The Panch Kedar Trail is situated in the north-western state of Uttarakhand. It may be called part of the age old Char Dham trip to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. As the name Kedar says these 5 spots are dedicated to Shiva. While in the earlier days people would walk up to the region from all of India, it is now much easier accessible through an extensive network of roads.
As the legend goes, in the Mahabharata, while on their Himalayan pilgrimage, the Pandavas decided to pay homage to Lord Shiva. But Lord Shiva was not interested in meeting them as they were guilty of gotra hatya (killing their brethren). Seeing the Pandavas coming, the Lord disguised himself as a bull. But the Pandavas saw through Shiva's disguise. Realizing that his disguise had not worked the bull tried to plunge himself beneath the ground. But Bhima was swift and held on the hind legs of the bull, thus preventing it from vanishing. In the struggle that ensued different parts of Lord Shiva's body appeared at various places in Kedarkhand. While the forehead showed up at Pashupatinath in Katmandu, the hump of the bull fell at Kedarnath, the torso including the navel at Madhmaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar. The Panch Kedar trek includes all the five shrines associated with the legend in Kedarkhand. All of them are situated in the Kedar Valley.
Kedarnath is a Hindu holy town located in the Uttarakhand state of India. In a scenic spot, at an altitude of 3,584 m at the origin of the river Mandakini, the shrine of Kedarnath is most venerated amongst the Hindu pilgrims. Kedarnath is accessible only after a steep 13 km trek through a paved path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from Gaurikund, which is connected by road from KedarnathRishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and other important hill stations of the Garhwal and Kumaon regions in Uttarakhand.
Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva (and the name for a stone rounded by years long travel in Ganga). There are more than 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in Chamoli district itself, the most important being Kedarnath. Kedarnath is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
There are places en route like Janglechatti, Rambara and Garurchatti where the weary can rest a while or spend the night. Just one kilometer before Rambara is a high and beautiful cascading waterfall which crashes down the heights.
As one approaches from Garurchatti, the magnificent Sri Kedarnath temple is visible on advancing barely half a kilometer. With the stunning background of towering white mountains mantled with snow, the temple presents an enchanting sight. All around it is an aura of peace and purity. Here, the unholy are said to become holy and the holy, holier still.
The temple is magnificent in its style and architecture. It is built on a morainic ridge grom the snowy Kedarnath range.
