Kedarnath in five days from Haridwar — one day on the road, one on the 16 km trek with a night at the shrine, and an unhurried way back down
If you only have a few days and only one shrine in mind, this is the trip. Haridwar to Guptkashi on the first full day, the trek from Gaurikund on the second, a night at the temple, and a steady descent after that. Nothing is stacked on top of anything else. The shrine sits at about 3,583 m and the walk to it is 16 km each way from Gaurikund, so the schedule is built to give that day the room it needs rather than to squeeze in a second dham.
You travel by private vehicle with a driver who works these roads through the season, stay in clean, simple hotels at each halt, and get breakfast and dinner every day. We complete the compulsory yatra registration for you before you leave Haridwar. Ponies, palkis and porters are available at Gaurikund, and the helicopter shuttle from the pads below Guptkashi is an option for anyone who cannot manage the climb — either can be arranged at extra cost as applicable.
The essentials
Trip information
Package code
EH05ED001
Pickup
Haridwar Junction Railway Station
Drop
Haridwar Junction Railway Station
Night count
04 Nights, 05 Days
Travellers
6 pax
Vehicle
Toyota Innova (AC)
At a glance
Itinerary highlights
Day 1Arrive in Haridwar and complete the registration
Day 2Haridwar to Guptkashi along the rivers
Day 3Gaurikund to Kedarnath on foot
Day 4The walk down and on to Rudraprayag
Day 5Back down to Haridwar
Your route, day by day
Day-by-day itinerary
Haridwar
The town where the Ganga comes out of the hills, and the usual starting point for anyone heading to Kedarnath.
Day 1
Arrive in Haridwar and complete the registration
We meet you at Haridwar Junction and take you to the hotel. The registration is done today, biometrics included, so keep the ID you applied with to hand. In the evening walk down for the aarti at Har Ki Pauri. Before you sleep, pack one small bag for the night at the shrine — everything else stays in the car and meets you again at Guptkashi.
Starts from Haridwar Junction Railway Station, ends at Hotel Ganga Darshan Haridwar, covering around 5 km in an estimated 20m.
Sightseeing
Har Ki PauriGhat open all day, aarti at sunsetAllow 90 min
The main ghat of Haridwar and the site of the Kumbh Mela bathing. As the light goes, priests raise tiers of oil lamps over the water while bells sound along both banks, and afterwards leaf boats carrying a flame are set adrift on the current.
Get to the steps well before dusk
Float a lamp on the river
Hold the chains if you go into the water
Guptkashi
A town on the slope above the Mandakini at about 1,320 m, the last proper road base before Kedarnath.
Day 2
Haridwar to Guptkashi along the rivers
A full day in the car, and the only one. The road passes Rishikesh, climbs beside the Ganga to Devprayag, carries on through Srinagar to Rudraprayag and then turns up the Mandakini valley. You get in during the late afternoon. Have dinner early, put out your clothes for the morning and get some sleep — the start tomorrow is well before dawn.
Starts from Hotel Ganga Darshan Haridwar, ends at Hotel Shivalik Guptkashi, covering around 215 km in an estimated 8h 00m.
Sightseeing
Ram Jhula, RishikeshOpen all dayAllow 30 min
A suspension footbridge across the Ganga linking the ashram quarters on either bank. A brief stop here early in the drive gives you the river before it turns into a mountain torrent further up.
Walk part of the way across
Watch the rafts come downstream
Take tea at the bridge end
DevprayagOpen all dayAllow 45 min
The meeting point of the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda, and the place where the river is first called the Ganga. The two waters come in different colours and stay distinct for a short way past the steps.
Go down to the confluence steps
See where the colours merge
Walk up to the Raghunath temple
Rudraprayag sangamOpen all dayAllow 30 min
Where the Mandakini, running down from Kedarnath, meets the Alaknanda. The Kedarnath road leaves the main valley here, so this is the point at which the yatra proper begins.
View the confluence from the bridge
Visit the Rudranath temple
Break for a late lunch
Kedarnath
The shrine at about 3,583 m below the Kedarnath peak, the highest of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
Day 3
Gaurikund to Kedarnath on foot
You set off in the dark for Sonprayag, where private vehicles stop, and take the shared shuttle for the last 5 km to Gaurikund. Then the walk: 16 km and over a thousand metres of climb, on a rebuilt path with rest points at Jungle Chatti, Bhimbali and Linchauli. Seven to nine hours is normal, and going slowly is the sensible way to do it. Ponies, palkis and porters are available at the trailhead, as is the helicopter shuttle from the pads down the valley, both at extra cost as applicable. Evening darshan and aarti, then bed.
Starts from Hotel Shivalik Guptkashi, ends at Kedarnath Yatri Niwas, covering around 30 km road + 16 km trek in an estimated 9h 00m.
Sightseeing
Kedarnath TempleOpen 5 AM – 9 PM in season, with an afternoon breakAllow 120 min
A temple of huge grey stone blocks fitted together without mortar, standing here for many centuries. It came through the 2013 floods undamaged when almost everything around it was swept away — a boulder caught upstream divided the flow and it is still lodged behind the building.
