Located at an altitude of 3,583m (11,755 ft), Kedarnath is one of the five Kedar (the Panch Kedar) that are most revered among all Shiva Temples. As per Mahabharata, when Pandavas were searching for Lord Shiva, he turned himself into a bull and when Bheema tried to capture the bull it disappeared and later on its body parts reappeared at five locations which are currently known as the Panch Kedar.
Also Kedarnath is one of the Char Dhams and is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand which is around 452 kms from Delhi, 249 kms from Dehradun & 212 kms from Rishikesh.
How To Reach Kedarnath
Reaching Kedarnath is not a tough task now. The holy temple now has a great connectivity by road. However one travelling to Kedarnath can commute by Air till Dehradun (Jolly Grant) and by Train till Rishikesh and there after they can get take a bus or a cab ride till Sonprayag. Sonprayag is the last point where by any means of transport will leave you and from there government cabs commute till Gaurikund every 5 min with a very minimal fare of just Rs. 10-20.
Gaurikund is the last motorable road for Kedarnath and from there starts a beautiful and a little tough trek of 16 Kms along the Himalayas. The natural scenic views along the trek is eye-catching and gives an immense relief from weariness of the treak.
Explained below in detail how to reach by different means of transport:
Travelling By Air:
Kedarnath does not have an airport, so one travelling by air can reach Dehradun (Jolly Grant) airport which is around 240 Kms from Kedarnath. Dehradun airport has a well versed connectivity with major cities of India including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, etc with frequent flights commuting to and from Dehradun airport providing numbers of options in term of timing and fares. Once you have reached to Dehradun, you can take a direct bus or a cab till Kedarnath.
Travelling By Train:
Kedarnath also does not have a railway station as of now, so you need to either reach Rishikesh by train which is the nearest railway station to Kedarnath i.e. around 225 Kms. Once you have reached Rishikesh, you can take a bus or hire a cab to Kedarnath. Bike riders have another option as they can hire bikes from Rishikesh at a very low price and enjoy the road trip.
Alternatively, you can also reach Dehradun by train and then after can take a bus or hire a cab. Since this increases the road travel distance by approx 50 Kms, so once should prefer reaching Rishikesh instead.
Travelling By Road:
If you are travelling from Delhi, you can easily get a bus from Kashmere Gate ISBT till Dehradun or Haridwar from where you will need to interchange and get a bus for Kedarnath. There are plenty of bus options to choose from. You can get a sleeper AC, sleeper Non-AC, Volvo or a semi-deluxe as well.
Usually a bus takes around 5-6 hours from Delhi to Dehradun/Haridwar, from where another 7-8 hours is taken by bus to cover a distance of 230 Kms.
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