The Char Dham Yatra is going to begin on April 30, 2025. While more than 48 lakh pilgrims had visited Char Dham last year, this time more than 50 lakh devotees are expected to reach there. Online registration started on March 20, while offline registration started on April 28. According to government figures, so far, 20 lakh pilgrims have also registered for the Char Dham Yatra. Now, let us know how to reach Char Dham, where to stay and how much this journey will cost.
When will the doors of which shrine open?
The Char Dhams of Uttarakhand include Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham. This year, on April 30, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya, the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri will open at 10.30 am, and the Char Dham Yatra will also begin. After this, the doors of Kedarnath Dham will open at 7 am on May 2, and the doors of Badrinath will open at 6 am on May 4. According to the Tourism Department, this year more than 20 lakh pilgrims have already registered themselves, which includes 7.48 lakh registrations for Kedarnath, 5.74 lakh for Badrinath, 3 lakh for Yamunotri and 3 lakh for Gangotri.
Registration process
If you want to do the Char Dham Yatra, then first of all, you have to register yourself on the Char Dham Yatra portal of the Uttarakhand government, registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in. If, for some reason, you are unable to register online, then the government has provided the facility of offline registration. You just have to go to the registration counter, which is located in Haridwar, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts. The department said that this time, more than 50 offline registration centres have been set up. During registration, you will be asked for an Aadhar card, mobile number and disease-related documents; without these, registration is not possible.
How to reach and where to stay?
If you want to do the Char Dham Yatra from your home, then you can talk to a travel agency about this. On the other hand, if you want to start this journey from Haridwar or Rishikesh, then you will get a lot of convenience. You get many options for Haridwar and Rishikesh for the Char Dham Yatra, in which you can get the facility of a government bus or a private taxi according to your budget. However, if you go by bus, then this journey becomes quite cheap for you. The journey will start from Yamunotri, for which both bus and taxi are available. As far as accommodation is concerned, you will get Dharamshala and hotels to stay in every Dham. You can easily find these hotels around the temple. This entire journey by bus will cost you around 6 thousand, while this journey by taxi will cost you around Rs 40,000.
Apart from this, the government also provides helicopter facilities for the Char Dham, for which you may have to pay Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, that too for one side in just one Dham. If the entire budget of the helicopter is considered, then this package may cost you around 2.5 lakhs.
If you are a biker, you can also get a bike rental from Haridwar and Rishikesh, which can cost you Rs 1,500 per day.
You will find hotels and homestays on the way to every Dham for accommodation. Vehicles do not ply on the mountains at night, so it will be better for you to find a hotel as soon as evening falls.
According to an estimate, the travel and stay expenses of Yamunotri and Gangotri will be around Rs 12,000, while the travel and stay expenses of Kedarnath alone can reach Rs 15,000. At the same time, your expenses in Badrinath can also be around Rs 12,000. Remember that this expense is for those travelling by bus and taxi. Devotees travelling by helicopter can have a total expenditure of up to 2.5 lakhs.
