Uttarakhand Char Dhams Closed for Winter

The Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand is now closed for devotees. The closing ceremony of Badrinath Dham was attended by around 3,000 devotees, including chief minister BC Khanduri. Badrinath Dham, one of the four "dhams'' of the Uttarakhand state, opened on May 9. The shrine is opened and closed as per the auspicious "muhurat''. Badrinath's closing date is decided upon by priests on the occasion of "Vijaya Dashmi'' (Dussehra) and the opening day on the occasion of "Basant Panchami'' every year. Similarly, The Gangotri Dham was closed on October 29 while Yamunotri and Kedarnath dhams closed on October 30 this year. With the closure of the Badrinath, which is the last of the Char Dhams of Uttarakhand to close, the yatra comes to an end officially. The yatra is resumed in April every year.

Pawan Hans Helicopters for Kedarnath in Uttarakhand

Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. resumed daily helicopter services (post monsoon) to the Kedarnath Shrine. It is deploying a five- seater Bell 407 helicopter from two places in Uttarakhand – Augustmuni and Phata. The services will be available tentatively up to 22nd of october month.

Augustmuni is located 17 kms. beyond Rudraprayag en-route to Kedarnath. Rudraprayag is around 140 kms. from Rishikesh and is linked by good motor able roads. The service originates from the helipad located at a playground in Augustmuni. The flying time is around 45 minutes for a round trip (Augustmuni – Kedarnath – Augustmuni).

Phata, is around 50 kms. from Augustmuni enroute to Kedarnath and 18 kms. short of Gaurikund. The distance from Gaurikund to Kedarnath is 14 kms. By providing the facility of helicopter services from Phata, the flying time has been reduced to 20 minutes for a round trip (Phata – Kedarnath – Phata).