The cupboards of Kedarnath Dham were closed on November 3. Then the temple was decorated with 10 quintals of flowers.
The cupboards of the four dhams of Uttarakhand have begun to close for winter, the pilgrimages to Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are complete. On 17th November, the Yatra period will be completed with the closing of the cupboards of Badrinath Dham. So far 46.74 lakh devotees have visited Chardham.
This year, the number of pilgrims going to Chardham has decreased by more than 10 lakhs. The reason for this is the increase in accidents like landslides due to rain. This time there was rain for 20 more days on the Chardham Yatra route. Due to which 12% more rain than normal was recorded.
Normally 1121 mm rainfall is recorded but this time 1230 mm rain fell. The number of passengers in 2023 was more than 56 lakh which is the highest passenger record in the history of travel.
An army band and traditional instruments were played during the closure of Kedarnath's Kapat.
Kedarnath road was closed for a month About 3.1 lakh devotees visited the four shrines between May and mid-July after natural calamities wreaked havoc due to heavy rains. On the night of July 31, about 150 meters of the highway was closed near Son Prayag after a cloud burst on the Kedarnath footpath. It took more than a month to rebuild the highway.
16 lakh devotees reached Kedarnath, 12 lakh reached Badrinath Most devotees are reaching Kedarnath in Char Dham. This year 16.52 lakh devotees visited Kedarnath. While 12.98 lakh devotees visited Badrinath, 8.15 lakh Gangotri and 7.14 lakh Yamunotri Dham. 1.83 lakh devotees also had darshan of Shri Hemkunt Sahib.
Adi Kailash Yatra also closed, 40 thousand devotees arrived Adi Kailash in Pithoragarh district has also been closed for devotees. This year more than 40 thousand devotees reached Adi Kailas. Which is the largest number of passengers arriving here so far. The road to Adi Kailash made it quite easy to reach here.
Since the number of devotees was limited for the first time, only 15 thousand people could visit Kedarnath every day
- Last year, a record 56 lakh people arrived at Char Dham, disrupting the system. This time the Uttarakhand Police and Tourism Department limited the daily number of pilgrims in the Char Dham Yatra.
- Last year, more than 60,000 pilgrims used to visit the four Dhams every day. According to Tourism Secretary Sachin Kurve, this time a limit of 15,000 pilgrims was kept to reach Kedarnath in a day.
- This year, 16,000 devotees were allowed to visit Badrinath Dham, 9,000 at Yamunotri and 11,000 at Gangotri. That means 51 thousand devotees will be able to visit the four shrines every day.
- For the first time, more than 400 doctors were deployed on the Char Dham Yatra route. 256 of them were emergency medical officers and specialist doctors.
Char Dham features and route map
1. Yamunotri
Yamunotri is the westernmost temple of Garhwal in Uttarakhand. Yamunotri is the source of river Yamuna. It is known for the temple of Goddess Yamuna and the sacred thermal springs of Janaki Chatti. Yamuna Temple was built by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tihri Garhwal.
Famous Places and Temples: Yamunotri Temple, Saptarshi Kund, Surya Kund, Divya Shila, Hanumanchatti, Kharsali.
2. Gangotri
Gangotri is at an altitude of 3200 meters above sea level in Uttarkashi. There is a temple of the holy river Ganges here. Where people perform darshan after bathing.
Famous Places and Temples: Bhojbasa, Gangnani, Kedartal, Gaumukh, Gangotri Temple, Bhairon Ghati, Submerged Shivalinga, Tapovan.
3. Kedarnath
There is a temple of Lord Shiva in Kedarnath. It is at an altitude of 3,584 meters above sea level. Here is the Mandakini river. Kedarnath Dham is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
Famous Places and Temples: Gandhi Sarovar, Phata, Son Prayag, Triugi Narayan Temple, Chandrapuri, Kalimath, Vasuki Tal, Shankaracharya Samadhi, Gaurikund.
4. Badrinath
Badrinath is situated on the left side of Alaknanda river at an altitude of 3133 meters above sea level. There is a temple of Lord Vishnu here.
Famous Places and Temples: Pandukeshwar, Yogdhyan Badri Temple, Mana Village, Satopanth Lake, Tapta Kund, Neelkanth Peak, Charan Paduka, Mata Murthy Temple, Narada Kund, Bhima Bridge, Ganesh Cave, Brahma Kapal, Sheshnetra, Vyasa Cave etc.
related to Char Dham…
Diwali Celebrations in Badrinath-Kedarnath: Special Pooja Performed in Both Dhams; Devotees were excited to see the grandeur of the temple
The festival of Diwali was celebrated in Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham on Friday, November 1. On this occasion, the temples in Badrinath Dham were illuminated with colorful lights at night.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
