. On the way, we witnessed some glaciers over the far side mountains. When we reached Badrinath temple at about 1.30 PM, the temple was closed for darshan (paying obeisance). So, we decided to visit the nearby Mana village first, and come back to the temple later for darshan when the temple would open again at 4 PM. But when we reached Mana village, there was some traffic jam, and we didn’t want to lose time there. Hence, we returned to Badrinath temple again.
Darshan at Badrinath:
When we reached Badrinath temple, we saw the queue for darshan was at least 2 kilometers long! Since we had two kids with us, and mom wasn’t able to stand for hours, we decided to skip the entry to the temple. Instead, we went in front of the temple, and had our darshan from a distance when the temple opened ~4 PM. The temple was decorated so beautifully with flowers all over it! Sitting in a valley among high mountains all around, the temple looked majestic.
Mana Village:
Once we were done with the darshan, we drove again to Mana village, just 4 kms away from Badrinath. At 10,500 feet (3,200 meters), it’s a pretty village as well as a village shrouded in mythological stories. Even though it was May, the entry to the village was cut through snow mounds! One has to walk over a steep slope all around the village. Mom didn’t have the strength in her knees to walk over those slopes. So, she sat below, and we moved ahead.
There were some interesting spots to visit in the village- Saraswati temple, Vyasa cave, Ganesh cave. Contrary to people’s belief, Saraswati river doesn’t origin at this village. Rather, it’s just a temple dedicated to goddess Saraswati. The river that flows below this temple here actually originates some way up from here, and falls into Alaknanda river just before Badrinath. It’s said that Maharshi Vyasa wrote the epic Mahabharat at this cave! It was about 6.30 PM, when we started our journey back to Joshimath, our homestay.
Day-4: On the way back
Next morning, checking out around 10 AM, we started our journey back to Delhi. The plan was to visit Auli for half day, and stay overnight wherever we could reach by the evening. That evening we could only reach Rudraprayag.
Auli detour on the way back
Auli, a little hill station at an elevation of 9200 feet (2800 mts), is only about 10 kms away from Joshimath. However, we had to wander around a bit to figure out where exactly to go. Thus, it took us an hour to reach the cable-car point. The open cable car took us to a scenic valley where we spent half a day.
While some of us chose to ride horses to visit the nearby meadow across a forest, called Gurson Bugyal, I, Parina and the kids chose to hike up to another smaller meadow nearby. The hike was really enjoyable. We walked across the meadows, and went into the forest. By the time we came back, our horse-ride party had also come back. After spending good part of the day in the meadows, we started our drive back around 3.30 PM. With a stop over for an evening snack, we reached Rudraprayag around 11 PM, and found a nice hotel to stay the night.
Day-5: Finally heading to Delhi
Since day-4 was quite long and exhausting, everyone slept well till late morning the next day. We had breakfast leisurely, and started the drive back around 11 AM. Though we had planned to reach Rishikesh late in the afternoon to witness Ganga Aarti, a traffic jam marred our plans drastically.
By the time we reached Kaudiyala (~38 kms from Rishikesh), it was 2 PM, and we broke for lunch. However, while having lunch, we got to know about a terrible traffic jam in Rishikesh, and no vehicle was allowed to enter the city. So, after lunch, we had to take the Rishikesh bypass to drive towards Haridwar. Instead of Rishikesh, we witnessed Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.
Haridwar: Ganga Aarti in the evening
When we reached Haridwar ~5.45 PM, it was just about time for the Ganga Aarti. As usual, there was a sea of crowd at Har Ki Pauri. But family wanted to witness the aarti in any case. We had witnessed the aarti many times before, but this time it was extraordinarily overcrowded. There was hardly any space to walk! People were just being carried by the flow of the thousands of devotees. Somehow, we were able to witness the aarti from over a bridge. I must say, the experience was far from our liking. But it’s the way generally at religious places in India.
After the aarti, we spent a little time by the river Ganges and then left for Delhi ~8.30 PM. With a late night break for dinner on the highway, we reached home well past midnight. And that was the end of our Badrinath Yatra, a hectic, but enjoyable journey with family.
Badrinath Yatra: How to make it enjoyable
Badrinath Yatra is a long hard road trip. So, it can be stressful, especially if you are with family. But you can make it enjoyable, if you plan well. For one’s convenience, let me list out a few tips for making your Badrinath Yatra enjoyable.
