About

The temple is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river, in Rudraprayag district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the 12 Jyotirling temples, and is at the highest altitude among them.
The lingam in Kedarnath is unique in that it is pyramidal in shape.
Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akshaya Tritiya) and November (Kartik Purnima, the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigraha (deity) of the temple is carried down to Ukhimath to be worshipped for the next six months.

Constructed in:	11th century CE
Height:	25.91 m
Base:	56.99m x 24.38m
Local Language(s):	Hindi, Garhwali

Legends

A folk legend about Panch Kedar relates to the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas defeated and slew their cousins - the Kauravas - in the epic Kurukshetra war. They wished to atone for the sins of committing fratricide (gotra hatya) and Brahmanahatya (killing of Brahmins - the priestly class) during the war. Thus, they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of the lord Shiva and to seek his blessings. First, they went to the holy city of Varanasi (Kashi), believed to be Shiva's favourite city and known for its Kashi Vishwanath Temple. But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas' prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region.

Architecture

The walls of the Kedarnath temple are 12 feet in thickness and are built in stone

The Kedarnath temple stands on a platform which is 6 feet high.

Its roof is made of a single stone.

Trivia

Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas, and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple structure did not suffer any major damage, apart from a few cracks on one side of the four walls which was caused by the flowing debris from the higher mountains. A large rock among the debris acted as a barrier, protecting the temple from the flood. This rock has been named 'Bhim Shila'

Ticketing

All SAARC citizens	50 /-
Children (under 15)	20 /-
Senior Citizens (aged 65 and over)	30 /-
Foeigners and NRIs	300 /-
Time required	2 hours
Best to visit	May-June

Nearby

Laxman Jhula

(97.86 kms)

4.5

Getting There

( kms)::Helicopter services are also available to reach Kedarnath from other places in Uttarakhand. These helicopters are run by Pawan Hans Helicopter service and can be hired from Sitapur, Dehradun, Agustmuni, Gauchar or Phata.

Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun (239 kms)::The nearest airport is the the Jolly Grant Airport which is situated at a distance of 239km from Kedarnath and 22km southeast of Dehradun

Rishikesh (215 kms)::Rishikesh is well connected with all major destinations of India but there are no fast trains from here

Haridwar (241 kms)::Haridwar Railway Station has frequent trains to and from New Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Howrah and Ahmedabad.

Kotdwar (241 kms)::Kotdwar has very limited number of trains.

Dehradun (257 kms)::Dehradun Terminal is a railway station on the Northern line of the Northern Railway network.

Gaurikund (22 kms)::The only way to Kedarnath by road is until Gaurikund. Gaurikund is well connected to other major destinations in Uttarakhand. There are daily buses and taxis from Haridwar, Dehradun, Srinigar, Rishikesh, etc. Horses and palanquins or ‘dolis’ can be hired to reach Kedarnath from Gaurikund.

(22 kms, 240 mins)::The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 22 kilometres (14 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony, mule and manchan service is available to reach the temple.

To Do

Trk to Chandrashila for age groups 12 to 60

Bird watching for age groups 10 to 80

Kedarnath

About

Legends

Architecture

Trivia

Ticketing

Nearby

Laxman Jhula

Getting There

To Do

Related

Shri Shri Kedar temple (Same Religious Denomination)

Kedaresvara Temple (Same Religious Denomination)

Kedaresvara Temple (Same Religious Denomination)

Kedaresvara temple (Same Religious Denomination)

Gallery

Bhim Shila, Kedarnath