Badrinath is one of the most famous pilgrim destinations for Hindus. It is situated on the bank of river Alaknanda at a height of 10200 feet above sea level in the Chamoli district of Garhwal Region in Uttarakhand State of India. It is famous not only for pilgrim but nature lovers also come here as many treks starts from here.
Badrinath is open for only 5 months in a year during the summer season only. Rest of the time it is snow clad. People from all over the world come to Badrinath.
Badrinath temple
Badrinath Temple is the main attraction in Badrinath. The story of the temple is that Shankara discovered Lord Badrinarayan in Black Stone called Saligram in Alaknanda River. He enshrined it near the hot water springs on the bank of river but in Sixteenth Century the king of Garhwal moved it to the present place. One should take bath in the hot water spring before going to the temple, the springs are also called as Tapt Kund.
How to Reach Badrinath:
Badrinath can be reached only by road or by chartered Helicopter from Rishikesh. Nearest rail head is Rishikesh and airport is Jolly Grant near Dehradoon. It is 325 kilometers from Haridwar and it takes almost 10-12 hours of road journey from Haridwar to Badrinath.
Places to see near Badrinath
You can visit Mana Village near Badrinath and if you have time you can also go for trek to Vasudhara Falls. Valley of Flowers can also be visited if you have enough time. You will require at least 4 days from Govindghat to valley of flowers and back. If you are going to Valley of Flowers you can also go to Hemkund Sahib. Both of these destinations are accessible by trek from Govindghat. Govindghat is 25 km from Badrinath on National Highway 58. You can also visit Auli for its meadows. You can even trek from Auli to Gorsan Peak.