Kedarnath Dham is now dream destination for every hindu pilgrims and this holy place is also a part of chota char dham yatra and one of the Jyotirlinga out of 12 Jyotirlinga. Kedarnath is situated in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand and it is 3583 meter above from sea level. This yatra starts every year in April end or May start and runs till October end to November mid. So if you are planning for this yatra then this blog will definitely help you a lot.
Kedarnath Opening Date in 2024- 10 May 2024
Kedarnath Yatra Register Here

How to Reach

There are only two options to reach Kedarnath Dham and base point is Haridwar. So first you need to reach Haridwar which is also situated in Uttarakhand and here you will get all kind of transportation to reach Kedarnath Dham. Haridwar is only 250 KM away from Delhi and it is well connected by bus and train. If you want to reach by flight then take Dehradun flight. Dehradun is only 50 KM away from Haridwar.

By Road

So after reaching Haridwar you can take bus or taxi to reach Sonprayag. Haridwar to Sonprayag distance is around 230 KM and it will take your entire day to reach Sonprayag. After reaching Sonprayag take rest and next day early morning take sharing jeep to Gaurikund in Rs. 50 only and after reaching Gaurikund you can start 16 KM Trek to Kedarnath. Again it will take your entire day. So by road you can reach Kedarnath Dham in 2 Days.

By Helicopter

There is only one direct option to reach Kedarnath by Helicopter but you have to do a long journey to reach helicopter flying point which is situated in 3 location Guptkashi, Phata and Sersi. All points are very near to each other and within 20 KM on the same route. As per your helicopter booking location take bus or taxi from Haridwar to these location. Haridwar to Guptakashi is 203 KM while Phata is 215 KM and Sersi is 223 KM away from Haridwar. It will take your entire day and next day you can fly to reach Kedarnath Dham. It means by helicopter will also take 2 days to reach Kedarnath but same day you can get down from Guptakashi, Phata or Sersi by Helicopter. So you can save at least one day.
Plan Your Char Dham Yatra

Itinerary

Without a proper plan of Kedarnath can spoil your trip. Because of crowd, weather conditions and many things. So make a proper plan and follow that plan. Here I will help you to create the Plan.
Kedarnath Yatra generally happened in 3-4 days depends on your mode of transportation. If you are doing by road and trek then it will take 4 days and if you are going by helicopter then it will take 3 days. So here we will know day wise itinerary.

Day-1

Your first day should be in Haridwar and you can reach here may be in morning, afternoon or evening. So today just take rest in Haridwar and take a holy dip in Har ki Pauri. If you are reaching Haridwar in early morning then you can start your journey on the same day but my recommendation is to spend some time Haridwar and start your journey on next day.

Day-2 Haridwar to Sonprayag

So today is the starting day of your road journey and start your day at early morning 2 AM if you are planning to go by bus because Sonprayag buses departs at 3-5 AM. It will take around 12 hours to reach Sonprayag. But if you are going by car then you can start your day at 5 AM and depart Haridwar till 6 AM because if you start your day late then you can stuck in traffic and reach the destination at night. So try to start early and take your breakfast on the way and reach Sonprayag till 4-5 PM. If you booked helicopter then you don’t need to reach Sonprayag and reach your booked helicopter flying point like Guptkashi, Phata or Sersi.

Day-3 Sonprayag to Kedarnath

This is your most hectic day of entire Kedarnath trip and If you don’t want to be a part of crowd then again start your day at 3 AM because now you have to go to the Gaurikund by sharing jeep. Sonprayag to Gaurikund is only 5 KM away but you will not get permit to take your own vehicle or commercial vehicle or even two wheeler because road is very narrow so only option is sharing jeep and they will take Rs. 50 per person. You can also start your trek from sonprayag but my recommendation is to take jeep and after reaching Gaurikund start your trek.
Gaurikund to Kedarnath distance is 16 KM and you can do this complete journey by foot and if you are not able to do by foot then you can do by pony, pitthu or Palki. Rates you can see in below picture. This 16 KM trek will take around 10-12 Hours because to climb up to 14 KM and last 2 KM is flat. After reaching Kedarnath Dham just take rest but if you reached at 4 PM then today you can do darshan and it’s your choice. If you are going with pony then they will drop you 2 KM before Kedarnath temple.
For Helicopter yatris you can start your day as per your helicopter schedule but if you booked only one way ticket and reaching Kedarnath late then you have to stay here and you need to follow day-4 itinerary but in case you reached and did darshan till 11 AM then you can get down by today. If you booked returned helicopter then you don’t need to worry about anything just stay in your same destination and don’t do check out from your last hotel and next day follow day-5 itinerary.

