Badrinath
The Vishnu Char Dham that pairs with Kedarnath on the classic circuit
Gangotri
Source shrine of the Ganga, third of the Uttarakhand Char Dham
Yamunotri
Source shrine of the Yamuna and the usual first stop of the Char Dham
Kedarnath is rarely visited alone. It is one leg of the Uttarakhand Char Dham, the four-shrine spring-to-autumn circuit that also takes in Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath, and most pilgrims string them together over a week or more. Badrinath, the Vishnu dham, is the natural pairing; the phrase Badri-Kedar is used almost as one word, and the two are linked by road via Rudraprayag over roughly 220 km.
Gangotri and Yamunotri, the source shrines of the Ganga and Yamuna, sit to the west and usually open the circuit before travellers swing east to Kedarnath and Badrinath. Each is a few hundred kilometres of mountain driving away, so plan generous buffer days for weather and landslides.
Closer to Kedarnath itself lie the other Panch Kedar shrines (Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar and Kalpeshwar) and Triyuginarayan near Sonprayag, believed to be where Shiva and Parvati married. Ukhimath, the winter seat where Kedarnath's deity is worshipped in the closed months, is also worth a stop on the way up or down.
← Back to the full Kedarnath darshan guideCompiled from public sources including euttaranchal.com - Kedarnath opening/closing dates 2026 · WanderOn - How to Reach Kedarnath · Rudraprayag District (Govt of Uttarakhand) - Kedarnath Yatra · euttaranchal.com - Kedarnath tourism. Timings and seasonal closures change; confirm with the temple trust before travelling.