Char dham yatra is a most auspicious yatra for every hindu pilgrims but there are two char dham yatra, one is main char dham yatra which consists Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameshwaram and Jagannath Puri and another one is chota char dham yatra which happens only in uttarakhand state and this yatra consist Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Every year in April and May season you can be a part of this yatra because this yatra opens only in these months and dates depends on the shubh muhurat. So in this blog we will know everything about chota char dham yatra and after reading this blog you can plan by your own.

Yatra Starting Date

Yamunotri- Not Announced Yet
Gangotri- Not Announced Yet
Kedarnath- 10th May 2024
Badrinath- 12th May 2024
You have to register yourself if you are planning to do this yatra. To Register CLICK HERE

Pattern of Char Dham Yatra

If you want to do this yatra then you have to follow the pattern of this yatra like you have to start from Haridwar which is also situated in Uttarakhand. First you will take bath in Haridwar in Har ki Pauri and then you will plan like this-
1. Yamunotri
2. Gangotri
3. Kedarnath
4. Badrinath
If you see on the map then you will find all these places situated in different direction in Uttarakhand. You can not plan like first Kedarnath then Gangotri because this is not correct pattern according to hindus.
Watch Char Dham Yatra Guide Video

Route Plan

The most important thing is route plan of this yatra and timings. So your yatra route will be like this
Haridwar > Barkot > Yamunotri > Uttarkashi > Gangotri > Sonprayag > Kedarnath > Joshimath > Badrinath > Haridwar
If you want to know more then see the map then you will get perfect picture of entire route. But don’t worry I will provide you complete itinerary of Char Dham Yatra.
Planning for Kedarnath Yatra

Itinerary of Char Dham Yatra

So as you know you have to start this yatra from haridwar and there are so many mode of transportation to reach here like you can reach by train, bus or car and There are regular buses and trains available from Delhi. Delhi to Haridwar distance is only 250 KM and Generally it takes 5-6 hours. If you want to come by flight then nearby airport is Dehradun which is capital of Uttarakhand.

Day-1 Haridwar > Barkot

First day you can go from Haridwar to Barkot which is 186 KM away from Haridwar. Some people can also start from Dehradun which is capital of Uttarakhand but as I said before there is a pattern for this yatra so you have to follow that. But suppose if you have taken bath in Haridwar then same day you can go to Dehradun which is only 50 KM away from Haridwar. So next day you need to travel 50 KM less and you don’t need to start early. But if you are a budget traveler then stay in Haridwar because you will get cheap dharmshalas and hotels only in Haridwar not in Dehradun. So If you are in Haridwar then start your day at 5 AM and leave the hotel till 6 AM. If you are in Dehradun then you can leave at 8 AM. On the way you can visit some places of Mussoorie’s like Kempty Falls.

Day-2 Barkot > Yamunotri > Uttarkashi

Today you will do darshan of Yamunotri and start your day at early morning 5AM. First you will check out from the hotel but you can leave your luggage at hotel so you don’t need to carry all the stuffs because today you will do trek and don’t worry generally luggage keep safe in hotel reception. So now you will go from Barkot to Jankichatti which is only 45 KM away from Barkot. After reaching Jankichatti you have to do one way trek of 5 KM but you can also take pony, pitthu or palki up to your choice. For Pony, Pitthu or Palki rates Watch this Video. This trek route is slippery and narrow so I will prefer to do trek by your own. It will take around 3 hours to reach Yamunotri Dham and you can spend here around 1 hour. So after doing darshan get back to Jankichatti and then you will go to Uttarkashi and stay there. You can also stay in Barkot if you want but in this case you have to add one more day in your itinerary.

Day-3 Uttarkashi > Gangotri > Uttarkashi

This day you will do darshan of Gangotri and today you will not check out from hotel because you will stay in Uttarkashi again. So start your day at 5 AM and you will go from Uttarkashi to Gangotri which is 100 KM away from Uttarkashi. This route is very beautiful and you can also explore enroute places like Harshil etc. After reaching Gangotri Dham you will do darshan because there is no trek or anything because Gangotri is directly connected to road. So here you can spend 1-2 hour then you can go back to Uttarkashi and stay there.

