Kedarnath News

The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is set to commence on May 10, and even before its initiation, a record-breaking number of devotees have registered. According to the tourism department report, 494,129 registrations have been recorded for Kedarnath, 414,260 for Badrinath, 265,110 for Gangotri, 243,982 for Yamunotri, and 21,804 for Hemkund Sahib.

Tickets for helicopter bookings will become available on April 20, 2024, at 12:00 hours on the IRCTC Heli Yatra website. The journey period spans from May 10, 2024, to June 20, 2024, and later from September 15, 2024, to October 31, 2024, after the monsoon season. For guidance on booking a helicopter to Kedarnath, refer to the Kedarnath Helicopter booking guide.

Around 6 inch snowfall recorded in Harsil on 02 Mar 2024. There has been snowfall in Harsil along with Char Dham in Uttarakhand and other high altitude. Though the Badrinath temple is closed for winters, the opening date of Badrinath has been announced.

Snowfall was reported on Monday in regions such as Kedarnath Dham, including Madmaheshwar, Tungnath, Chandrashila, etc. Additionally, light snowfall was observed in tourist spots like Chopta, Dugalbitta and in Deoriatal. 

The phenomenon extended to Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham, Harshil Valley, and other high-altitude areas of Uttarkashi. Despite the snowfall, road movements remained unaffected at present.

This year in 2023, a record of 19.61 lakh pilgrims reached Kedarnath Dham. Badri Kedar Temple Committee has earned a revenue of Rs 70 crore in the last six months of the yatra season. The footfall is the highest that has been recorded till now.

All temples governed by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, including the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines, will observe closure at 4 pm on Saturday due to the lunar eclipse.

The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples are scheduled to reopen during the brahma muhurta after the morning purification puja on Sunday.

Other affiliated shrines affected by the closure include the Shri Narasingh Temple in Joshimath, Second Kedar Madmaheshwar, Third Kedar Tungnath, Shri Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath, and Yoga Badri.