Badrinath

Badrinath, at 3,133 m on the banks of the Alaknanda river in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, is one of the four Char Dhams and the primary Vaishnava sacred site in the Himalaya. The Badrinath Temple — dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the Badrinarayan (seated in yoga position) form — is one of the 108 Divya Desam shrines of Vaishnavism and among the most significant Vishnu temples in India. The temple's history traces to the 8th century CE when Adi Shankaracharya installed the Badrinarayan idol and established the temple administration; the current colourful facade (white marble base with a multi-tiered painted shikhara in red and gold) dates from a 17th-century restoration. The temple is flanked by the Neelkanth mountain (6,596 m, called "Queen of Garhwal") directly behind it, visible on clear mornings in a spectacular white-on-blue silhouette. The Tapt Kund (hot spring pool at the Alaknanda riverbank below the temple) is the traditional pilgrimage bath before darshan — the geothermal spring maintains 45°C even at 3,133 m altitude. Mana Village, 3 km beyond Badrinath on the road toward the Mana Pass (on the Tibet border), is officially the last inhabited village in India before the border — a traditional Bhotiya community settlement with ancient mythology connections (Vyasa Cave, where the Mahabharata is said to have been narrated, and the Bhim Pul natural stone bridge over the Saraswati river). The Brahma Kapal ghat on the Alaknanda immediately behind the temple is one of North India's most important sites for performing pind-daan (ancestral rites); the Mata Murti Temple (dedicated to Badrinath's mother, 3 km away) and the wider Panch Badri circuit of five Vishnu shrines across the Garhwal Himalaya reward pilgrims with extra days. Joshimath, the staging town below, holds the Narsingh Temple — the winter seat of the Badrinath deity when the high shrine closes under snow. For vegetarian travellers, the Badrinath pilgrimage infrastructure is entirely vegetarian: the temple's Prasad Samiti provides free meals (annadanam) to all pilgrims at the dharamsala hall. The local Garhwali dhaba food (aloo ke gutke, dal-chawal, satvik khichdi) sustains trekkers. Open May to October-November; closed by heavy snow in winter.