An attempt to visit Pancha Kedar and Pancha Badari! Day 1.

Day 1: 30/07/2025 – Start of our Trek-filled Adventure: 

Prologue:

Having tasted the beauty of ‘Dev Bhoomi’ a la Uttarakhand, during November last year, I was yearning to revisit this place and the opportunity came through when Suma Aunty (please check my previous Badari Yaatre episodes of 2024 in https://mycentortwo.blogspot.com) called me sometime during March/April and suggested that we plan our trip around first fortnight of August.

The objective of this trip was to trek and visit the ancient Bansi Narayan Temple (more on this in the subsequent episode), where pooja is performed only once a year, on the full moon day of the Sravana month. Despite being fully aware of the perils of visiting this region during the inclement monsoon months, we had determined to go on this trip for the above reason. 

Additionally, our idea was to visit the Pancha Kedar (Kedarnath, Madhya Maheshwar, Tunganath, Rudranath, and Kalpeshwar) and Pancha (or Shasta) Badari (Badarinath, Aadi Badari, Dhyana Badari, Yoga Dhyana Badari, Vridda Badari, and Bhavishya Badari) this time around, and also some of the temples that we couldn’t visit previously.

Kedarnath remained closed since the 30^th of last month, and we hoped it would open up by the time we were scheduled to trek on the 3^rd instant.  

We were just a group of 5 (Suma Aunty – I will skip the ‘Aunty’ for brevity, Radha, and yours truly, from our earlier trip, and 2 new members – Vidya and Sujata) and as usual our tour operator Anil Joshi was roped in to vet our itinerary and to handle the logistics part of it.

My longtime friend Sujata, having read my blog about our earlier Badari Yaatre, had already made up her mind to join me/us in our sojourn. In her words, ‘I have already visited the described places virtually, thanks to your blog. I want to visit it physically this time around,” and joined the tour.

That said, we all did our preparations for the 15-day trip and loaded with energy bars, trail nuts, et al (courtesy – Sujata’s daughter in the USA) and a few other eats along with the usual fare of ready-to-eat mixes that Suma and Radha are regular with. Further, we prepared ourselves with travel gear and footwear to endure the planned treks this time – 5 treks in all, along with blocks of camphor, in a small bag (courtesy - Suma) hung by the neck. Smelling camphor when you feel breathless at high altitude improves the oxygen absorption by your lungs, and breathing becomes easy. 

As in the past, we packed off the supposedly excess baggage of the eatables and other heavy stuff before our departure, by rail (the cheapest mode) to New Delhi, where we would pick this up later.

Sujata had entrusted me with the responsibility of creating a group of her family members and other close circle friends on WhatsApp. I assured her that I will send a brief daily update to this group.

All points ticked off, we (four of us, excluding Suma) started early morning on the 30^th July, by air to New Delhi. She joined us in the afternoon in New Delhi, flying in from Indore.

Our trip, from now on:  

Landing in New Delhi around 8:00 in the morning on the 30^th July, we were met by Mr Mukesh (who would be our charioteer for the next fortnight) and took some time to load all our big luggage onto the hold, and we dumped all backpacks and smaller ones inside the Ertiga. 

At New Delhi airport, after landing.

Securing everything and covering it with plastic sheets to protect our luggage from the rain, our first stop was Birla’s Lakshmi Narayan Temple.

The weather was warm and humid, and very uncomfortable to our liking. Since traffic was a bit easy as it was still early for the peak hour, we reached the temple in a short while. Cell phones are not allowed inside the temple, and so we had to deposit all ours at the counter outside. The main deity of this temple complex is Lakshmi Narayana. There are other deities like Maa Durga, Hanuman, Ganesh, Shiva, and others. The temple premises were well-maintained, reflecting clean environs.

           

Lakshmi Narayan Mandir - New Delhi

We had tea and proceeded to our next stop, Akshardham, a beautiful and sprawling temple complex area in NOIDA, close to Arun’s office. Sujata and I got dropped off here while Radha and Vidya stayed back in the vehicle as they took off to Arun’s office to fetch the parcel sent earlier by rail.

The grandeur of the temple has to be seen and can’t be explained in words. Museums and other information galleries are located strategically to impart relevant and requisite information. Cleanliness is the hallmark of this complex, and neat arrangements have been made for the visitors to deposit their cameras, mobiles (again, mobiles and other stuff – except a small handbag/backpack, small ladies bag, etc. are not allowed inside the premises), and footwear in a separate enclosure just before we enter the main temple.

Akshardham - Noida

By the time we went around the temple that housed majestic idols of the main deities, we were tired out mainly due to the heat and humidity. A copious flow of water down our gullets kept our bodies hydrated. Collecting our footwear after we were out of the main temple, we ambled across to the food court. Impressively, it caters to a plethora of foodies with multicuisine offerings. All foods here are Satvik – devoid of Garlic and Onion, and while I had a go at their special Khichdi, Sujata tasted their Rajma and Rice. I must say that the food was quite tasty.

We picked up our cell phones, made our way to the vehicle, and parked ourselves at Haldiram’s restaurant just at the turning onto the freeway towards Haridwar. While we waited for Suma’s arrival, Radha and Vidya had their lunch here. By the time they were done, Suma arrived, and Mukesh packed her stuff. Suma too had her lunch, and off we went.

The vehicle was at its capacity from this point onwards. Except for a tea break after Meerut, it was non-stop travel till we reached our camping place – Sri Kashi Mutt, Haridwar, on the banks of the River Ganga. The drive was excellent, and since the vehicle was air-conditioned, we didn’t feel the prick of heat or humidity. We were a tad tired and skipped the famed Ganga Aarti (as we had time to see this on our return journey), got into our rooms, and rested for a while.

This place is quite sprawling with lots of greenery. We had two triple-bed rooms, comfortable and adequate to take care of our requirements. The River Ganga flows briskly to the east of this complex. Freshening up, we made it to the main temple comprising Sage Vyasa and his son Shuka Muni, flanked by the fathers of the four Vedas and Saptha Rishis. There is also a temple of Lord Hanuman over the Samadhi of Sri Sudhindra Thirta and a temple dedicated to Sri Veda Matha. The evening Aarti is performed at around 19h45 and thereafter, it was dinner time.

Moving to the dining area, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the plates were arranged neatly near the water filter and the handwash area. Visitors are expected to wash their plates and glasses before and after use. Dinner was simple: Rajma with rice, chapatis, and hot, lightly sugared milk to induce sleep. I quite relished the food, and I am sure others did too. Once done, we washed our plates and glasses and returned them to their specific places. 

Synopsis of the day: 

The day went well as planned, and the only concern was whether we could complete all the treks, since the rains continued to wreak havoc on the mountains.

More of our travel description is in my Day 2 episode.