A visit to Most Pious Destinations

India is a beautiful country that is a home to several religions, cultures and mythological beliefs. There are several places of religious importance in this vast country. The Char Dham Yatra is one of the most important Yatras that a Hindu must undertake in order to wash away his sins and ultimately attain the path of salvation or Moksha. There are four places that are included in this yatra- Badrinath Keda
ath Yamunotri Gangotri. A visit to only Badrinath Keda
ath is known as the Do Dham yatra and is undertaken by the devotees of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The pilgrimage tour to these places start in the month of April and continues till the month of November. There are several tour operators that offer all kinds of tour packages to these places.

The Badrinath Keda
ath tour was initiated by Adi Shankaracharya and people visit them in order to wash away all their sins. It is considered to be the holiest of yatras and thousands of pilgrims visit them from all parts of the world in order to offer their prayers. Badrinath is believed to the abode of Lord Vishnu and the temple was constructed by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. The temple attracts Hindus who are firm believers of Lord Vishnu. The temple offers three main attractions- Darshan Mandap, Garbha Griha and Sabha Mandap. The entire temple is very eye catching and is sculpted in black stone. When you visit this place, you also get to see the temple that was built by the Kings of Garhwal and the two hot springs known as tapt Kund and Surya Kund.

It is believed that when a person takes bath in these springs, it completely purifies his body along with his soul. There are several other places of importance that are the five Badris and Vyas Cave that are located in a nearby village known as Mana. The months of May to November are the best time to visit this place as it is covered with snow during the winter months.

Keda
ath Dham is believed to the abode of Lord Shiva and river Mandakini flows nearby. The samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya is also located here. Keda
ath is among the twelve Jyotirlings in India and it is said that Lord Shiva is present in the form of a Jyotirling or cosmic light. This temple is surrounded with snow peaks all around. There are two main parts of the temple-Garbha Griha where the mani deity resides and Mandap for the pilgrims. There is a conical stone inside the temple that is worshipped as Lord Shiva.