Situated in Uttrakhand district, Kedarnath is located in the Himalayas in about 3,583 m above sea level near Chorabari Glacier. Kedarnath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was under snow for nearly 400 years during a period known as the Little Ice Age (Around 1300AD). This temple has survived the snow as well as the floods which created so much damage in 2013.
Early in the morning, we started from Haridwar to Guptakashi. The drive was very scenic along the lower himalayas with holy river of Ganga following us through out the journey.
We took lot of breaks in between during the journey to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Stopped near the river and water was freezing cold. We reached Guptkashi in the afternoon and checked-in to the hotel.
The hotel had some amazing view of the snowy peaks. Spent hours setting next to the helipad enjoying the mountain peaks. Took some time out to practice Isha yoga with the view of Kedarnath peak.
Evening we went to the Viswanath temple in Guptkashi. Every pilgrim goes to this temple to get the blessings before trekking up Kedarnath shrine. In Guptakashi’s vishwanath temple there are two water outlets one from Ganga and other from Yamuna. Even the taste of water varies.
After this we went and got the permits done for climbing the Kerdarnath Shrine. Rest of the evening, we were at the hotel enjoying the rain and once it cleared up, the beautiful views of snowy Himalayan range.
Next morning was an early start. We left for the Kedarnath Shrine around 6 am and had breakfast on the way. Met lot of people on the way from Tamilnadu. They were at Kedarnath shrine the day before, said after 2-3 pm the weather changes and it starts to rain along with possible hail storms. So we kind of hurried to reach the base. But had to stand in long queues before reaching the base(Gaurikund) for the trek. By the time we reached the base it was 10.30-11 am. Since it was a 23 km trek, people there suggested us to take the pony and we took it due to lack of time. But the guys over charged us and we had to pay something like Rs.3000 per person. Ideally the charge is Rs.1800 per head.
We loved the deep valleys and forest surrounding the walking track. But didn’t feel good the way pony was treated. They were constantly beating it and didn’t let it to even drink water. Felt really bad for them.
Some people travelling with us started having altitude sickness, by the time we reached the top it was 2 pm. Had lunch in the canteen and started walking to the dorm which was allocated to us. But that was again little far off and it started raining heavily. There was no place to take cover. We got drenched in the rain and finally reached the dorm.
Everyone was tired by then and no body wanted to go out. I went out to explore the area and also do some yoga but had lot of trouble due to altitude sickness.
Got some hot water from near by Tea stall and went back to the dorm to take rest. Later in the evening we decided to go to the shrine, it rained again and temperature dropped to near zero.
Still we went to the shrine and had our first Dharshan but they didn’t let us go near the statue. Since there was less crowd we went 2-3 times in the queue to have Dharshan with the chanting from Isha. Back to the dorm and didn’t go out anywhere
Next morning no body wanted to come to the shrine but i got up at 3.45 am and started for the shrine at 4 am. Water was freezing cold, i had to drink water from the tap and fingers became num the moment water fell on them. Slowly moved towards the temple and crowd started gathering, it was a big queue.
I went inside the temple complex and practiced Isha yoga there for 21 mins. Moment i opened my eyes could see little bit of sun shine and towards my left was huge glacier. It was a magnificent site to watch with such an historical temple with that kind of back drop. I have done this practice at many places, but never got so much more energized as here. I have heard people saying this place has lot to offer but that moment i was able to feel it. All my altitude sickness were gone and became brisk.
Had my Dharshan, this time i was let to enter the place where Linga(the stone like statue) is located, was able to touch it and pray. It was a very nice experience to be there in such a powerful complex.
When coming back i made sure to walk the way not take the pony. The walking track was just a bliss and spent lot of time just sitting by the side and admiring the beauty of the place.
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