[raju2512]

I did this in 2018 May. Wanted to write a travelogue then but as usual didn't do it

We were group of 6 from Chennai. We booked with GMVN Chennai branch and they gave an excellent itinerary and since most of the guest houses are owned by them it is easier to get accommodation. We were given an Innova and picked up and dropped at Delhi airport.

Day 1: Chennai Delhi early morning flight. Delhi - Haridwar - Rishikesh (stay)

Day 2: Rishikesh - Jankki Chatti (stay). Janki Chatti is the last motorable stop for Yamunotri. Only GMVN has a gust house there. All other operators will provide stay in Barkot which is about 40km from Janki Chatti. Advantage of staying here is that you can beat the traffic and crowd.

Day 3: Visit Yamunothri and reach Uthrakasi (stay)
We started the climb by 5 am and we were back in our room by 11 am beating the crowd and drove to Uthrakasi - Local temple visit

Day 4: Uthrakasi to Gangotri and back. Stay at Uthrakasi

Day 5: Uthrakasi to Gupthkasi (stay)

This is where our plan got derailed and we could reschedule since GMVN helped us with rescheduling the booking at no extra cost.

Original Plan

Day 6 - Gupthkasi to Kedarnath (Helicopter) Night stay at GVMN cottage in Kedarnath
Day 7 - Kedarnath to Gupthkasi (helicopter) and Gupthkasi to Gopeshwar (stay)

What actually happened.

The only issue in our plan was helicopter booking. There was news floating around that Uthrakand tourism may coordinate all helicopter booking and the GMVN Chennai office told us that we can get spot booking and we naively believed it. On reaching Gupthkasi we found that no spot booking was possible. The second mistake we did was to waste about 3 hours on Day 6 morning going to various helipads. By the time we reached Gaurikund (after going through the check posts and waiting in queue and jeep ride), they had stopped the yatra for the day. We had no choice but to stay in Gaurikund and unfortunately the GMVN facility was full and we had to hunt for some accommodation. We got the horses for the next day but still we had to stand in queue at 3 am (it was quite cold) and started our journey by 4 am. The new path was just getting laid, it was an adventurous (to put it mildly) trip of about 5 hours and we reached the temple by 10 am. After a good darshan we started the trip back by 11:30 am an reached Gaurikund by 3:00 pm. We coud not reach our stay at Gopeshwar and GMVN got us accommodated at their facility in Rampur

Day 8: Rampur to Badrinath (stay) - Darshan in the evening

Day 9: Badrinath - Joshimutt, Auli, Kaleshwar(stay)

Day 10: Kaleshwar - Dev prayag - Rishikesh (stay)

Day 11: Rishikesh - Delhi airport - Chennai

The GMVN has some of the best properties in the area. All facilities were clean and provided excellent food. Our driver was very particular about leaving by 5:30 am every day so that we could reach out next stay by 4 pm. The Kaleshwar guesthouse just on the banks of Alakanada was amazing.

If you are planning chardham yatra, my strong advice will be to go with GMVN

The total cost per person (excluding horse charges and extra stay in Gaurikund) was 25K and included all stay and car.

[abhi_tjet]

Hey guys, I am planning to visit Kedarnath next month. I have some queries and will appreciate the response

1. I have booked the same day return slot under 9am -12 pm departure. I didn’t found the 6-9 am booking slot. What should be the ideal time to come back to helipad after darshan for same day descend by helicopter or trekking? Also, by what time the descend is allowed on foot?

Accordingly, I plan to book something in Kedarnath.

2. Also, any decent options to stay near Sersi (GMVN looks booked for September 2nd week) and Rishikesh?

Thanks a lot!

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

1. I have booked the same day return slot under 9am -12 pm departure. I didn’t found the 6-9 am booking slot. What should be the ideal time to come back to helipad after darshan for same day descend by helicopter or trekking? Also, by what time the descend is allowed on foot?

Accordingly, I plan to book something in Kedarnath.

2. Also, any decent options to stay near Sersi (GMVN looks booked for September 2nd week) and Rishikesh?

It will all depend on the rush on that specific day. If you are lucky, queue should not be more than couple of hours long. There is a VIP ticket counter right opposite the temple exit gate that charges 2,100.00 per person.

Descend cannot be an alternative to helicopter. Please keep in mind - the descend consists of trekking down 24 kms, then a long queue at Gaurikund for Jeep that is a 5 kms ride to Sonprayag, from there a KM walk to main parking stand.

Keep it simple, take the chopper both ways. If you want to make it adventurous, trek down, budget 5 to 6 hours till Gaurikund, then depending on the queue for jeep another hours or so.

I trekked up and back over 2 days on May 29th-30th. The trek was stopped at 4pm on 28th due to rush, resumed at 3am the next day. So again, it will boil down to the rush on that day. Stay at Kedarnath is going to be very basic, you will be lucky to find basic clean rooms, avoid Jaipur house at all cost.

