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Kedarkantha
Kedarkantha peak located in the Garhwal region of the Himalayas is one of the most loved treks in India. Kedarkantha peak situated at an altitude of 3800 meters (12500 ft) above sea level is in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Kedarkantha is believed to be the best winter trek in India.
For this reason, the Kedarkantha trek is done by trekkers in the winter season. Well, there are many reasons behind this being a famous winter trek, some of which I will tell you about. Rest when you do this trek then you can automatically experience why Kedarkantha is called the best winter trek.
Kedarkantha is located in the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary of Uttarakhand, which is why when you start this trek, you pass through very dense forests, which makes your journey beautiful and memorable. Apart from Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, “Juda-Ka-Talab” located a few kilometres away from Sankri village is also considered the main attraction of the Kedarkantha trek.
Apart from all this, the Kedarkantha peak gives very unforgettable views of some mountain ranges of the Himalayas. Out of the mountain ranges visible from Kedarkantha, Swargarohini 1, Swargarohini 2, Swargarohini 3, Swargarohini 4, Kala Nag (Black Peak), Har Ki Doon, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Bandarpoonch etc. are mainly visible.
Apart from all this, almost all the tourists coming to Kedarkantha peak-like to see the sunrise here. But still some trekkers coming to Kedarkantha have some questions in their minds. In today’s blog, I will try to answer these questions of yours…
01 Where does the Kedarkantha trek start?
02 How long does the Kedarkantha trek take?
03 What are the facilities available during the Kedarkantha trek?
04 Is Kedarkantha trek safe?
05 How much does the Kedarkantha trek cost?
06 What is the best time to trek Kedarkantha?
07 What is the history of Kedakantha?
08 How difficult is the Kedarkantha Trek?
History of Kedarkantha
Almost all the mythological stories associated with Kedarkantha peak establish a relationship with Kedarnath and Kedarkantha. The residents here believe that today Kedarkantha would have been worshipped as Kedarnath if Lord Shiva did not leave this place because of the people living at that time.
A kind of similarity is felt in the mythology of Kedarkantha and Panch Kedar temples. This is because in the Mahabharata period, after the end of the war, when the Pandavas set out to seek blessings from Lord Shiva to get rid of the sin of fraternal murder, Lord Shiva was the first to disguise himself as a bull to hide from the Pandavas.
He had come to Kedarkantha. But when Lord Shiva came to Kedakantha, there used to be a human settlement in the vicinity of this mountain. At that time the people living here used to tie bells around the necks of their animals. So that when their pet animals were grazing in the meadows, they would know how far their pet is from them by the sound of a bell tied around their neck.
But Lord Shiva’s attention was distracted due to the sound made by the bell tied in the pet animals. For this reason, Lord Shiva left Kedarkantha and went to Kedarnath. Apart from this, according to another legend related to Panch Kedar, when Lord Shiva was separated into five parts in Kedarnath, then part of his neck fell at this place, that is why this place is called Kedarkantha (residents believe so). Kedarkantha means ‘Lord Shiva’s throat’.
During the Kedarkantha trek, a very beautiful pond named Juda-ka-Talab comes, for this, it is said that when Lord Shiva was going to Kedarkantha to do penance, he stopped at this place and opened his hair. Two drops of water had fallen at this place, due to which a pond was formed at the place.
Because of this, the residents call this pond Juda-ka-Talab. The locals here strongly believe in a belief related to Kedarkantha. The residents here believe that the trident of Lord Shiva installed in Kedarkantha protects them for centuries. They believe that there is never a shortage of water in the holy rivers flowing here because of the trident.
Kedarkantha Trek
Located in the Garhwal region of the Himalayas, the Kedarkantha trek is famous for both experienced and beginner trekkers alike. The main reason for this is the unforgettable scenes seen during this track. Apart from this, Kedarkantha Trek is one of the few treks in India which is mostly done in the winter season.
By the way, if you want, you can trek Kedarkantha at any time of the year. But you should avoid doing the Kedarkantha trek during the monsoon season, the main reason for this is that in recent years, the number of landslides in Uttarakhand has increased a lot during the rainy season.
The Kedarkantha trek is a total length of 18 km and may take you 4-5 days to complete. The difficulty level of the Kedarkantha trek is considered to be in the moderate range. If you do not have any kind of serious physical problem then you can complete this track very easily.
Still, before starting this trek, you should practice walking 4-5 kilometres for a few days so that you do not face any kind of problem during the trek.
Day one of Kedarkantha trek
Although the Kedarkantha trek starts from the village of Sankri, most of the travel agencies consider the first day of the Kedarkantha trek from Dehradun. Therefore, whenever you start the Kedarkantha trek, the first checkpoint of your journey should be considered as Dehradun.
Before starting the Kedarkantha trek, you must first reach the village of Sankri. The distance from Dehradun to Sankri is only 190 km, you will get a regular bus and taxi service from Dehradun to Sankri. If you are doing this trek with a trekking agency, then those people make arrangements to reach your sankri in advance, you just have to reach the place fixed by them by the time fixed.