- First of all, it’s important to research a bit, and plan well. Planning is easy; read a few blogs, watch some Youtube videos, and chalk out an itinerary as per time availability.
- Talking of itinerary, I would suggest keeping at least 15 days, if you want to explore all the places on the way. But as they say, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride! This means a lot of people would find it difficult to devote these many days. However, don’t keep less than 7 days.
- Most importantly, do your Badrinath Yatra registration beforehand, as early as possible (details below).
- Though booking your hotel rooms in advance is helpful, it’s not that important. Yes, it can save you some money though.
- Whether you have time to explore places on the way or not, at least stop over to have a feel of it. It not only gives you a break, but also enriches your Badrinath Yatra.
- During your Badrinath Yatra, keep at least one day for a nature escape. For options, you have Rishikesh, Auli and Chopta. Rishikesh is right on the way, but for Auli or Chopta, one has to take a detour.
Tips for a smooth Darshan (paying obeisance):
Since for most people undertaking the Badrinath Yatra, it’s the darshan that is the most important thing, one should keep a few things in mind while planning the trip.
- Darshan timings: 4.30 AM to 1 PM, and 4 PM to 9 PM. Between 1 PM and 4 PM, the temple remains closed
- Evening hours see less crowd than morning hours. So, it’s better to plan your darshan in the evening, if possible
- For morning darshan, most devotees queue up at the temple well before 4.30 AM! People who cannot enter the temple by 1 PM, have to stand there till 4 PM, when the doors open again! So, please be ready for the hard grind
- For a good darshan experience, one should not bring kids along. Similarly, even for the elderlies, it can be physically challenging. Because they cannot stand in the queue for long hours
- However, there are options for VIP darshan and a quick darshan for a fee. So, check out with your hotel/ a travel agent. Also, tickets are available near the main gate of the temple.
Badrinath Yatra: Travel Tips
Best time to visit:
Badrinath Yatra opens sometimes in May, because before that the route remains under snow. So, by default, the window to undertake Badrinath Yatra is between May and October. But the best months are May, June, September and October. Since monsoon brings in landslides, one should avoid the months of July and August.
Registration:
- Online registration for Badrinath Yatra opens around two months prior (generally in March every year) to opening of the route. Register as early as possible, otherwise, you may not get the permit for your dates.
- Here’s the link to the government website for online registration. Documents required: Official identity proof, and photographs.
- Offline registration is also available at Haridwar and Rishikesh, 10 days prior to the date of journey. However, don’t depend on them. It’s highly unlikely to get the permit for your dates.
How to reach:
- Nearest airport: Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun
- Nearest railway station: Rishikesh
- By bus: One can get a local bus from Delhi, Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Where to stay:
Since it’s a road trip, it’s difficult to suggest hotels. But let me suggest a few good budget hotels/ hostels in Rishikesh and Joshimath. In Rishikesh, choose a property in Tapovan area.
- Rishikesh (Tapovan): Perfectstayz Hills ||| The Highlands ||| Tapovan New Residency ||| goStops hostel ||| Arogyadham Wellness Retreat ||| Zostel Tapovan ||| Moustache Tapovan Luxuria ||| The Hosteller
- Joshimath: Sleeping Beauty ||| The Kafal ||| Brahma Kamal ||| JMS Guesthouse.
Where to eat:
- Rishikesh (Tapovan): 60’s Beatle’s Cafe ||| Chidya Ghar Cafe ||| Bistro Nirvana ||| Cafe Karma
- At other places, it will depend on where you reach when you are hungry! So, mostly road side dhabas or restaurants; just go by your instinct!
Concluding Thoughts
Essentially, Badrinath Yatra is meant to be a Hindu pilgrimage. A devote Hindu wants to visit this abode of Lord Vishnu at least once in life. However, in our case, it was not such a ‘one agenda’ driven journey. We did visit the temple, but we enjoyed the trip in many ways as a family. A detour to Auli added a lot of fun to our Badrinath Yatra.
What makes Badrinath Yatra extra special is the journey itself. The panoramic views of the mighty Himalayas, gorgeous valleys, lovely rivers and winding roads make the journey an absolute joy. Yes, the road trip is taxing on the body, but the experience completely outweighs the hardship. If one plans well, it can be an enjoyable trip. The key is to keep it slow, easy-going and exploring the places on the way.
I hope the narration of our experience is helpful in planning your trip. If you want to know more, please don’t hesitate to write to us.
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