An intro to Kedarkantha; The place visited by Lord Shiva:
Located in the state of Uttarakhand, India, Kedarkantha stands as one of the famous mountain peaks all over the world with an estimated elevation of about 12,500 ft above the mean sea level.
Situated particularly in the Uttarkashi district of the mentioned state, it is located within the adjoining areas of the GOVIND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY. Also, its location lies in the Garhwal Himalayas region, the Kedarkantha trek involves the ascending of the Kedarkantha summit whose base spot is Sankri, a village in the foothills of Kedarkantha and nearly takes 4 days to complete the trek.
Myths related to Kedarkantha
Legends say that Kedarkantha is the place where Lord Shiva went for meditation but since he was disturbed by a bull, he went to Kedarnath, another town in the state of Uttarakhand. Hence, the place is badged with the heading of “KEDARKANTHA”.
Another legend tells about Pandavas’ journey to the Himalayas. When Bheem and other Pandavas prayed to Lord Shiva to take his blessings, Lord Shiva disguised himself as a bull and tried to hide from Bheem. But Bheem finally recognized him and went running after him. Lord Shiva, after that, while running to get out of the reach of Bheem, had let his body parts fall down, at different places of this region of mountains and hence as a result of this Lord Shiva’s throat fell down at this part of the Himalayas and thus gaining the title of “KEDARKANTHA” meaning throat of Lord Shiva, Also Read:- Expedia Customer Service Telephone Number
Way to reach out Kedarkantha
The base spot for the Kedarkantha trek is Sankri village. To get to Kedarkantha, one has to reach the village Sankri first. Sankri could be reached from Dehradun. One can reach Dehradun either by using flight, roadways, or railways.
- BY FLIGHT:
One can reach Dehradun from Delhi by taking a direct flight from the latter. The person will have to get off at THE JOLLY GRANT AIRPORT from where boarding a private bus will take him to Sankri.
- BY RAILWAYS:
Dehradun is connected with almost all cities and towns of India, one can reach Dehradun even by using railway transport. Getting off the train at Dehradun railway station, the person can make his way to Sankri by taking a private bus from Gandhi Road near the Dehradun railway station. Timings of the buses are given out as 5:30 pm, 6:00 pm, and 7:00 am onwards. The traveler might reach Sankri by 5:00 pm.
- BY ROADWAYS:
Boarding a bus right from Delhi’s ISBT KASHMERE GATE to Dehradun. One will get government buses from this place too. Private buses would be available outside the ISBT gate in Delhi. These buses get you at Dehradun ISBT from where one can go further to the Dehradun railway station and there from the Gandhi road, and proceed towards Sankri by taking a private bus.
Temperature at Kedarkantha
- DURING SUMMERS
The temperature at Kedarkantha varies between 10-20 degrees Celsius during the summer season. The summer season at Kedarkantha is witnessed by a lot of sun rays, emerald-coated green landscapes, and lots of flowers and leaves on the trees.
The rhododendrons during the summer season specialize the journey. The journey during summer season at Kedarkantha is hence considered to be a pleasant one.
- DURING WINTERS
Winters at Kedarkantha are acquainted with snow-capped mountain ranges and frozen snow. Also, snow falls continuously from the sky thus making the weather conditions very harsh for the travelers to travel.
But the mesmerizing and astounding views observed when the first rising sun rays fall on top of snow-capped mountains is indeed an appreciable one. The temperature at this season ranges from 0 to -5 degrees Celsius this extremely cold season. Due to wind storms and other reasons, the final temperature sets out to be -10 to -15 degrees Celsius. Camping beside this snow-scattered land makes it worth it exciting when visited during the winter season.
Best time to visit Kedarkantha
The best time to visit this place depends completely upon its visitors. Though Kedarkantha is considered to be one of the best winter snow treks in India due to extreme weather conditions, it makes it difficult for trekkers and travelers to explore the region. Hence many of the visitors try to avoid exploring this region during the snowy winter season. Whereas summer season at Kedarkantha is quite moderate and hence considered to be a suitable season for exploring and traversing this place.
To conclude
Kedarkantha, a mountain summit set among other famous mountain ranges, provides one of the finest views to its trekkers, travelers, and as well as visitors. One of the amazing views that one can have is while traveling from Dehradun to Sankri. one can experience a lot of magnificent and scenic views.
All the way from Dehradun to Sankri is accompanied by several waterfalls like Kempty fall, and other sites to be seen such as Data, Naugaon, Purola, and Mari among others. Also, stations like Mussoorie are also passed by. After reaching Sankri one can also visit JUDA KA TALAB which is said to have been visited by Lord Shiva.