My pilgrimage to Kedranath was not because I am religious by nature but due to my curosity to explore. As my guide, Pinku, emphasized that I should visit Char Dham, so I enrolled myself to the twelve day tour by GMVN (Garwhal Mandal Vikas Nigam) that covered all the four major sites of the sacred Yatra.

The first one I delve into was Kedarnath. This is one of the major temples in India and is devoted to Lord Shiva, a hindu God. My escort, Pinku, told me that Kedarnath shrine is set against the backdrop of the majestic Kedarnath range. “ There are 12 Jyotirlings of Lord Shiva” told me guide. “What are Jyotirlings” I asked. “ They are small idols of Lord Shiva” replied my guide.

Well, the place was quite cold..why not, I thought..after all it is situated at altitude of 3581m above the sea level.

Well, our camp followed the 14 m long trek from Gaurikund to reach the place..infact it was a mutual decision by the all the tourists. In conversation with my guide, I came to know that the ideal time to visit Kedarnath is in the month of May to October.

Apart from natural beauty that endorsed the place, it had Kedarnath temple, Shankracharya Samadhi, and Vasuki tal.

As I spoke to the priest, he told me that this temple was built in 8th centuary A.D. by Adi Shankracharya. I was impressed by the exquisitively architectured temple beautified with figures of dieties and scenes of mythology. He also told me that temple was built 1000 years ago.

Just behind the Kedarnath temple lies the 'samadhi' or the final resting place, of the Shankracharya. As I spoke to people over there, I found that they had a common belief, that after building the four dhams the Shankaracharya took a samadhi at an early age.

After exploring the temple site, we visited the Vasuki tal that was 6 km from the place. I got almost lost by looking at the beauty that surrounded the place. The tal or the lake was encircled by lofty mountains and offered panoramic view of the Chaukhamba peaks.