About Rudranath temple:
Rudranath temple is one the the Panchkedar’s. There are total of five kedars and Rudranath temple is considered as the 4th kedar. The other kedar’s in sequence are like-
- Kedarnath- It is considered as the 1st kedar, here the back of Lord Shiva is worshipped.
- Madhamaheshwar– this is the considered as the 2nd kedar, the stomach of lord shiva is worshipped here.
- Tunganath– this is considered as the 3rd kedar and here the arms of Lord Shiva are worshipped.
- Rudranath- The 4th kedar where face of lord Shiva is worshipped here.
- Kalpeshwar- At last this is the 5th kedar and here the ‘JATA’ i.e, hairs of lord Shiva are worshipped.
The temple is located at 3,600metre (11,800 ft) above the sea level.
The trek to Rudranath temple is steep and is between 18-22 kms from Sagar Village. It is the toughest trek among the 5 kedars. There are some kunds around Rudranath temple one of which is Narad Kund. Devotees usually take bath from Narad kund before entering the temple.
The Rudranath linga is also called ‘Swyam Bhuva’ that is self appeard shiva linga shaped like a human face. And the meaning of the name Rudranath is ‘he who is angry’.
AARTI TIME- The aarti is done two times every day.
The timing of the aarti in morning is around 9a.m and the evening aarti takes place at around 7p.m.
History and Mythology of Rudranath Temple-
After Mahabharata Pandava’s went to their journey to Himalayas to visit ‘Mahadev’ (lord Shiva) to was of their sins because they killed their brothers, Guru’s, and many more.
Lord Shiva was not happy with the killings during Mahabharata and the dishonest tricks that were used during Mahabharata in kurukshetra. So he decided to disguise and turn himself into in ‘nandi’ (bull).
When Bheem came to know that Lord Shiva has turned himself into nandi (bull) he came looking for him. When lord Shiva saw Bheem coming he then disappeared into the ground but it is said that Bheem catches him, after that the different parts of his body appeared in different places and today those places are Kedarnath, Madhamaheshwar, Tunganath, Rudranath and kalpeshwar.
Why Rudranath Is Famous:
- Rudranath is mainly famous because it is one of the panchkedars. Devotees comes from across the globe here, because it is one of the five kedars and where else you would see the face of lord Shiva. Here, the face of lord shiva is worshipped.
- Difficult trek is also one of the main reasons for the trekkers. It is the most difficult trek among the Panchkedars.
- Kunds- kunds around rudranath temple is one of the main attractions for tourists and are considered sacred aroud the globe. NARAD KUND, SARASWATI KUND, CHANDRA KUND, SURYA KUND, TARA KUND are the kunds near Rudranath temple.
- The Scenic Beauty- the scenic beauty of this place attracts people around the globe. You can see the nanda devoi peak, trishul peak and chaukhamba peak from the rudranath temple.
- The bugyals- there are maily three types of bugyal you’ll see here starting from pung bugyal , then after that comes lyuti bugyal and at last comes panar bugyal. Bugyals are alpine pasture lands in higher elevation range like Himalayas between 3300mt-4000mt.
ENTRY TYPE-
-The forest department also takes 50-100rupess from the outsiders before going for a trek.
– Kedarnath forest division charges 100 rupees for per plastic item taken inside, like packets of biscuits, noodles etc. It is done to reduce the usage of plastic inside the forest, and after returning from forest the tourists have to show the plastics and wrappers to retrive the amount. If they failed to do so then they will be levived rupees 5000 as the penalty.
Best Time To Visit Rudranath Temple-
Best time to visit Rudranath temple is during summers.
The gate of the temple opens from 19th may and it remains open for 6 months till early to mid of November. The doors or kapaat of the temple closes after Diwali.
In winters the door/kapaat of the temple are closed and it is not safe also to trek in winters since the mountains are covered in snow and due to the steep and difficult trek it is not safe to trek on those conditions.
But we would suggest you that the month of October is the best time to visit Rudranath temple. Just after the rainy season and a moth before closing of the doors of the temple the beauty is something beyond words can explain.
How To Reach Rudranath Temple-
We will show you the route from the nearest airport, railway station from rudranath and the bus route from delhi.
By Air: The nearest airport from Rudranath is Jolly Grant that is near Rishikesh. After that you can rent/book taxi/auto to Rishikesh and from there follow the instructions given below in bus section:
By Train: The nearest railway station from Rudranath is Rishikesh/Haridwar/Dehradun. From there you can take/rent a bus/taxi/auto to Rishikesh or you can directly take a bus from Dehradun to Gopeshwar mandal. Then book a taxi to sagar village from where the trek to Rudranath starts.
By Bus: If you are travelling from Delhi you should take a bus to Dehradun or you’ll also a find a bus directly to Rishikesh. You can easily find a bus to gopeshwar mandal from railway station but you’ll have to reach there before 5 or 6 a.m. If you can’t find a bus then you should book a taxi locals call it ‘tata sumo’. If you are directly booking a taxi then you can ask the driver to drop you directly to ‘sagar’ village that is hardly 10,15 minutes away from gopeshwar mandal if you have a vehicle.
NOTE- We would recommend you to rent a hotel/dharamshala in sagar village and start the trek next morning after you reach the village since it is a long and steep trek.
THE TREK-
- The usual Rudranath trek starts from Sagar village and it is a trek of approx 18kms -22kms. From the usual route you will find the shops in every 2-3kms and the last shop you’ll find before the stop is at ‘Panar bugyal’. After that, the next shop you’ll find is directly at the temple that is nearly 8-10 km away from ‘Panar Bugyal’. The first BUGYAL that comes in route to the temple is ‘PUNG BUGYAL’ after that the next bugyal that comes is ‘LYUTI BUGYAL’ and at last comes the ‘PANAR BUGYAL’ that is the last stop where you will find something to eat. After that the next stop is directly at the temple.
- The another route of trek starts from Gopeshwar to ‘anusuya mata mandir’ that is nearly 19km away from gopeshwar mandal and another 20 km from anusuya mata mandir to Rudranath temple.
The length and the difficulty is what, that makes the Rudranath trek the most difficult trek of Panchkedars.
Location-
Sagar village, Gopeshwar mandal, Chamoli, uttrakhand.
Places To Stay Around-
There are many hotels and local guest houses near the rudranath temple and many places to in the route of ‘Rudranath trek’. And before you start the trek to Rudranath you can find the guest houses/dharamshala/hotels in ‘Sagar Village’. there is an ‘OYO HOTEL’ too in sagar village. Some of them are given below:
- Saagar(rudra) home stay.
- Krishna lodge and homestay
- Shankara homestay
- Rudra homestay
Travel tip-
For temple:
- You should visit the kunds(ponds) surrounding the temple.
- Take a bath at ‘narad kund’ before entring the temple devotees usually do that.
if you are planning for Rudranath trek then you should carry these things:
- Wind proof jackets and some heavy jackets are an absolute necessity.
- Atleast 2 water botlles per person is a necessity to prevent yourself from dehydration. You’ll also find the source of water during Rudranath trek regularly.
- Carry atleast a packet of glucose or some packets of ORS (oral rehydration solutions).
- A good pair of `trekking shoe’ or running shoe because it is a difficult trek.
- You can take some chocolates can toffees with you for some energy during the Rudranath trek.
- paracetamol is a basic medicine and you must take this with you and an absolutely necessity in case of an unwanted misshappening or accident is a First aid kit.
