Constructed in : 8th Century
Famous For : One of 4 Dhams (Holy Shrines)
IdealTime To Visit : May - Sept
Legend has it that Nar and Narayan, the two incarnations of Lord Vishnu practised severe penances at Badrikashram in front of a Shivalingam. When Lord shiva gave them the divine appearance, they requested him to make Kedareshwar his permanent abode. Lord Shiva thus manifessted himself in the form of Jyotirlingam. The Kedarnath is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The architecture of Kedarnath temple is a wonder to the mordern architects, as to how those heavy slabs of stones had been placed perfectly in those earlier days. The tample is built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones.
History
The present temple of Kedarnath was built by Adi Guru Shankaracharya in 8th century adjacent to the site where Pandavas had built a temple. It is a mighty structure standing in the middle of a plateau with snow covered peaks on the periphery. The temple is believed to be more then 1000 years old. The architecture of the temple is exquisite, the walls are embellished with scenes from mythological stories and images of deities.
How to get
Road: Kedarnath is 239 km from Dehradun of which the first 225 km. is by road and the remaining 14 km a trekking route. Kedarnath is also well connected by bus services to other centers in the region. Ponies and porters are available at Gaurikund, from where the 14 km trek to Kedarnath starts.
Rail: Rishikesh is the nearest railway station and is 221 km from Kedarnath.