Day-4 Kedarnath to Sonprayag

Today is your darshan day and at morning 5-6 AM will be perfect time to do darshan because during this time you will get less number of crowd but in starting days you will also get crowd in this time. Darshan will take generally half hour to 3-4 hours depends on crowd. My recommendation is to do darshan in your day-3 if everything is fine like your body, healt, weather etc. Because nobody knows about next day weather condition and if you did darshan in day-3 then you can do darshan again on day-4. So if you did darshan yesterday then you can again do darshan otherwise if you don’t want to do darshan again then get down to Sonprayag on the same way. Try to start your trek till 9 AM. So you can reach till 4-5 PM to Sonprayag.

Day-5 Sonprayag to Haridwar

So today you can start your day at 6-7 AM if you are traveling by car but if you are going by bus then start your day at 3-4 AM. Today you just need to reach Haridwar and it will take your entire day.

Hotel

During this Kedarnath trip you have to stay in many different locations-
Day-1 Haridwar
Day-2 Sonprayag/Sitapur/Gaurikund and for Helicopter Yatris Guptkashi/Phata/Sersi
Day-3 Kedarnath Dham and for Helicopter Yatris Guptkashi/Phata/Sersi
Day-4 Sonprayag/Sitapur/Gaurikund and for Helicopter Yatris it’s check out day from hotel
Day-5 It’s check out day from hotel

Genrally prices of hotels on these locations in starting days are around 1000-10000 but average price for average hotel is Rs. 1500-2500. Always try to book in advance because you will not get on spot hotels in starting days. Sometimes hoteliers can cancel your advance booking because they can get better price from another customers. In this case always try to book by GMVN which is government organization and you can book through reliable travel agents.
You will get most expensive rooms in Sonprayag and Gaurikund So if you want to save money you can stay before this place like Sitapur or any place between Sonprayag to Phata. Everywhere you can get good room and availability except Kedarnath Dham. So do not take risk of on spot booking because you will not get rooms and you can stuck in this situation. So book your stay here in advance and 95% stay is running by GMVN so check availability and plan accordingly. Some Dharamshalas and Hotel is very near to Kedarnath Temple like Agarwal Bhawan in Kedarnath but their tariff is around 3000-8000 Per Night. Here you can get dormitory, Tents and Cottages which costs around RS. 800-6000. These camps known as Nandi Complex, Swargarohini Complex and Sumeru Camps. All these camps spread around 2 KM area.

Transportation

By Bus

If you are traveling by bus then always ready to start your day at 2-3 AM. You will get buses for Sonprayag in front of Haridwar railway station and outside Haridwar bus stand. Only private buses are running on this route and most of buses named as Vishwanath Seva and Himgiri Bus. Generally they charge Rs. 700-800 per person and there is no online booking system. You have to book offline and on spot at early morning same day. There is no AC bus or Luxury bus on this route so you have to travel only in ordinary bus and standing passengers not allowed in this bus.

By Jeep

Sometimes you will not get seats in bus then in this situation you can travel by sharing jeep but you will not get direct jeep to Sonprayag. You have to take sharing jeep till Rudraprayag then Rudraprayag to Sonprayag. Sharing jeep cost is more than bus and it costs around 1000-1200 for this journey. These are basic jeeps like bolero it is less comfortable than bus.

