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Overview

India is a big subject, with a diversity of cultures of unfathomable depth, and a long continuum of history. India offers endless opportunities to accumulate experiences and memories for a lifetime. Since very ancient times, participating in the Char Dham Yatra has been held in the highest regard throughout the length and breadth of India. The Indian Garhwal Himalayas are known as Dev-Bhumi, the ‘Abode of the Gods’. Here is the source of India’s Holy River Ganges. The Ganges, starting as a small glacial stream in Gangotri and eventually traveling the length and breadth of India, nourished her people and sustained a continuum of the world’s most ancient Hindu Culture. In the Indian Garhwal Himalayas lies the Char Dham, 4 of Hinduism’s most holy places of pilgrimage, nestled in the high valleys of the Himalayan Mountains. Wearing the Himalayas like a crown, India is a land of amazing diversity. Home to more than a billion people, we will find in India an endless storehouse of culture and tradition amidst all the development of the 21st century!

Outline Itinerary

One of the Karnali representatives will meet/greet at the Delhi Airport. He will arrange an immediate transfer to the hotel. Karnali’s team leader will deliver a detailed briefing on immediate and further arrangements. We will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel on full board basis.

After breakfast, we will commence our scenic vehicular journey to Haridwar, the gateway to heaven. The driving distance is 206 km and it takes 5-6 hours to reach Haridwar. After settling in the hotel and being freshened up, we will visit some of the important temples of Haridwar and attend Evening Ganga Aarti. We will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel in Haridwar on full board basis.

After early breakfast and exploring major not-to-miss places of Haridwar, we will drive to Barkot. The driving distance is 170km, but it takes 8 hours to reach Barkot. We will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel or Tent House on full board basis.

After breakfast, we will drive to Janaki Chatti (84km) via Hanuman Chatti and Phool Chatti. And then, we will start trekking 6 km to Yamunotri, where we will take a holy dip in the Garam Kund. We will also perform Puja and Darshan of Shree Yamuna jee. After performing Puja and having Darshan of Shree Yamuna jee, we will retrace our journey back to Janaki Chatti and then drive back to Barkot. We will spend overnight in the same hotel on full board basis.

Today, we will drive to Harshil (172km) via Utter Kashi, which takes approximately 9 hours. En route, we will also visit Prakateshwar Cave. We will spend overnight in a hotel on full board basis.

After having early breakfast, we will drive to Gangotri. It takes an hour to reach Gangotri where we will have Darshan of Gangotri Temple. After Darshan, we will commence trekking to Gaumukh and return to Bhoj- Basa (22 km in total). We will spend overnight in a guesthouse at Bhoj-Basa.

We will trek back to Gangotri (14km), and then, we will drive to Uttar Kashi. Utter Kashi is situated on the bank of Holy Bhagirathi Ganga, and the temple of Lord Vishwanath is located here. The massive iron trident is the special attraction of Lord Vishwanath Temple. We will spend overnight in a hotel at Uttar Kashi

After breakfast, we will drive to Tehri Dam, and from there on, we will continue driving to Gupta Kashi (225km). We will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel at Gupta Kashi on full board basis.

Today is one of the important days of our Char Dham Yatra as we will fly to Kedarnath by helicopter and visit the major holy shrines of Kedarnath. We will attend the evening Aarti of Kedarnath. We will spend overnight in a guesthouse at Kedarnath on full board basis.

After performing morning Pujas, and rituals and having Darshan at the temples, we will fly to Gupta Kashi. We will drive to Rudra Prayag/Pipalkoti (157km). We will spend overnight in a hotel on full board basis.

After breakfast, we will commence our vehicular journey to Badrinath (72km) from Rudra Prayag/Pipalkoti. En route, we will also visit Narsimha Temple. After settling in the hotel and having lunch, we will visit Badrinath Temple and have Holy Darshan. After darshan, we will spend our time exploring the Mana Village, the last village before the Tibetan border. We will also have Darshan of Vyas Gupha, Bhim Pul, and Saraswati River. We will spend overnight in a hotel on full board basis.

Today, after breakfast, we will drive to Dev Prayag (222km/9 hours), which is a town and a “Nagar Panchayat” in Tehri Garhwal district, in the state of Uttarakhand. Dev Prayag is one of the Pancha Prayags (Five confluences) of the Alakananda River, where the Alakananda and Bhagirathi Ganga rivers meet, and from here take the name Ganga or Holy River Ganges. We will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel on full board basis.

After breakfast, we will drive back to Rishikesh. Once again, we will attend the evening Aarti in Rishikesh.
For those who are wishing to experience rafting on the Ganga River, can be arranged (optional). We will spend overnight in the hotel on full board basis.

We will spend time in Rishikesh to explore the spiritual zones and holy places of Rishikesh then rest.

We will drive back to Delhi after breakfast. If time permits, we will explore Akshardham Temple as well. We will spend overnight in a hotel on full board basis.

Karnali Excursions will provide a vehicle for airport transfer.

Date & Prices

Fixed Departure

October Arrival in Delhi Return Home Price
04 October 2024 18 October 2024

 

Reading List

Name of Books Publication Writer
Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India University of California Press By Surinder Mohan Bhardwaj
Hindu Tradition of Pilgrimage: Sacred Space & System Dev Publishers & Distributors Rana P. B. Singh
Hindu Pilgrimage: The Contemporary Scene London, John Murray Rana P. B. Singh

(India) and Martin J. Haigh (U.K.)

Sachitra Bharat ke tirth – Book on pilgrimage in India Pustak Sansar, Jammu By Dr. Jawahar dheer
Brahma’s Pushkar (Ancient Indian Pilgrimage) India Book House Pvt. Ltd. By Aman Nath and Rajan Kapoor
Religious Journeys in India SUNY Press By Andrea Marion Pinkney, John Whalen-Bridge
Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India A Study in

Cultural Geography

Center for South and Southeast

Asia Studies, UC Berkeley

By Surinder M. Bhardwaj
Om: An Indian Pilgrimage Faber and Faber, 2009 By Moorhouse, Geoffrey
Palkhi: An Indian Pilgrimage SUNY Press, 1987 M07 1 By D. B. Mokashi

Trip Extension

Do you wish to extend your trip to include more time, additional destinations, or both? Let us know and we’ll help you plan it out.

(These trips can also be extended or modified to fit your schedule.)

To view our Trip Extension options, please take a quick look at our Trip Extensions menu.

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Char Dham Yatra 2024

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    • Total Trip Duration: 15 Nights/16 days
    • Max Elevation: 3,585m/11,760m
    • Trek Grading:

      Moderate

    • Trek Starts/Ends: New Delhi, India
    • Suggeested Season: Sept and Oct.
    • Accommodation: Hotels and Guesthouses
Trip Hightlights
    • A complete darshan of Char Dham: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedharnath and Badrinath.
    • Visit the holy places of Rishikesh, Haridwar, Uttar Kashi, Gupta Kashi and Gaumukha.
    • Pancha Prayag, the five holy confluences (Dev, Rudra, Karna, Narad and Vishnu Prayag).
    • Garhwal parts of the Himalaya & Mana Gaun, the last village of India.
    • Visit Surya Kund, Divya Shila, Tap Kund, Narad Kund and Vyash Gupha etc.