Day-4 Uttarkashi > Sonprayag

Today you will not do any darshan because this is only travel day. So today you will go from Uttarkashi to Phata or Sonprayag. This entire journey is more than 200 KM that’s why you have to start your day at 6AM. If you booked helicopter for Kedarnath Dham then you can stay in Phata, If you want to save money then stay between Phata and Sonprayag but if you want to reach on time to Kedarnath next day then stay in Sonprayag and you can stay anywhere it completely depends on your choice. But my recommendation is to stay in Sonprayag.

Day-5 Sonprayag > Gaurikund > Kedarnath

This is very hectic day for your entire Char Dham Yatra because today you have to start your day at very early morning 3 AM to prevent from rush. If you stayed at Phata or between Sonprayag then reach Sonprayag and then reach at the point where you will get sharing jeep for Gaurikund. Sonprayag to Gaurikund is around 5 KM and you will get sharing jeep at 50 rupees per person. You can not take your private or commercial vehicle from Sonprayag to Gaurikund. So only option is jeep or by trek. After reaching Gaurikund you can take Pony, Pitthu or Palki to Kedarnath or you can go by trek. The distance from Gaurikund to Kedarnath Jee is around 16 KM. So your entire day will go on trek. If you reach on time or you have stamina then do darshan on same day and stay near Kedarnath Dham. You will get only dormitory, cottage or tents here and everything should be booked in advance otherwise you will face unavoidable difficulties.

Day-6 Kedarnath > Sonprayag > Joshimath

This Day is another hectic day and start your day at 5 AM but if you didn’t do darshan yesterday of Kedarnath Jee then start at 3 AM and after doing darshan go back to Sonprayag by trek or other options and now you will go from Sonprayag to Joshimath which is around 170 KM from Sonprayag. You can also stay before Joshimath like Chamoli Gopeshwar or Pipalkoti but My recommendation is Joshimath because it helps you to do darshan next day on time. But if you didn’t reach till 12 PM to Sonprayag today then Chamoli Gopeshwar or Pipalkoti would be better option. Generally sometimes people stuck in traffic then they don’t reach on time but if you are from bike then you can reach.

Day-7 Joshimath > Badrinath > Joshimath

This day is not too hectic whatever you are in Joshimath, Chamoli Gopeshwar or Pipalkoti. Wherever you are start your day at 7 AM and then go to Badrinath. Joshimath to Badrinath is only 45 Km, while 102 KM from Chamoli Gopeshwar and 74 KM from Pipalkoti. There is no trek in Badrinath and it is directly connected by road. Here you can spend 1-2 Hours and after doing darshan go back to Joshimath and Stay here. If you have time then you can stay in Pipalkoti, Chamoli Gopeshwar or Srinagar. Whatever distance you cover today next day you can easily reach Haridwar. But my recommendation is to stay in Joshimath or you can also stay in Badrinath. Because this is your last day and you can celebrate here.

Day-8 Joshimath > Haridwar

Congratulations, All Dham is now done. So today you will go back to Haridwar or Dehradun and distance depends on where you stayed. If you stayed in Joshimath then it will take entire day and distance from Joshimath to Haridwar is around 275 KM.

Transportation

If you are a solo traveler or budget traveler and comfortable to travel in bus then your per day cost will be around Rs. 500 only sometimes you will not get bus then you can travel by sharing jeep. But if you are comfortable to drive in mountains and ready to drive 1300-1400 Km in 8 days then you can hire bike or scooty from Haridwar. You will get scooty in rupees 800-1200 per day and bike price can be 1500-2000 per day depends on season. If you are two person with one bag then this option is good and you save so much money. But if you are not comfortable with this then you have to be prepared to spend a lot on car and you will get 4 seater car in Rs. 3200-4500 Per Day with toll, fuel and parking. My suggestion is to travel with car with 4 person then you will save money and cost will be same as bike and it will be comfortable for family or couple. Two wheeler is only for adventure lover and it can also be hectic because you have to drive entire day in mountains in helmet, face dust then trek but if you are traveling by car then you can enjoy your trip and most important two wheeler is not safe in mountains. There are no option for entire char dham yatra by helicopter. Only Badrinath and Kedarnath are connected by Helicoper services for pilgrims.

