Char Dham Yatra Packages

The Char Dham yatra is India's great Himalayan pilgrimage: four shrines at the sources of four rivers, strung across Uttarakhand's high valleys and joined by long mountain drives. It rewards planning more than any trip on this site - the season is short, the roads are real, and the days are early.

Our Char Dham yatra packages sequence the circuit properly - the halts, the darshan days, the buffer time - so the group can focus on the yatra itself. Open one and customise the pace, stays and add-ons around your dates.

The four dhams

The traditional circuit runs west to east. Yamunotri opens the yatra with a river-valley trek to the source shrine of the Yamuna. Gangotri, reached by road, sits where the Ganga (as the Bhagirathi) leaves its glacier country. Kedarnath is the hardest earned - a steep 16 to 18 kilometre route up from Gaurikund to the stone temple of Shiva at 3,580 metres, with ponies, palkis and helicopter shuttles as alternatives to walking. Badrinath, the shrine of Vishnu, closes the circuit and is the most road-accessible of the four, with Mana village and the Alaknanda valley beyond it.

Most itineraries stage through Barkot, Uttarkashi, Guptkashi and Joshimath or Pipalkoti as overnight halts, and open or close via Haridwar's Ganga aarti - see our guide to places to visit in Rishikesh for the gateway town many groups add a day around.

When the yatra runs

The temples open in late April or early May on dates fixed each year by tradition, and close around Diwali as winter shuts the high valleys. May to mid-June is the main season; September to October is the second window, quieter and often clearer after the rains. The monsoon weeks between - roughly July and August - bring landslide risk on the hill roads, and while the shrines stay open, itineraries need generous buffers then. Winter visits are not possible; the deities move to lower seats.

Explore our Char Dham yatra packages

Each package below is a complete day-by-day plan - halts, darshan days and buffers included. Pick one, then fine-tune stays, helicopter add-ons and pace in Tripmojo and keep the whole group in sync.

How many days does the Char Dham yatra need

Plan 9 to 12 days for the full circuit from Haridwar or Rishikesh - faster schedules exist, but they trade away the buffer days that mountain weather regularly claims. The two-dham version covering Kedarnath and Badrinath fits 5 to 6 days, and helicopter packages compress the full circuit dramatically for those who need it. Whatever the length, keep the Kedarnath day flexible: the climb, the queue and the weather each set their own pace.

Getting there and registration

The yatra starts from Haridwar or Rishikesh, reached by train or by road from Delhi, with Dehradun's Jolly Grant airport the nearest flight gateway. Uttarakhand requires every pilgrim to register for the yatra - packages handle the process, but carry the confirmation and a government photo ID throughout, as they are checked en route. On the circuit, one vehicle with a hill-experienced driver is the standard; the drives are long, and early starts are the rule.

Where you stay on the circuit

Accommodation on the yatra is functional rather than fancy: guesthouses, GMVN rest houses and pilgrim hotels at the overnight halts, with options improving in Guptkashi and around Badrinath. Near Kedarnath, most groups sleep at Gaurikund or Sonprayag and climb the next morning; limited stays exist near the temple for those who want darshan at dawn. Book the season's peak weeks well ahead - the circuit's beds are finite and the pilgrim flow is not. Each package can be adjusted to the comfort level your group needs.