Jyotirmath

Getting there

• By air

  The nearest airport is Jolly Grant in Dehradun, reached through Rishikesh.

• By train

  The nearest railway head is Rishikesh.

• By road

  Joshimath is well connected to most parts of the Uttarakhand state by motorable road.

On the way

• Take the train to Rishikesh, the nearest railway station, which is 251 km from Joshimath.
• Or fly to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun, 268 km away, and continue to Rishikesh.
• Joshimath is well connected to most parts of the Uttarakhand state by motorable road.

Why devotees come here

Jyotirmath is the northern of four cardinal seats that tradition says Adi Shankara founded. It stands in Joshimath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, a pilgrimage and tourist destination.

Tradition holds that Adi Shankara established four cardinal seats, and Jyotirmath is the northern one. It is one of four institutions he founded. Its Sanskrit name is uttarāmnāya matha, or Northern Āmnāya Pītham, and the matha is in the town of Joshimath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.

The matha went through a long quiet period. Swami Ramakrishna Tirtha occupied it in the 18th century, and it then stayed inactive for 165 years after his death. Later, a group of monks and pandits chose a new head for it.

On 11 May 1941, that group appointed Swami Brahmananda Saraswati as Shankaracharya. Under him a two-story building of 30 rooms was built as the Peeth Bhawan, the seat of the matha. He also supervised the final construction of the Purnagiri Devi shrine, about 100 yards in front of the new monastery.

Tips for your visit

• Bhavishya Badri is at Subain, about 17 km east of Joshimath towards Lata, if you want a nearby stop.
• The Purnagiri Devi shrine is about 100 yards in front of the new monastery, so the two are close together.

Questions people ask