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Char Dham, by Road
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Char Dham

Char Dham, by Road

Four shrines, eleven nights, and no pretence that it is easy.

Duration
12 days · 11 nights
Destination
Char Dham
Price
Costed to your dates

The journey

Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in the order the road allows, with the driving broken into legs a family can actually sit through. Most operators sell this in eight days. Eight days means six hours of mountain road before each shrine, which is how people arrive at the darshan too exhausted to stand through it.

Before you book

Official access
Uttarakhand yatra registration is compulsory and we prepare it for every traveller. Darshan itself is open queue at all four shrines — there is no ticket to buy and nobody can sell you a shorter one. The Kedarnath helicopter shuttle is booked by the traveller on IRCTC HeliYatra in their own name, capped at two tickets per login; we tell you when the window opens, we cannot hold seats.
Physical grade
Demanding. Yamunotri is a 6 km ascent, Kedarnath 16 km at up to 3,580 m. Both can be done by pony or palki, which still means hours in the open at altitude. Gangotri and Badrinath are short walks from the road.
Senior & access fit
Possible with pony or palki for travellers who are otherwise mobile and have no cardiac or respiratory condition. Not suitable for anyone who cannot sit upright for four hours on mountain road. Be honest with us about this — we would rather redesign the trip than collect you off a mountain.
Meals & observance
Pure vegetarian throughout; there is effectively nothing else on this route. No-onion-garlic satvik meals arranged at Barkot, Uttarkashi and Guptkashi where requested in advance.
When it runs
May–June and mid-September–October. Closed from Diwali; monsoon July–early September is landslide season and we do not sell it.

What stands out

  • All four dhams, in the traditional west-to-east order
  • Driving legs capped so no day is more than five hours on the road
  • A rest night at Guptkashi before the Kedarnath climb, not after
  • Registration and Uttarakhand yatra permits handled before you arrive

Day by day

How the 12 days actually run.

  1. Day 01

    Haridwar

    Arrive, transfer, evening Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri from the bank rather than the crush.

  2. Day 02

    Haridwar → Barkot

    Drive via Mussoorie and the Yamuna valley. Settle in early; tomorrow is the hardest walk of the trip.

  3. Day 03

    Yamunotri

    Drive to Janki Chatti, then the 6 km ascent to the shrine on foot, by pony or by palki. Return to Barkot.

  4. Day 04

    Barkot → Uttarkashi

    A shorter drive along the Bhagirathi. Afternoon free — Vishwanath temple if you have the legs for it.

  5. Day 05

    Gangotri

    Drive up to Gangotri, the easiest of the four on foot. Puja at the temple, then back to Uttarkashi.

  6. Day 06

    Uttarkashi → Guptkashi

    The long transfer of the trip, broken at Tehri lake. Early night.

  7. Day 07

    Kedarnath

    Transfer to Sonprayag and Gaurikund, then the 16 km climb — on foot, pony or palki. Overnight at Kedarnath.

  8. Day 08

    Kedarnath → Guptkashi

    Morning darshan before the day crowd arrives, then the descent and back to Guptkashi.

  9. Day 09

    Guptkashi → Badrinath

    Drive via Joshimath and the Narsingh temple. Evening aarti at Badrinath.

  10. Day 10

    Badrinath → Rudraprayag

    Morning at Badrinath, Mana village and Vyas Gufa, then down to Rudraprayag.

  11. Day 11

    Rudraprayag → Haridwar

    Down through Devprayag, where the two rivers become the Ganga.

  12. Day 12

    Departure

    Transfer to Haridwar station or Dehradun airport.

What's included

  • 11 nights accommodation on twin share
  • Daily breakfast and dinner throughout
  • Private vehicle with driver for the full circuit, sized to the group
  • Uttarakhand yatra registration prepared and submitted for every traveller
  • All road transfers and temple-town transfers as named
  • A Champion contact reachable through the whole yatra

What's not

  • Flights to and from the starting city
  • Any darshan, aarti or special-entry ticket not named as included
  • Pony, palki, doli and porter charges where used
  • Travel insurance
  • Meals not named in the itinerary
  • Personal expenses, offerings, tips and porterage
  • Anything not listed under Inclusions
  • Per person · twin share
  • Pricing on request — costed to your dates, your group size and your partner once confirmed
  • Temple access, queue length and timing on the day are decided by the temple and its administration — never by us. We apply through official channels for whatever is genuinely bookable, and we tell you before you travel if it has not come through.

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Make it yours

Change anything you like.

This is a starting point, not a fixed product. Different dates, a better room, an extra island, one grandparent who can't manage stairs — say so and we rebuild it around you.

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