At some point in time or the other, we all feel to satiate our religious appetite and the desire becomes stronger and dominant as India is a land of pilgrimages for followers of all the religions and especially Hinduism. All these sacred areas across the country carry huge importance for the followers of Hinduism but Char Dham which literally means The Four Abodes and includes Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath are the pilgrimages which are considered and believed to be ultimate sacred havens and shall be visited by every Hindu during his/her lifetime. The sacred places are located in the beautiful land of State of Uttarakhand. Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand has gained grounds amongst the Hindu devotees, in fact, amongst several factions from different sects as well. Kedarnath Dham is located in the heart of Himalayas near river Mandakini and Kedarnath Temple is considered to be one of the holiest shrines for Hindus. The main areas which may be visited in the Dham are Viswanath Temple, Guptkashi, Gaurikund, Shankaracharya Samadhi, Agastyamuni Temple, Son Prayag, Bhairavnath Temple, Vasuki Taal and Chopta respectively. Though, the region got affected by earthquake a few years back, but the devotion of Hindus has remained undeterred.

The next destination in Char Dham tour in Uttarakhand is Yamunotri. The trek via Janakichatti which may be covered on foot, horseback or Doli is an interesting and captivating journey. Interestingly and surprisingly, you may cook rice by wrapping it in a piece of cloth and dipping in the hot water in Kund which is on the way and may be taken back home as prasadam. You may worship Divya Shila, take a holy dip in Jamunabai’s Kund and worship pious and scared river Yamuna will complete visit to this sacred Dham. Gangotri which is another Dham in the Char Dham tour is Gangotri which is the origin of holy river Ganges and is considered to be seat of Goddess Ganges and the main areas which may be visited are Gangotri Temple, Tapovan, Bhairon Ghaati, Submerged Shivlinga, Bhagirathi Shila, Pandav Gufa, Gauri Kund, Surya Kund and Gaumukh Glacier through which river Bhagirath river originated which was later known as river Ganga respectively.

Badrinath is one of the most important Dhams in Char Dham circuit. Badrinath serves as a sacred bridge which takes devotees to the paradise. The holy place has one of the biggest Shivlingas in northern India. Besides Badrinath Temple, you may also visit other pious places in the region viz. Neelkanth, Tapt Kund, Surya Kund, Narada Kund, scenic Vasundhara Falls, Charanpaduka which is a rock with foot imprint of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver. Further, you may also get spiritually benefitted by visiting Mata Murti Temple, Yogadhyan Badri, Alka Puri, Vyas Gufa, Bheem Pul which acts as a natural bridge across river Saraswati. In addition to this, you may worship Sheshnetra, Brahma Kapal which is ghat situated on the banks of Alaknanda river and Satopanth Lake. Char Dham trip will leave you spiritually elated, religiously ecstatic and serene beyond bounds.

In a nutshell, visiting Uttarakhand and not taking Char Dham trip will leave the journey incomplete.