By Car

The most Comfortable thing is car and you can book taxi or cars directly from Haridwar. Generally they charge Rs. 15000-20000 for 4 seater car for this entire trip including toll, parking etc. If you are going with your own car then you can save more and you can do this trip in only Rs. 5000.

By Bike

Bike is also a good option for your trip if you ready to drive on mountains for 10 hours and 500 KM. You can hire bike from Haridwar and scooty rent is around 1000-1200 per day and bike rent is around 1500-2000 per day depends on season. Here I will share the contact number where you can hire bike or scooty (Ghumo Bike & Scooty Rental 9044474321) If you are two person then bike and scooty can be budget option but due to safety purpose wear helmet by both person to prevent from accidents, landslides and specially to beware from small stones which falls on mountains so it can harm. So if you are ready for adventure then you can choose this option.

Helicopter

If you are planning through helicopter then you can book through www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in irctc is the only authorized platform where you can book helicopter. Many agents can give you guarantee that they can book for you but everyone using this platform for ticket and nobody can give you guarantee that they will provide confirmed ticket. It is completely first come first serve basis and helicopter ticket slot open every week. So just be alert and check website regularly for updates. Helicopter prices are depends on route which you can check in below picture. If weather is not in favor then sometimes they cancel the your ride and refund it. So be prepare for it.

Season

Kedarnath is generally open in April end and May start and Kedarnath temperature always remain cold around -5 to 10 Degree. Generally starting months like May and June considered as best time to visit because you will get good weather during this time and also these are holiday season in India but the only problem is crowd. Because most people are planning in these months. After June monsoon comes and remain since September so avoid to go July to September because of landslide and bad weather conditions but these are the months when you get very less crowd. October is also considered as good month but this is winter time. So you will get cold weather. This season is also crowded but not like May and June. But Kedarnath Temple is situated on very high altitude so weather can change anytime and any months.

Package

Kedarnath package can also be a good option who just want to do hassle free journey and if you are planning through car then package would be better option because it costs around 15000 per person from Haridwar to Haridwar package which includes transportation through 4 seater car, hotel and breakfast. You can book through any agent but I am also sharing the contact number where I took services (Adhbhut Uttarakhand Travels 8287008935, 9717030609) but I am only recommending for your easiness so do your own research first to choose good travel agent. You can also take Delhi to Kedarnath Package and it costs 5000-10000 more so it’s better to take train or bus from Delhi then start your package from Haridwar.

Important Tips

1. Haridwar to Sonprayag Road is very good and wide in this entire route but curvy. So do not eat too much because you can feel motion sickness.
2. There are only temporary toilet cabins in Kedarnath for the people who are living in dormitory but if you are living in cottage then you will get toilet in your room. Do not expect cleanliness and you can face little bit difficulty.
3. Avoid to take small children because of unavoidable weather conditions.
4. If you never did any trek then start running at least half an hour every morning before 15 days of your trip.
5. Carry warm clothes with you like jackets, gloves, winter cap and warm socks.
6. Carry some important things like sunglasses, umbrella, power bank, rain coat, toiletries, wet tissues etc.
7. Carry your important medicines and also carry Glucone D and Electral Powder to prevent from dehydration.
8. You can stuck in traffic for hours so carry some packaged food like chocolate, biscuit, chips and also water bottle.
9. Try to plan and book everything in advance if you are traveling in May and June months.

Budget

If you are doing everything by your own and traveling through bus living in low budget hotel and dormitory in Kedarnath-
Hotel- 1500 Per Night 2 Adults x 4 Nights = 6000/2 = 3000
Meals- 500 Per Day = 2500
Transportation- = 2000
Total Cost for 1 Person- = 7500

If you want to travel with comfort then here I am considering at least 2 person is going on trip by car
Hotel- 2000 Per Night 2 Adults x 4 Nights = 8000
Meals- 1000 Per Day for 2 Adults = 5000
Transportation- = 15000
Total Cost for 2 Person- = 28000

I hope you like this blog. If you have any doubt or question, you can ask in comment. It will appreciate my work. Jai Shree Kedar