Yamunotri Temple, Yamunotri

Yamunotri Temple is situated in the western region of Garhwal Himalayas at an altitude of 3,291 metres (10,797 ft) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Yamuna and has a black marble idol of the goddess. The Yamunotri temple is a full day's journey from Uttarakhand's main towns — Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun. The actual temple is only accessible by a 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) trek from the town of Hanuman Chatti and a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) walk from Janki Chatti; horses or palanquins are available for rent. The hike from Hanuman Chatti to Yamunotri is very picturesque with beautiful views of a number of waterfalls. There are two trekking routes from Hanuman Chatti to Yamunotri, the one along the right bank proceeds via the Markandeya Tirth, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana, the other route which lies on the left bank of the river goes via Kharsali, from where Yamunotri is a five or six hours climb away.

 

The original temple was built by Maharani Guleria of Jaipur in the 19th century. The temple has been destroyed twice by snow and floods before being rebuilt. It is located on the backdrop of Bandarpunch. The temple is part of the revered Char Dham pilgrimage circuit.

 

The temple opens on Akshaya Tritiya (May) and closes on Yama Dwitiya (the second day after Diwali, November) for the winter.

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Gangotri Temple, Gangotri

Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges and seat of the goddess Ganga, is one of the four sites in the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. The original Gangotri Temple was built by the Gurkha general Amar Singh Thapa. The river is called Bhagirathi at the source and acquires the name Ganga (the Ganges) from Devprayag onwards where it meets the Alaknanda. The origin of the holy river is at Gaumukh, set in the Gangotri Glacier, and is a 19 km trek from Gangotri.

 

The temple town of Gangotri is located just 97 km from Uttarkashi.  Gangotri is believed to be the site where Ganges descended to Earth on the matted locks of Lord Shiva. The place also houses the temple of Vishwanath and Kuteti Devi.

 

Around 2.50 lakh Hindu pilgrims visit Gangotri temple every year. The temple opens generally in the first week of May, on the day of ‘Akshay Tirth’ and shuts down on Diwali.

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Badrinath Temple, Badrinath

Badrinath Temple, also called Badrinarayan Temple, situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand state in India, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. The temple and town are one of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region. The temple is located in Garhwal hill tracks, along the banks of Alakanda river at an elevation of 3,133 m (10,279 ft) above the mean sea level. The temple is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India, with a recorded number of visitors of 1,060,000.

 

The image of the presiding deity worshipped in the temple is a 1 m (3.3 ft) tall statue of Vishnu in the form Badrinarayan, made of black stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu.

 

The temple finds mention in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and in the works of 5th century poet Kalidasa. The temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Badrinath and his consort Lakshmi as Aravindavalli.

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Kedarnath Temple, Kedarnath

Kedarnath Temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to the god Shiva and is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April (Akshaya Tritriya) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon, usually November) every year. During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand', the historical name of the region.

 

The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 14 kilometres uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan service is also available. The temple is believed to have been built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The temple is also one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas.

 

Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple remained unharmed to a large extent.

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