Hotels

Starting two months of Char dham yatra is very crowded and even you will not get on spot rooms in some places and if you will get, then they will charge so much amount. So it would be better, try to book hotels in advance and here advance means 2-3 months before. Specially in Sonprayag and Kedarnath. Generally you will get hotels in 2000-2500 per night for 2 adults but rates completely depends on season. Sometimes some hoteliers cancel your advance booking because they get much better price from on spot booking person. So in this case try to book through GMVN which is government organization or you can book through reliable travel agent. If you want to save money do not stay in city area like suppose if you are staying in Joshimath then hotel tariff will be high but if you are staying between Joshimath to Badrinath then tariff would be less. My recommendation is GMVN.

Season

Char Dham Yatra generally starts in late April or starting of May and end in October end to November Mid. So it runs around 6 months and there are 3 types of season in these 6 months.
April to June- This is starting month and most crowded season because these months are perfect for weather. Generally you will get snow in Kedarnath Jee during this month and you will not get too much rain so you will not get many landslides anywhere so these months are consider as best months from safety point of view. These months are also summer holiday season in India.
July to September- These are most dangerous months because of rain and landslides. So pilgrims do not prefer to travel in these months. You will get very less number of tourists so you will get hotels and all services in reasonable price. But after mid September crowd is again start slowly slowly.
October to November- These months are holiday season months of India so prices and crowd both rises but not like April to June. So these months are also good time to visit but during these months you will also feel so much cold.
Note- Weather can change anytime in mountains so always prepare for that.

Important Tips

1. If you are planning in starting months then book everything in advance.
2. Carry warm clothes with you like jackets, gloves, winter cap and warm socks.
3. Carry some important things like sunglasses, umbrella, power bank, rain coat, toiletries etc.
4. Provide some food, tea and snacks to drivers so they will serve you better.
5. Always start your day early and get ready on time.
6. Be on time and reach every day on your destination as per itinerary because if you do not reached on time then your entire plan will spoil.
7. Be prepare for long traffic so carry some chips, biscuits, chocolates and packaged food and drink.
8. Carry your important medicines and also carry Glucone D and Electral Powder to prevent from dehydration.
9. Carry your bookings with you and all vehicle papers with you.
10. If you are traveling by bike then wear helmet by both person to prevent your head from small stones which can fall anytime on mountains.
11. More people more you save means suppose if you travel with 4 person then cost can be Rs. 20000 per person but if you travel with 15 person then cost will be Rs. 15000 per person. (Rate is mentioned for example only)
12. Do not eat so much because you can face motion sickness on mountains so try to eat in limit.

Package

There are many companies who sell char dham package which includes hotel, transporation & breakfaast and generally char dham package completed in 10 days so my itinerary and package itinerary would be different. Package is good option because you will face issues if you plan by own like you have to book many hotels in different places and sometime they cancel if they get more money from another customer and if you will not book in advance then you will face availability issue. Obviously you will save some money if you plan by your own but it can not be huge difference. So package can be good option but sometimes you will also face issues with travel agents like they will not give good hotels, rude driver behavior, you have to travel as per tour operator plan and sometimes they may ask unnecessary money. So always check at least 4-5 travel agents before booking and I am also providing a travel agent contact number (Adhbhut Uttarakhand Travels 8287008935, 9717030609) where I took services but always check by your own. GMVN is also running package and this package costs around 35000 Per Person by bus.

Budget

If your plan is completely customize and you are traveling by bus and choosing basic hotel & food then cost can be-
Hotel- 1500 Per Night 2 Adults x 8 Nights = 12000/2 = 6000
Meals- 600 Per Day for 2 Adults = 4800
Transportation- 500 Per by bus = 4000
Total Cost for 1 Person- = 14800

Here I am considering at least 2 person is going on trip by car
Hotel- 2000 Per Night 2 Adults x 8 Nights = 16000
Meals- 1000 Per Day for 2 Adults = 8000
Transportation- 4000 Per Day for 4 Seater Car = 32000
Total Cost for 2 Person- = 56000
If you add some other cost then you can do char dham yatra in Rs. 60000 for 2 Person but it can increase up to 70000 in season and If you are planning by your own car then you can save huge amount and you can do this trip only in Rs. 36000 because fuel cost would be around 10000-12000 only.
In case of package, price can be Rs. 80000-120000 depends on package category. So if you don’t want to take package then only hire a car and book hotels by your own so you can save some money.

So I hope you enjoy this blog and information. If you have any questions and doubts then you can ask in comments I will be happy to answer you.