Badrinath Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Jolly Grant airport at Dehradun is the nearest airport, 317 km away.

• By train

  Rishikesh, Haridwar and Kotdwar are the nearest railway stations, 300 km, 324 km and 327 km away.

• By road

  The temple is linked to NH-58 and is well connected with the major cities of Northern India.

Rules to know

• Proof of identity is mandatory to enter the temple.

Why devotees come here

Badrinath stands in the Garhwal Himalayas, on the bank of the Alaknanda river in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. Vishnu is worshipped here as Badrinarayan, and the temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams.

Vishnu is worshipped here as Badrinarayan, a one-foot black stone deity placed beneath a gold canopy under a Badri tree. The temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams, sacred to Vaishnavism, and one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Skanda Purana.

Legend says Vishnu sat in meditation at this place. Pleased by the devotion of Lakshmi, he named it Badrika Ashrama. Adi Shankara established Badrinath as a pilgrimage site in the ninth century.

The Kings of Garhwal expanded the temple in the 17th century. After significant damage in the great 1803 Garhwal earthquake, the King of Jaipur largely rebuilt it. The temple has three structures: the sanctum, the worship hall and the assembly hall. The walls and pillars of the hall carry intricate carvings. The most prominent festival, Mata Murti Ka Mela, commemorates the descent of the Ganges to earth.

Festivals

• JuneBadri Kedar festival

  Celebrated in both the Badrinath temple and the Kedarnath temple.

Tips for your visit

• Many pilgrims bathe in the Tapt Kund hot springs just below the temple before visiting it.
• Plan for May to June or September to October, when the weather is pleasant for travel.
• Mana village, 3 km from Badrinath, is the last inhabited village before the Indo-Tibetan border.
• The 5 km trek from Mana village leads to Vasudhara Falls.

Questions people ask