Badrinath, Chardham, Uttarakhand India

Badrinath, at 3133 m and 40 km from the Tibetan border is the last destination of the Char Dham circuit. Surrounded by the Nar and Narayan mountains, it was founded by Adi Sankara in the 9th century near River Alakananda. The main deity inside the temple is that of Lord Vishnu in a meditating pose and not the usual reclining pose.
 
The temple, also called Badri Narayan, which is repainted every year before the start of the season has a ‘garbha griha’, a ‘sabha mandap’ and a ‘darshan mandap’. It remains open from April/May until early November. Right beneath the temple, on the banks of the Alakananda, is a hot spring - Tapt Kund - which is used for ritual bathing. The town is also famous for the Panch Badri temples, which are Yog Dhyan Badri, Bhavishtya Badri, Adi Badri and Vriddha Badri. A visit to the village of Mana is an interesting option. Just 4 km away from Badrinath, it is inhabited by people belonging to the Indo-Mongolian tribe and is the last Indian village before Tibet.
 
Accommodation options in Badrinath consist of GMVN tourist rest houses and bungalows along with a string of budget hotels and a few posh hotels. Near the temple there are lots of cafés and tea shops while the more commercial part of town, on the east bank, has some restaurants and ‘dhabas’.
 
All traffic to Badrinath from Joshimath is bound to move in convoys. There is a gate system which controls traffic in each direction. Several convoys leave Joshimath every day with the first and the last one being at 6:30 am and 4:30 pm respectively. The road is closed at night.