Take evening darshan
Stay for the aarti
See the boulder that saved the temple
The trek from GaurikundGates open around 4 AMAllow 7-9 hours
The path climbs beside the Mandakini, paved and railed since the rebuild, with tea stalls, toilets and medical posts at intervals. The gradient eases in the last stretch and the temple comes into view against the peak.
Start as early as the gates allow
Drink water often and stop at the medical posts if needed
Keep your pace slow and even
Bhairavnath TempleDaylight hoursAllow 45 min
A shrine to the guardian of Kedarnath, on the ridge about half a kilometre above and behind the temple. Short but steep at this height, and the finest view over the valley on the whole trip.
Climb the ridge path
Look down on the temple and the river
Go in the evening light if you still have legs
Rudraprayag
The confluence town where the Mandakini joins the Alaknanda, at a comfortable low altitude.
Day 4
The walk down and on to Rudraprayag
Morning aarti first, before the day's walkers arrive, then breakfast and the descent. Coming down takes about five hours and asks more of your knees than your lungs; walking poles are worth having. From Gaurikund the shuttle takes you to Sonprayag and the car, and you drive on down the valley to Rudraprayag for the night. Losing the altitude tonight makes tomorrow's drive a short one.
Starts from Kedarnath Yatri Niwas, ends at Hotel Mandakini Rudraprayag, covering around 16 km trek + 75 km road in an estimated 9h 00m.
Sightseeing
Kedarnath morning aartiFrom about 5 AMAllow 60 min
The first service of the day, before the crowd reaches the top from Gaurikund. Very cold, very quiet, and the best chance you will get of an unhurried darshan.
Attend the early aarti
Take a last circuit of the temple
Watch the sun reach the peak
GaurikundOpen all dayAllow 45 min
The trailhead at about 1,980 m, named for Parvati, with a hot spring beside the path. Most people stop here on the way down for a soak and something to eat before getting back in the vehicle.
Rest tired feet in the hot spring
Eat before the drive
Visit the Gauri temple
Day 5
Back down to Haridwar
Breakfast, then the drive down through Srinagar and Devprayag and along the Ganga to Haridwar. You are dropped at Haridwar Junction, or at Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun if you are flying — say which when you book. Leave some slack in your onward booking; the hill road does not always run to time.
Starts from Hotel Mandakini Rudraprayag, ends at Haridwar Junction Railway Station, covering around 165 km in an estimated 5h 30m.
Railway station pick-up and drop at Haridwar
× 2
Guptkashi to Sonprayag transfer for the trek
Sonprayag pick-up on the descent
The fine print, clearly
What’s included
Inclusions
Four nights of accommodation at Haridwar, Guptkashi, Kedarnath and Rudraprayag.
Daily breakfast and dinner, vegetarian, at each halt.
All travel by private vehicle with a driver used to the Kedarnath road.
Assistance with the compulsory Uttarakhand yatra registration and biometric verification.
Driver allowance, fuel, toll, green tax, permits and parking charges.
24×7 destination support for the whole trip.
Exclusions
Train or air fare to Haridwar or Dehradun and back.
Ponies, palki, porters and the helicopter shuttle, arranged on request and charged extra as applicable.
The shared shuttle between Sonprayag and Gaurikund, which private vehicles are not permitted to make.
Special or VIP darshan arrangements at the temple.
Lunch, tea, bottled water and anything ordered outside the fixed hotel menu.
Medical costs, evacuation, travel insurance and personal expenses.
GST, charged extra on the final bill as applicable.
Good to know
Policies
Payment policy
50% of the package cost is needed at the time of booking to confirm it.
The remaining 50% must be cleared at least 15 days before the yatra starts.
Peak yatra season (May and June) needs full payment at booking.
The booking is confirmed only once the advance payment reaches us.
Payment by bank transfer or UPI.
Cancellation policy
0–15 days before check-in: 100% of the booking amount is charged.
16–30 days before check-in: 70% of the booking amount is charged.
31–45 days before check-in: 30% of the booking amount is charged.
A minimum cancellation charge of 10% applies in all cases.
No refund for unused nights, a darshan missed on health grounds or an early departure.
Peak yatra season (1 May – 30 June): no refund on cancellation.
Important information
Kedarnath opens for the season around late April or early May and closes in October or November, on dates fixed each year. Through the winter the deity is worshipped at Ukhimath and the shrine itself is shut.
Uttarakhand yatra registration is compulsory for every traveller, with biometric or photometric verification at the Haridwar, Rishikesh or Sonprayag counters. Carry the original photo ID used in the application.
The trek is 16 km each way from Gaurikund and climbs more than 1,000 m to about 3,583 m. Seven to nine hours is normal going up. It is genuinely hard walking and the thin air makes it harder.
Have a basic medical check-up before you travel, and treat it as necessary rather than optional if you are over 55 or have a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition. Bring your prescriptions and a note from your doctor.
Ponies, palkis, porters and the helicopter shuttle can all be booked through us at extra cost as applicable. Helicopter sorties depend entirely on visibility and are cancelled at short notice in bad weather.
Rain, landslides and road closures can change the schedule without warning. A halt may move or the order may change for safety, and we tell you as soon as we know.
Accommodation at Kedarnath is basic — twin-share rooms, blankets and bucket hot water. Nothing more exists at that height. Carry warm layers, a torch and a waterproof whatever the month.
Easy Holiday