There are two ways to reach Sankri from Dehradun, out of which if you go to Sankri, then you reach Sankri from Dehradun via Yamuna Bridge – Nainbagh – Naugaon – Purola and Mori. Apart from this, you reach Sankri from Dehradun via Vikasnagar and Chakrata. By the way, the path of Sankri with Purola and Mori is considered very beautiful. After Mori, you can reach Sankri by walking along the Tons river.
Day two of Kedarkantha Trek
After reaching Sankri village by road from Dehradun, you rest here on the first day. Sankri village is also known as the base camp village of the Kedarkantha trek. After that the next day you can wake up early in the morning and start your journey from Sankri to Kedarkantha trek.
Here you have to keep in mind that if you are doing this trek with any tracking agency, then they will tell you your complete itinerary in Dehradun itself. On the first day of the trek from Sankri to Kedarkantha, the first checkpoint you will see is Juda-ka-Talab. The distance from Sankri to Ka Talab is about 4 km.
The trek from Sankri to Juda-Ka-Talab passes through dense forests and during this trek you can see very beautiful scenery. You can easily complete this 04 km trek.
Day three of Kedarkantha Trek
On the day of your first trek you reach Juda-ka-Talab from Sankri village, and after reaching here, if you have brought camping equipment with you, then fine, otherwise you can rent a tent for your stay here by paying 500 rupees. After staying here one night you can start your journey to Kedarkantha the next day.
After Juda-Ka-Talap your next check point of Kedarkantha trek comes to Kedarkantha Base Camp. From Juda-Ka-Talab to Kedarkantha The distance of the Base Camp is only 02 Kms. But if you are doing this trek in the winter season then you can get a lot of snow between Juda-Ka-Talab and Kedarkantha Base Camp. That’s why Juda-Ka-Talab After that you may also feel some difficulty in trekking.
Day four of Kedarkantha Trek
After a full day’s rest at Kedarkantha Base Camp, the next day you have to start the trek to the peak of Kedarkantha early in the morning so that you can reach the summit of Kedarkantha before sunrise. The distance from Kedarkantha Base Camp to Kedarkantha Peak is about 4-5 km and is also considered the most difficult part of this trek.
During the winter season, you can get 3-4 feet deep snow during the trek to Kedarkantha peak. So you have to be extra careful while trekking at this time. You can come back to Kedarkantha Base Camp on the same day after enjoying the sunrise on Kedarkantha peak and after some time has passed.
Day five of Kedarkantha Trek
Now it is the last day of your Kedarkantha trek. On this day you can reach back to Sankri village from Kedarkantha base camp. Now it depends on you whether you would like to reach Sankri and go to Dehradun or else you would like to rest in Sankri village itself.
Note: – If you are not an experienced trekker then you should not trek Kedarkantha without any trek guide or any trekking agency.
Kedarkantha Trek Route
A total of three trek routes are used to trek Kedarkantha. But out of these three routes, the route connected to Sankri-Ka-Talab and Kedarkantha Base Camp is the most used. The three routes of the Kedarkantha trek are as follows.
Route 01:- Sankri – Juda-Ka-Talab – Kedarkantha Base Camp – Kedarkantha Peak
(In this route you can come back via Hargaon while coming back from Kedarkantha peak. If you come back to Sankri via Hargaon, then your route will be as follows Kedarkantha Peak – Kedarkantha Base Camp – Hargaon Base Camp – Sankri)
Route 02:- Kotgaon – Khujeya – Kedarkantha Base Camp – Kedarkantha Peak
Route 03:- Gaichawan Village – Julota – Pukrola – Kedarkantha Peak
Best time for Kedarkantha trek
The Kedarkantha trek is one of the few treks in the Himalayas that can be done throughout the year. You can trek Kedarkantha any time of the year. Whenever you do this trek throughout the year, you get to see a different kind of beauty here. Because of this, you can see Kedarkantha trek trekkers doing this trek throughout the year.
But if possible, avoid doing the Kedarkantha trek during the rainy season. Although this trek becomes very beautiful during the rainy season it becomes equally dangerous. In recent years, the Himalayan mountains have seen an increase in the number of landslides during the rainy season, due to which you should avoid doing the Kedarkantha trek during the rainy season.
Kedarkantha Trek is very famous in the winter season. Because it is one of the few treks in the Himalayas that are done the most during the winter season. In the winter season, it is a different experience to see the white sheet of snow lying here and to see the huge mountain ranges of the Himalayas visible from the peak of Kedarkantha.
For this reason, the Kedakantha trek is also called the “Winter Best Trek”. When you do this trek from April to June before the monsoon, then the views you see from here are very clear and beautiful. If you do this trek in April, then you may also get to see a sheet of snow here.
During the summer season, the day temperature is very tempting and it gets cold here during the night. If you do this trek after the monsoon, then you get to see greenery all around while doing this trek. There is a lot of snowfall here in the winter season, so if you like to trek in the snow and see the snowfall, then you can do this trek in the winter season also.
