More than 80% of Char Dham Yatra starts from Haridwar, as it has the best road, rail connectivity and from here the 1st place all traveler visit is the Yamunotri Dham Temple.

The temple of Yamunotri is one of Char Dham temples, and to reach here you need to drive 190 km north from Haridwar via Dehradun and reach Barkot.

At Barkot you can stay for an night and then on next day reach a place name Janki Chatti.

From here you need to walk for 5 km and the you will visit the 1st place of Char Dham Yatra: YAMONOTRI DHAM TEMPLE.

The Yamunotri Dham temple is dedicated to Ma Yamuna and is situated in Garwal Himalayas region of Uttarakhand.

It is said that the origin of the Yamuna River is from this temple, and a dip here is considered to protest from sudden death

Along with Yamunotri Dham temple, one can also visit Kharasali, which is the winter seat of Ma Yamuna and every year around Diwali, when the Yamunotri Dham Kapat is closed due to heavy snowfall, the deity of the temple is brought to Kharsali.

Saptarshi Kund,is a lake at Champasar Glacier which is the source of Yamuna river.

To reach here you need to walk more than 7 km from Yamunotri dham, and its advisable to accompany a local guide as its quite a difficult trek.

Hanuman Chatti is a small village near Janki Chatti, and now a days many travelers even stay here when hotels in Barkot are full.

Plus the village is also famous for the Hanuman temple and we suggest to visit it after coming back from Yamunotri Dham Yatra.

After visiting Yamunotri Dham, the next temple which you will visit is Gangotri Dham Temple.

To reach here you will leave from Barkot to Uttarkashi, which is 80 km/ 3 hour drive, & rest for the night.

Then you can drive till the Gangotri Dham temple area, where no trekking is involved.

The Gangotri Dham temple is dedicated to Goddess Ganga, and it is said that the origin of Ganga starting from Gangotri Dham.

Its is the 2nd of Char Dham temple and not so far from the temple there is a place name Gaumukh where one can self see the Ganga water coming out of glaciers.

While traveling from Barkot to Uttarkashi, you must visit the famous “Vishwanath Temple” in Uttarkashi.

You can visit the temple when you drive from Barokot to Uttarkashi, and next day leave for Kedarnath Dham visit.

The Vishwanath Temple is dedicated to Mahadev Shiv, and its full name is “Shree Kashi Vishwanath Temple Uttarkashi”.

It is said that the King of Kashi, in present Uttar Pradesh, shifted the Kashi Vishwanath temple, when his city was submerged in flood water.

There is also a Shakti Temple outside the main temple complex, which you should visit.

After visiting the Gangotri Dham and nearby temples in Uttarkashi, the next place to visit on Char Dham Yatra is Kedarnath Temple.

To reach here from Uttarkashi/ Gangotri Dham, you need to first arrive at Guptkashi which is 200 km drive.

After resting a night in Guptkashi you will first reach Sonprayag which is a 30 km drive, and then reach Gaurikund which the starting point of Kedarnath Yatra by feet.

Plus you can also book a helicopter for Kedarnath (starting from Guptkashi) or take a horse/ palki from Gaurikund.

The trek of Kedarnath Yatra is 18-20 km, and takes around 10-11 hours by foot.

Kedarnath is the most famous temple in Char Dham Yatra dedicated to Mahadev Shiv and some travellers only visit Kedaranath, as it is one of 12 Jyotirlinga.

It is said that this temple was built by the Pandavs as a sign of remorse for killing their relatives, friends & teachers in the war of Maharbahat.

Then in 800 AD, the temple was re-built by Adi Shankraya, whose statue is also built near the Kedarnath temple in 2021.

The temple is closed during winters due to harch cold weather and the diety is brought to Ukhimath Omkareshwar Temple, in Ukhimath and near Guptkashi.

Read more about Kedarnath Dham by clicking the button below.

It takes around 2 full days to complete Kedarnath Dham Yatra from Sonprayag.

Thus when you are coming back to Sonprayag on day 2 from Kedarnath Dham, you can rest for the day in Guptkashi, Sitapur or at Ukhimath to visit the Ukhimath Omkareshwar Temple, which is the winter seat of Baba Kedarnath.

Ukhimath is 40 km drive from Sonprayag and from here Guptkashi is 13 km or 20-30 minute drive.

Some guests also book their stay in Ukhimath, which now a days have quite some good accommodation options.

As per the local legends, Mandhata, an ancestors of Shri Ram performed a hard 12 year tapasya here, because of which he was able to feel the presence of Mahadev Shiv in the form of Om, and thus the temple name is Omkareshwar Temple.

Anther ledgend suggest that the grandson of Shri Krishna Anirudh, married Usha, daughter of a asyr (Vanasur), which led to rhe creation of this Shiv temple.

In winters, the temple is visited by many locals & travellers as not just Kedaranth Dham diety is brough here but the diety of Madmeshwar temple is brough here too.

Madmeshawar temple is as old as Kedarnath temple, built by Pandavas, and is also one of Panck Kedar.

After the Kedranath Yatra, its very important to go for Badrinath Yatra, which is also one of Char Dham Yatra of Uttarakhand, also known as Chota Char Dham Yatra.

Badrinath Temple is also a part of Char Dham Yatra of India, with other three temples being Dwarkadhish Temple in Gujrat, Jagannath Temple in Puri, and Rameshwaram Temple in Tamil Nadu.

From Guptkashi/ Sitapur/ Ukhimath you need to reach Pipalkoti, which is 95 km/ 3 hour drive, and rest for the day.

Next day from Pipalkoti, you will drive towards Badrinath temple, which again has no trekking as a car can reach the Dham area in 2-3 hours/ 75 km drive.

The temple of Badrinath is dedicated to Shree Hari Vishnu, and is one of 4 major Vishni temples in India, other 3 temple names shared above, along with 108 Divya Desams (temples dedicated to Shree Vishnu).

The Badrinath temple, also known as Badrinarayana Temple is suitated just next to Alaknanda river in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, and here you will have the darshan of 1 meter tall black statue of Vishnun ji, in the form of Badrinarayana.

The Badrinath temple is also said to be re-developed by Adi Shankaracharya in 8-9th century AD, and here you will find that temple is divided in three main parts.

These are Garbhagriha, Darshan Mandap and Sabha Mandap.

Along with Badrinarayan statue, you will also have the darshan of Mata Laxmi, Kuber, Narad muni, Garuda, Nar Narayan and 15 more idols, made of black stone.

Plus below the temple you will find Tapt Kund which is a hot water spring with medicinal quality due to high sulphur, where you can take a bath before visiting the temple.

Also checkout our Char Dham Yatra package from Haridwar, starting @ Rs 17,000 per person all inclusive.

The above list of Char dham yatra places can be covered in a 10 days yatra, and you can can give a few extra days then you can plan to visit more sites & places like.