Badarinath Dham or Badrinath Temple considered as one of the most Holiest Temple in India is located in the lap of great snow covered majestic Himalayas ranges in the hilly town of Badrinath in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand India. Badrinath is the most important part of famous Sacred yatra of Char Dham. The town is situated at the height of 3133 m above sea level and the way to the town is beautiful and offers breathtaking views of lofty hilly terrain of Gharwal Hills and nture that surronds it. Other religious sited like Deo Prayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag and Vishnuprayag also falls in the way to this great pilgrimage spot . Great Alaknanada River also flows along the hill town of Badrinath. Badrinath Temple also knwon by the name of Badrinarayan temple is also part of Chota Char Dham Yatra that comprises of Four religious sites that are located in Uttarakhand only they are Gangotri, Yamunotri , Kedarnath and Badrinath. It is also also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites.

Kapat Opening:- The kapat of Shri Badarinath Temple will open on 16th May 2013 at 4:00 AM.

Historic Importance

Badrinath was originally established by Adi Shankara in 9th century when he discovered image of Lord Badrinarayan in Alaknanda river and enshrined the image in cave near tapt kund. But in 16th century King of Gahrwal shifted the murtis to present place . The temple has been gone to many renovation and contructions due to avalanche . In 17th century King of Gharwal expanded the temple . During the earthquake of 1803 in Himalaya the temple was significantly damaged and it was rebuilt by King of Jaipur

Badrinath Temple

The main Temple pf Badrinath is approximately 50 ft (15.0 metres) tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof. The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to a tall arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The architecture resembles a Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly painted facade also more typical of Buddhism temples. Just inside is the mandapa, a large pillared hall that leads to the garbha grha, or main shrine area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings.

Main area of the temple have the idol of Lord Badrinarayan as a black stone made of shaligram sitting under a Badri Tree . There are fifteen more murtis around the temple that are also worshiped. Rawals traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin from the far south of India in Kerala are the head priest of the temple.

Badrinath Places to See

• Vasudhara Waterfall– Vasudhra Falls are located about 8 Km from Badrinath and 3 km from Mana village . The waterfall is 125 meters high and is located about 12,000feet above the sea level.
• Tapt Kund– Located along river Alaknanada tapt Kund is a hot spring which is believed to have medicinal properties . Devotees take bath here before proceeding to the temple.
• Narad Kund– This kund is located near Tapt Kund and is a hot spring Kund in which devotees take a dip before going for darshan of Badrinath Temple.
• Mana Village– Mana Village is a last Indian village bordering Tibet which is inhibited by Indo-Mongolian tribe . It has numerous caves and it is here only in of these caves that Rishi Ved Vyas presented the epic Mahabharata to Lord Ganesha son of Lord Shiva , this cave is also known as Vyas Guha or Cave.
• Vyas Guha – Here Sage Ved Vayasa composed the Mahabhrata 18 puranas (legendary stories), Brahma Sutras and classified the Hindu Vedas into 4 parts – Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.
• Mata Murti Mandir– Mata Murti Mandir is a temple dedicate to mother of Shri Badrinath located along the banks of Alaknanda river.

Badrinath Excursions

• Hemkund Sahib– Hemkund Sahib is one of the most prominent gurudwara of India located at the height of 4320 meters above sea level . Both Hindu and Sikhs have great faith here . A lake is also there along which a Gurudwara and a Lakshman temple is built , the lake has crystal clear water fed by glaciers of Hathi Parvat & Sapt Rish Peaks.
• Pandukeshwar – About 24 Km from Badrinath here two temples are located dedicated to Lord Yoga Badari Narayan and the other for Lord Vasudev . It is believed that Pandukeshwar was established by King Pandu the father of Pandavas.
• Adi Badari – Located about 17 Kms from Karnaprayag here is a temple of Lord Vishnu , the temple is uplifted in a pyramidal platform and inside the temple there is a idol of Lord Vishnu in the form of Black Stone. Local people believes that Adi Shankara had constructed the main temple here.
• Neelkanth Peak– Situated at the elevation of 6560 meters above the sea level it situated above Badrinath temple . The peak is snow covered and pyramidal shaped. Sun rays first falls in these peaks here and the view is just awesome to gaze.
• Bhim Bridge– Located in the outskirts of Mana Village this bridge is built across River Saraswati . It is believed that Bhima put the large slab of stone along the river so as to cross the river.
• Auli– Auli the most popular skiing destination of India that offers 10-20 km of absolutely virgin slopes for this sport is skiers paradise located about 57 Km from Badrinath. Auli is located about 3050 meters above sea level. One can enjoy the majestic view of breathtaking Himalayan range covered with snow .
• Joshimath– Located about 46 Km from Badrinath it is one of the four math established by great Sage Adi Shankara. It is located at the height of 1,890 meters above sea level .

How to Reach Badrinath

Badrinath is located in the hilly town Badrinath in the serenity of Great Himalayas Ranges in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand . As a famous pilgrimage spot of India reaching here will be no problem as there are many govt buses and private tour operators in Uttarakhand and India that arranges travel packages and vehicles to reach this dham.

By Air– The nearest Airport from here is in Jolly Grant in Dehradun located about 317 km away . From Jolly Grant you can also avail the opportunity of helicopter services to Badrinath Temple. Jolly Grant have service to New Delhi Airport only.

By Train – Rishikesh railway Station is the nearest station from here about 297 Km from here and Kotdwara Station at 327 Km from here. Rishikesh is a small railway station visited by only few trains , Haridwar Station which is 26 Km from here is the main rail head of Badrinath Temple which have many train services to other cities of India.

By Road – NH -58 Connects New Delhi with Mana Pass near Indo -Tibet Border in Uttarakhand . Rishekesh is the major stoppage for heading to temple as it is the staring point of Gharwal mountains. During summers which is the best time to take darshans of temple , many tourists operators and govt buses operates from Delhi , Rishikesh and Haridwar that will take you to the pilgrimage site. From Rishikesh there are regular bus service to temple and starts early in the morning .