Gujju Diary

Uttarakhand · pilgrimage and treks

Kedarnath, Tungnath & Badrinath

Two of the Char Dham, the highest Shiva temple in the world, and a sunrise peak in between. Nine days, three treks and a lot of chai at altitude.

June 2022

Duration
9 days, 8 nights
Season
June, early monsoon
Trekking
Kedarnath 16 km each way, Tungnath and Chandrashila
Getting around
Flights and a hired Innova
Stays
Sonprayag, Kedarnath, Chopta, Badrinath, Dehradun

The route

We flew into Dehradun and drove to Sonprayag, trekked up to Kedarnath for a night by the temple, moved on to Chopta for Tungnath and Chandrashila, spent two nights in Badrinath, and drove back to Dehradun for the flight home.

Kedarnath

  1. Dehradun fly in
  2. Sonprayag 3 nights
  3. Kedarnath 1 night, 100 m from the temple

Drive to Chopta

Tungnath

  1. Chopta 2 nights
  2. Tungnath and Chandrashila day trek

Drive to Badrinath

Badrinath

  1. Badrinath 2 nights
  2. Dehradun 1 night near the airport

How the trip went

If you only read one part of this page, read this. The full day-by-day table is below it.

Day 1
Dehradun to Sonprayag

Into the hills

We took the morning flight to Dehradun and had a taxi waiting for the 221 km, six-and-a-half-hour drive up to Sonprayag. The resort there became our base for the Kedarnath trek: breakfast and dinner included, and close to Gaurikund, where the walk begins.

Days 2–3
Kedarnath

Sixteen kilometres to Kedarnath

We started the trek early in the morning. The 16 km path from Gaurikund takes six to seven hours and, to our surprise, has a local Wi-Fi network along much of the route. Helicopters from Sersi are the alternative if walking is not an option.

We had booked a room at Gayatri Sadan, about 100 metres from the temple, which meant evening darshan without a rush and a second, quieter darshan the next morning before the long walk back down to Gaurikund and Sonprayag.

Draft note for Manan: the first sight of the Kedarnath temple, or darshan in the morning.

Days 4–5
Chopta, Tungnath, Chandrashila

Tungnath and the view from Chandrashila

After a rest morning we drove 65 km to Chopta, passing the Kanchula Korak Musk Deer Sanctuary and Kalimath temple along the way. The Meadows in Chopta looked after us with breakfast, dinner and endless tea.

Day five was the Tungnath trek: up to the highest Shiva temple in the world and on to the summit of Chandrashila for a sweep of Himalayan peaks, then back down to roam around Chopta’s meadows.

Draft note for Manan: the view from Chandrashila.

Days 6–7
Badrinath

Two days in Badrinath

An early start took us 150 km to Badrinath. We had two nights there, enough for darshan without hurry and slow walks around the town. Morari Bapu’s katha happened to be on during our stay.

Days 8–9
Back to Dehradun

The long road down

The drive from Badrinath to Dehradun is a full day, about 300 km and up to eleven hours. We stayed near Jolly Grant airport, five kilometres away, so the morning flight home was easy.

Day-by-day itinerary

Distances and drive times are the ones we planned with. Optional extras are highlighted like this.

Day Route and travel Sightseeing Stay Distance
Kedarnath
Day 1 Flight to Dehradun (lands 10 am), taxi to Sonprayag (6.5 h) Narayan Valley Resort, Sonprayag 221 km
Day 2 Early-morning trek from Gaurikund to Kedarnath (6–7 h) Darshan; Wi-Fi along the route Helicopter from Sersi instead of the trek Gayatri Sadan, Kedarnath 16 km trek
Day 3 Kedarnath, return trek to Gaurikund Morning darshan Narayan Valley Resort, Sonprayag 16 km trek
Tungnath
Day 4 Rest, then afternoon drive to Chopta (2.5 h) Kanchula Korak Musk Deer Sanctuary, Kalimath temple The Meadows, Chopta 65 km
Day 5 Chopta Trek to Tungnath and on to Chandrashila, then back; roaming around Chopta The Meadows, Chopta
Badrinath
Day 6 Early drive to Badrinath (5 h) Darshan and walking around the town Hotel Shankar Shree, Badrinath 150 km
Day 7 Badrinath Roaming around; Morari Bapu’s katha was on in town Hotel Shankar Shree, Badrinath
Day 8 Badrinath to Dehradun (a full day, 9–11 h) Ghai Residency, Jolly Grant, Dehradun 308 km
Day 9 Fly home from Dehradun (10:30 am) Flight

What has changed since our trip

  • Registration: Char Dham pilgrims must now register online with the Uttarakhand government before travel.
  • Helicopters: Kedarnath helicopter tickets are now sold through IRCTC’s official HeliYatra site. Avoid unofficial sellers.
  • Prices: Those from 2022 are out of date, so we have left them out.

Last checked: November 2026

If you are planning this route

  • Start the Kedarnath trek early. Six to seven hours uphill is easier in the cool of the morning.
  • Stay a night at Kedarnath. A room near the temple gives you an unhurried evening and morning darshan.
  • Base yourself at Sonprayag. It is close to Gaurikund, where the trek starts, and you can leave luggage there.
  • Go early for Tungnath and Chandrashila. Clouds often roll in by late morning.
  • Pack for rain in June. The monsoon arrives in the hills from late June; carry rain covers and layers.
  • Stay near Jolly Grant on the last night. The airport hotel made the morning flight stress-free after the long drive.