Badrinath Dham

Badrinath is located in the chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is considered as the most important of all four chota char dhams of Uttarakhand.
The holy Badrinath area is also called as Bdarikasharam in hindu scriptures. The place is visited by thousands of devotees as this is the place where lord Vishnu took dual form of Nara – Narayana.
The town is on the banks of Alaknanda River and lies between Nar and Narayan mountain ranges. Adi Shankara in the earlier 9th century restablished Badrinath as the major pilgrimage site. Legend shankara found Saligram stone in the Alaknanda River which looked like the image of lord Badrinarayan and he placed that stone in a cave near the tapt kund hot springs where today the holy Badrinath Temple stands. The temple is 50 feet tall and the architecture resembles a Buddhist temple. The colour pattern and carvings on the walls of the temple is very beautiful with a small cupola on the top made of gold.

Location = Chamoli district, Uttarakhnad

Dehradun to Badrinath dham = 337 kms, Rishikesh to Badrinath dham = 295 kms, Mussoorie to Badrinath dham = 368 kms, Rudraprayag to Badrinath dham = 157 kms, Deoprayag to Badrinath dham = 223 kms, Joshimath to Badrinath dham = 46 kms, Delhi to Badrinath dham = 549 kms, Chandigarh to Badrinath dham = 501 kms

Altitude = 3300 meters

Ideal season = Opening of Badrinath Dham usually 2nd week of May to closing day of Gangotri Dham usually October- November (avoid monsoon).

Nearest Airport = Jolly Grant (311 kms)

Nearest Railway station = Rishikesh (294 kms)

badrinath temple landscape

Why Badrinath Dham

Badrinath is one of the most visited popular holy towns of Hindus in Uttarakhand and is a sacred site for Vaishnavites. The surrounding mountains near Badrinath town are mentioned in Maharbharata, when pandavas were on their way to heaven they passed through this town to reach Swargarohini peak which is also known as the “Mountain that leads to heaven”.
A famous cave Vyas gufa is at a distance of 3 kms from Badrinath in mana village and it is believed that saint Vyasa wrote Mahabharata is this cave. Badrinath is also the gate way to the famous Satopanth tal which is a triangular tal located 26 kms from Badrinath. Badrinath being close to various Himalayan mountains attracts lots of mountaineers towards itself and one of them being Mt Neelkanth.

Tapt Kund at Badrinath

badrinath temple

Nearby places to visit

Charanpaduka
Tapkund
Mana village
Vyas gufa
Bheem pul
Vasudhara fall
Satopanth
Mt Neelkanth base
Auli
Valley of flowers
Hemkund sahib

Note: Badrinath dham is well connected by public transport and various hotels and dhabas are available there.