North India · Uttarakhand
Badrinath, Uttarakhand
Sources: wikimedia
Before you go
The Vishnu dham of both the all-India Char Dham and Uttarakhand's Chota Char Dham; open roughly May to November. Joshimath is the nearest town base; Auli and the Valley of Flowers are nearby.
About Badrinath
- Mountains
- Riverside
Where it is
Badrinath is a temple town in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, on the Alaknanda river between the Nar and Narayan ranges of the Garhwal Himalaya, at about 3,100 m, with the village of Mana a few kilometres beyond.
History
Badrinath is one of the four dhams of the all-India Char Dham and one of Vishnu's 108 Divya Desams. Adi Shankaracharya is credited with re-establishing worship here and recovering the black-stone image of Badrinarayan from the Tapt Kund hot springs, and the temple was largely rebuilt after the Garhwal earthquake of 1803.
People
Badrinath's residents are mostly Garhwali, and the nearby village of Mana belongs to the Bhotiya community, known for woollen weaving, who move down to lower valleys in winter. In the closed season Badrinath's worship moves to Joshimath, also called Jyotirmath.
Known for
- The Badrinath Temple
- Tapt Kund hot spring
- Mana village and Vyas Gufa
- Vasudhara falls
- Brahma Kapal, where ancestral rites are performed
Did you know?
Badrinath's chief priest, the Rawal, is by tradition a Namboodiri Brahmin from Kerala, a custom credited to Adi Shankaracharya.
Shrines and sites
- Badrinath Temple
- Tapt Kund hot spring
- Mana village and Vyas Gufa
- Vasudhara falls trek
Traditions
- Hindu
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.