The
temple of Bhavishya Badri is at an elevation of 2744 m and
is surrounded by dense forests. Located at Subain near Tapovan
about 17 km east of Joshimath on Joshimath - Lata - Malari
route, pilgrims have to trek beyond Tapovan, up the Dhauliganga
River. Tapovan has sulphurous hot springs and the view of
the Tapovan towards the north is simply breathtaking.
It is believed that when Kaliyug comes
the mountains Jay & Vijay at Patmila near Vishnuprayag
will collapse, so making the present shrine of Badrinath
inaccessible and Lord Badrinath will be worshipped here.
Thus the name Bhavishya Badri which literally means the
Badri of the future. Bhavishya Badri is popular even now,
enshrined here is a lion headed image of Narsingh.
Getting there: Jolly Grant at Dehradun
is the nearest airport. 280 km away Rishikesh is the railhead.
Bhavishya Badri is connected by a motorable road upto Sandhar
(274 km from Rishikesh) and 19 km from Joshimath. From saldhar
it is 6 km trek up to the shrine.
The accomodation is available at Joshimath
and Tapovan.
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The
temple of Yog Dhyan Badri, one of the five Badris, is
located at Pandukeshwar, just 24 km short of Badrinath
on Rishikesh-Badrinath highway. Located at an altitude
of 1920 m named after the Pandava's king, the sanctum
has an image of the lord in a meditative (yogdhyan) posture.
The region surroundings the temple was known as Panchaldesh.
It is the place where Pandu believed to have married Kunti.
According to the myth, the Pandavas, victorious after
their battle against Kauravas, but emotionally scarred,
came to Himalayas for penance and before seeking out the
highway to heaven, handed over their capital Hastinapur
to king Parikshit.
Going there:
Jolly Grant at Dehradun is the nearest airport 274-km
away Rishikesh is the railhead. Yogdhayn Badri is 24 km
short of Badrinath on a motorable road from Rishikesh.
Regular Buses and Taxis ply on this route.
4km away,
Govindghat, as private hotels as well as a Gurudwara where
pilgrims can stay over night.
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The
temple of the Bridha (old) Badri is located at Animath,
7 km from Joshimath in the direction of Pipalkoti.
Before Badrinath
was designated one of the four dhams, the idol of Badrinath
was worshipped here. It is said that when mankind entered
the age of Kaliyug, Vishnu chose to remove himself from
the temple. Interestingly, the image was found by Adi
Guru Shankaracharya at Narad Kund, and restored, though
part of it remains damaged. The climb to the temple is
through cultivated land and past Malta Groves. A very
huge Bayan tree shelters the temple. Legend has it that
the god, Vishnu disguised as Bridh (old) person played
with Ganeshji during period of his childhood.
Getting there:
Jolly Grant at Dehradun is the nearest airport. 247 km
away Rishikesh is the railhead. Animath 7 km short of
Joshimath, is accessible by motorable road from Rishikesh
on Badrinath route.
Joshimath
7 km is the centre with the private hotels and Govt. accommodation.
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Another
pilgrimage centre of importance is this group of 16 temples
almost 16 km from Karnaprayag on the Chaukhutia-Ranikhet
road. The main temple is dedicated to Narayan and has
raised platform in the pyramidal form where the idol is
enshrined. Sculpted out of black stone, the idol of Lord
Vishnu is a metre high. It is believed that these temples,dating
back to the Gupta period, were sanctioned by Adi Shankaracharaya.
This place is situated quite far from the cluster of other
four which form the Vishnu-Kshetra.
Getting there:
Jolly Grant at Dehradun is the nearest airport 192-km
away Rishikesh is the railhead. Adi Badri si approachable
from Karnaprayag, 16 km, which in turn is connected by
a motorable route with Ranikhet, Nainital, Ramnagar also.
TRH, Temple
committee guest house, private hotel and dharamshala are
available at Karnaprayag.
