Since I posted a few days ago about Mana, the last Indian village before Tibet, I thought I'd share a little about the journey to Badrinath.
Badrinath is the little town just prior to Mana village. It is famed for the Badrinath temple, one of four holy sites in the Hindu Char Dham pilgrimage. All four sites are located deep in the Himalayas and accessible only in the summer months, and of these four Badrinath is considered to be the most important one. Badrinath is at an elevation of about 3,415 meters (11,204 feet) and is located on the banks of the Alaknanda river. The beautiful Neelkanth peak is right next to the town towering at 6,560 meters.
The temple is dedicated to Vishnu and is sacred to the followers of the Vaishnavite sect of Hindus.
Badrinath is located about 233kms north of Rishikesh and it is a good two day drive from Delhi if you are driving about 8 to 10 hours a day depending on road conditions. As you get closer to Badrinath the road gets worse to the point it is just a gravel road with no railing carved out of a side of mountain with frequent falling rocks. Yup, it is as scary as it sounds. Despite this thousands make the trek up here each year in the summer to worship at this sacred temple.