Temperature of Kedakantha in Hindi
01 Kedarkantha Temperature in Summer
April to June month – Max: approx 25℃ / Min: approx 5-8℃
02 Kedarkantha temperature in monsoon
From July to September month – Max: approx 20℃ / Min: approx 3-5℃
03 Kedarkantha Temperature in Winter
October to February month – Max: approx 10℃ / Min: approx -20℃ and less
Kedarkantha Trek Cost
There are many trekking agencies in cities like Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chandigarh that organize Kedarkantha trek summits throughout the year. Almost all trekking agencies have experienced trek guides. It takes 4-5 days to complete the Kedarkantha trek.
Many trekking agencies also complete this trek in 6 days. Almost all the agencies charge the cost from Dehradun to Kedarkantha. Agencies would make Dehradun the only pick up and drop point in your itinerary. The approximate cost of the Kedarkantha trek ranges from Rs 5000 to Rs 10000. Now, this cost is based on the facilities provided by the agencies during the trek.
Therefore, whenever you do this trek with any trekking agencies, then you must take complete information about the itinerary from those people.
Tips for Kedarkantha Trek
01 Identity Card
02 muffler
03 water bottles ( 3-5 litres)
04 Dry Fruits and Packet Food
05 Warm Clothes ( Sweater / Jacket / Pull Over )
06 Poncho / Rain Coat ( For Rainy Season )
07 sunglasses
08 Extra Battery for Flashlight / Power Bank / Camera
09 Camping gear if possible. ( Mat / Sleeping Bag )
10 Waterproof bags to protect electronic items from rain.
11 lemon and salt or electrolyte powder/drink (Electoral/Gatorade/Glucon D)
12 Tracking Shoes / Tracking Paint / Quick Dry Tshirt / Cape
13 whistle (for emergency)
14 First Aid Kit:- Scissors, Sunscreen (SPF 50+), Band-Aids (Water Proof), Analgesic Spray (Relispray, Volini), Antiseptic Liquid (Sevlon, Dettol), Antiseptic Powder (Povidone-Iodine Based Powders like Cipladine, Savlon) ), bandage, cotton, crepe bandage etc.
15 medicines:- Fever, headache, motion sickness, loose motion, vomiting and acidity etc.
16 Be sure to check the weather before starting the Kedarkantha trek.
If you do not have experience in trekking in the mountains, then you can take a local guide with you.
18 Before starting the trek, the tracking agency with which you are doing this trek, then you must first take the information about the itinerary.
19 Before starting the trek, definitely take information about the rules related to the Kedarkantha trek.
20 If you are not doing this trek with any trekking agency, then you must take a local trek guide with you.
21 If you are not an experienced trekker, then even by mistake, this trek should not be done alone.
- You do not get any kind of mobile network during the trek. Also, you will not have the facility to charge your electronic devices, so you must carry a spare battery and power bank with you during the trek.
23 The trek becomes slippery during the monsoon season so be a little extra careful during this time.
(Note:- Before taking any kind of medicine, please consult your doctor.)
How to reach Kedarkantha
How to reach Kedarkantha by Air
Jolly Grant Airport of Dehradun is the nearest airport to Kedarkantha. The distance from Dehradun airport to Sankri (Kedarkantha) is only 200 km. From Dehradun, you can reach Sankri (Kedarkantha) with the help of Bus, Cab and Shared Taxi. Dehradun airport is very well connected to major airports of India.
How to reach Kedarkantha by Train
Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun railway stations are the nearest railway stations to Sankri (Kedarkantha). These three railway stations are very well connected by rail to all the major cities of India.
But most of the people prefer to come to Dehradun railway station for Kedarkantha. You will get a direct bus service from Dehradun to Sankri (Kedarkantha). Apart from this, you can also reach Sankari (Kedarkantha) very easily by cabs and shared taxis.
How to reach Kedarkantha by Road
To reach Kedarkantha, you must first come to Dehradun. Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, is well connected to major cities of India by road. After that, you can catch an early morning bus from Dehradun to Sankri (Kedarkantha). You have to keep in mind that in the morning only three buses leave from Dehradun for Sankri (Kedarkantha).
After this you can reach Purola and Mori by bus, from here you can reach Sankri (Kedarkantha) with the help of a shared taxi. Details of buses from Dehradun to Sankri (Kedarkantha) are as follows:-
First Bus – 05:30 am (Private)
Second Bus – 06:30 AM (Private)
3rd Bus – 08:00 AM (Govt)
It will take you 10 hours to travel from Dehradun to Sankri by bus. Apart from this, you can also reach Sankri with the help of a taxi whose estimated fare is Rs 5000-8000. If you want, you can also go to Sankri with the help of a shared cab but a shared cab drops you at Purola and after that, you have to take a shared cab again from Purola to Sankri.
You will have to spend around 700-800 rupees on shared cabs. And you can reach Sankri by paying only 300-400 rupees on the bus.
Dehradun to Kedarkantha Distance – 200 KM
Rishikesh to Kedarkantha Distance – 180 KM
Haridwar to Kedarkantha Distance – 200 KM
Delhi to Kedarkantha Distance – 440 KM
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