Let me know if you have any questions, I have written about my experience on Team BHP.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

It will all depend on the rush on that specific day. There is a VIP ticket counter right opposite the temple exit gate that charges 2,100.00 per person.

Let me know if you have any questions, I have written about my experience on Team BHP.

Thanks a lot Rishi for sharing the information here and also in the detailed log about your Kedarnath trek.

Few questions-
1. Can we book VIP ticket in advance or it can only be booked once we have alighted from helicopter and start towards temple?

2. Any specific timings for which VIP darshan is applicable or it can be used for normal darshan?

Thanks again!

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Few questions-
1. Can we book VIP ticket in advance or it can only be booked once we have alighted from helicopter and start towards temple?

2. Any specific timings for which VIP darshan is applicable or it can be used for normal darshan?

Check with your helicopter service provider. Don't know how true is it but helicopter tickets include VIP darshan to the temple since the slots for helicopter are pre-booked. So any delay in darshan can mess up the timings. Again, I am not too sure about this.

We had paid advance 100% to an agent for helicopter booking but ended up getting scammed. Still fighting with him for the refund.

We did the VIP darshan at 7pm. No idea if it is open overnight.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Check with your helicopter service provider. Don't know how true is it but helicopter tickets include VIP darshan to the temple since the slots for helicopter are pre-booked.

Helicopter tickets doesn’t include VIP passes. We checked with IRCTC.
Looks like one need to buy VIP pass in an adhoc manner after reaching Kedarnath top. Hoping there will not be much queue for buying passes.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Helicopter tickets doesn’t include VIP passes. We checked with IRCTC.
Looks like one need to buy VIP pass in an adhoc manner after reaching Kedarnath top. Hoping there will not be much queue for buying passes.

All the best. The weather changes rapidly up there. Keep a buffer day in hand.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

All the best. The weather changes rapidly up there. Keep a buffer day in hand.

Thanks for the wishes, Rishi.
I had a wonderful darshan and entire trip went very smooth. There was not much rush in the Char Dham Yatra route. Nobody tried to con me and I met some of the nicest people everywhere I went.

Sharing few pics.

Boarding Pass


The holy abode- The Kedarnath temple


The Triyuginarayan Temple- it’s said that Bhagwan Shiva’s wedding with Mata Parvati took place here


The Badrinath Dham- rush was minimal. I did darshan multiple times.


During Night


Neelkanth peak


The Saraswati river udgam at India’s first village - Mana


The Alaknanda, just after Saraswati merged with it at village Mana

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Thanks for the wishes, Rishi.
I had a wonderful darshan and entire trip went very smooth. There was not much rush in the Char Dham Yatra route. Nobody tried to con me and I met some of the nicest people everywhere I went.

Awesome pictures! Did you stay overnight at Kedarnath or did same day return trip to base?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Awesome pictures! Did you stay overnight at Kedarnath …

Thanks for the compliments Rishi!

Though I booked a GMVN dormitory for a night, I returned the same day. Landed at Kedarnath dham around 7AM and was given a time of 9 AM to report back at Himalayan heli office. After some wait time in queue, we came down around 10:30 AM.

[rahulk2510]

Hi,

What are the provisions to book a physical Pooja at the temple? Can we do it by booking at the temple office or do we have to do it via online website? (https://badrinath-kedarnath.gov.in/o...ja_Online.aspx)

Anybody has experienced this facility?

Best Regards,

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by rahulk2510

Hi,
What are the provisions to book a physical Pooja at the temple? Can we do it by booking at the temple office ..
Anybody has experienced this facility? ,

Hi Rahul,
I haven't personally booked it but the counter where a VIP ticket is bought at Kedarnath dham is actually there to buy/book various pooja coupons. As a matter of fact, the VIP pass is nothing but a type of pooja ticket/coupon only.

[Crazy4Power]

Hi Abhi,

Awesome pictures. I am planning to go there in 1st week of Nov 23. Just wanted to check whether you were allowed to enter the Garb Greh with VIP ticket or if it just helped in skipping the queue.

Thanks!

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Power

Just wanted to check whether you were allowed to enter the Garb Greh with VIP ticket or if it just helped in skipping the queue.

Thanks!

Thanks Crazy4Power
I suppose entering garbhgruha depends on time of visit rather than VIP pass. For us when we visited during morning hours, pass only helped in skipping queue. Everybody was having darshan after entering garbhgruha.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Power

Hi Abhi,

Awesome pictures. I am planning to go there in 1st week of Nov 23. Just wanted to check whether you were allowed to enter the Garb Greh with VIP ticket or if it just helped in skipping the queue.

Thanks!

I had taken VIP pass as well and we got to sit besides the shivling for almost 15 minutes. Divine experience it was.