At 3,583 metres below the Kedarnath peak, the temple is reachable for only half the year and on foot for the last sixteen kilometres. It is the hardest of the twelve to reach, and the one pilgrims speak about the longest afterwards.
The gods came looking for Shiva.He hid here as a bull.What remains is his back.
Why Shiva is here, and not somewhere else — as the Shiva Purana and local tradition tell it.
The Pandavas, having won Kurukshetra, were sick with the guilt of killing their own kin. Only Shiva could absolve them. They went to the Himalaya to find him — and he had no interest in being found.
Shiva took the form of a bull and vanished into the herds at Guptkashi. Bhima, enormous, straddled the valley and let the cattle pass beneath him. One bull refused. Bhima seized it — and it began to sink into the earth.
The bull's parts surfaced across the mountains: the hump at Kedarnath, arms at Tungnath, face at Rudranath, navel at Madhyamaheshwar, hair at Kalpeshwar. Together they are the Panch Kedar. The conical rock worshipped at Kedarnath is that hump — which is why it looks like no other jyotirlinga.
Times shown in IST. The status above is live against the temple's published hours.
Open only during the yatra season. The temple opens at 4:00 AM for Mahabhishek and closes at 8:30 PM. It shuts from 3:00 to 5:00 PM for afternoon rituals and the evening shringar.
What can be booked, what is free, and where the official channel actually is.
Every pilgrim must register on the Uttarakhand government portal before travelling. You get a QR-coded registration letter, checked at barriers on the route. Registration for 2026 opened on 6 March. Carry both a printout and the digital copy.
registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in ↗Helicopter tickets from Guptkashi, Phata and Sirsi are sold exclusively through IRCTC HeliYatra. Booking for 2026 opened 15 April at 6 PM IST. Round-trip fares are roughly ₹12,762 (Guptkashi), ₹10,164 (Phata) and ₹6,390 (Sirsi). Every other seller is unauthorised.
heliyatra.irctc.co.in ↗Rudrabhishek, Mahabhishek and other pujas at the shrine can be sponsored through the Badrinath–Kedarnath Temple Committee.
BKTC ↗This is a mountain, not a plain. Layers, a windproof outer, warm socks and broken-in trekking shoes. Temperatures near the shrine drop close to freezing even in June.
The same — warm layers and proper footwear over any traditional preference. Modest dress inside the shrine.
Kedarnath, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand — 30.7346°N, 79.0669°E
Nearest airport. From there it is a long mountain drive to Sonprayag, then the trek. Helicopter services operate from Guptkashi, Phata and Sirsi.
Rishikesh is the nearest usable railhead. Shared jeeps and buses run to Sonprayag via Rudraprayag and Guptkashi, typically 9–11 hours.
Road ends at Sonprayag. Shuttle to Gaurikund, then trek, pony or palki to the shrine. Most pilgrims take two days.
May–June and September–October are the two good windows. July and August bring the monsoon and with it landslides — the 2013 disaster was a monsoon event. Late October is cold but clear and quiet.
On the ridge above the shrine — the guardian who watches Kedarnath through the winter.
Rebuilt after 2013. Shankara is said to have attained samadhi here at thirty-two.
A glacial lake at 4,150 m below the Chaukhamba peaks. For fit trekkers only.
Where Shiva and Parvati married. The wedding fire is said to still be burning.
Freely-licensed photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Each is credited to its photographer.
Light a lamp for Kedarnath and it stays lit across the site — your progress towards all twelve is remembered on this device.