Kedaranath - Badrinath Dhaam

Kedaranath, situated in the Himalayas at a height of 10,500 ft. above sea level, is 384 kilometer away from Haridwar. Kedarnath with one of the 12 jyothir lingas of Siva, is amongst the premier pilgrimages in India . Kedarnath, is at the head of Mandakini river, in a valley two and half km, surrounded by high snow covered mountains.

As the legend goes, a temple (now extinct ) with 12 Jyothirlingas, was built  by the pandavas, at the present site where Adi Sankaracharaya built  the present Kedarnath temple behind which Adi Sankaracharya lies in Samadhi.

Badrinath, a citadel to Lord Vishnu, stand at a height of 3,155 m. Badrinath  is the place, where Vishnu, Ganga, Saraswathi and Alaknanda confluence. Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu loved Badri trees that were found in plenty and was named Badrinath. 

Sri Badrinath Ji temple devoted to Lord Siva, dates back to the vedic ages, where the wedding of Lord Siva and Parvathi, was solemnized. In the 8th century AD Adi Sankaracharya  came to Badri and restored the ancient deity from the Narad Kund and established in the Ganyr cave near Taptakund. (Taptakund is a hot water spring, nearby, which is the abode of Lord Agni). Later the King of Garhwal built the present temple and established the deity here.

 The other places of worship in Badrivishal complex are Gupt kashi (Arddh -Narisvara and Viswanath temples), Panch Kedar (Mad Maheswaray, Tungnath, Rudra nath, Kalpanath and Kedarnath) Vyas Gulfa anf Ganes Gulfa (where saint  Vyas dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesa ), Bhim pul (where Bhim and Hanuman met ), Hemkund Sahib are other places, where pilgrims offer prayers and oblations.