The document provides information about the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples, two important Hindu pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand, India. It details the locations of the temples, the deities they are dedicated to (Lord Shiva for Kedarnath and Lord Badrinarayan for Badrinath), their architectural features, and the mythology and history associated with each site. It also notes that the annual Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage was restarted in 2014 after being suspended due to floods, and that Fixeddepartures is offering tour packages this year to visit the two temples.

1. Do dham tour
packages -
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3. • The Annual Char Dham Yatra restarted in May
2014, after remaining suspended since the
outbreak of 2013 Uttarakhand floods. The
footfall has now improved due to proactive
measures taken by the government of
Uttarakhand.

5. Kedarnath
• Kēdārnāth Mandir (Kedarnath Temple) is a
Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is on
the Garhwal Himalayan range near the
Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in
India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the
temple is open only between the end of April
(Akshaya Tritriya) to November (Kartik
Purnima - the autumn full moon).

7. • During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from
Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath
and worshipped there for six months. Lord
Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of
Kedar Khand', the historical name of the
region.

9. • The temple is not directly accessible by road
and has to be reached by a 18 kilometres (11
mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and
manchan service is available to reach the
structure. The temple was built by Pandavas
and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one
of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu
shrines of Shiva. It is one of the 275 Paadal
Petra Sthalams, expounded in Tevaram.

11. • Pandavas were supposed to have pleased
Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The
temple is one of the four major sites in India's
Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern
Himalayas. This temple is the highest among
the 12 Jyotirlingas.[2] Kedarnath was the
worst affected area during the 2013 flash
floods in North India.

13. • The temple complex, surrounding areas and
Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but
the temple structure did not suffer any "major"
damage, apart from a few cracks on one side of
the four walls which was caused by the flowing
debris from the higher mountains. A large rock
among the debris acted as a barrier, protecting
the temple from the flood. The surrounding
premises and other buildings in market area were
heavily damaged.

15. Badrinath
• Badri refers to a berry that was said to grow
abundantly in the area, and nath means "Lord
of". Badri is also the Sanskrit name for the
Indian Jujube tree, which has an edible berry.
Some scriptural references refer to Jujube
trees being abundant in Badrinath.

17. • The Badrinath temple is the main attraction in
the town. According to legend Shankar
discovered a black stone image of Lord
Badrinarayan made of Saligram stone in the
Alaknanda River. He originally enshrined it in a
cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the
sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved
the murti to the present temple.

19. • The temple is approximately 50 ft (15 m) tall
with a small cupola on top, covered with a
gold gilt roof. The facade is built of stone, with
arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to
a tall arched gateway, which is the main
entrance. The architecture resembles a
Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly
painted facade also more typical of Buddhist
temples.

21. • This year Fixeddepartures is planning for the
do dham tour packages this year and you are
welcomed to be the part of this beautiful tour
with us.