Char Dham Yatra 2025 to commence on April 30
The Char Dham Yatra this year will commence on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on April 30, the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) officials said.
“This year, the Char Dham Yatra will start on April 30 on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya. Traditionally, the announcement of the opening date of the portals of Gangotri will be made by the temple priests on the Hindu new year and for Yamunotri Dham, the date will be announced on Yamuna Jayanti,” BKTC media in-charge Harish Gaur said.
The date of opening for the Kedar Madmaheshwar and the Kedar Tungnath will be finalised on Baisakhi, he said.
Harish Gaur, Media in Charge of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) said, “The religious ceremony to determine the opening date of Badrinath Dham will begin at 10:30 am on Sunday (February 2) at the Narendra Nagar Royal Palace after the completion of the rituals and reading of the Hindu almanac.”
The date of the customary ‘Tel Kalash Gadu Ghada Yatra’ will also be finalised on the same day, he added.
Umanand Sati, president of the Brahmkapal Teerth Purohit Panchayat Samiti Badrinath, said, “On Thursday, the ‘Tel Kalash Gadu Ghada’ (ritualistic pot) was handed over to Dimri Religious Central Panchayat members at the Shri Narasimha Temple in Joshimath. Following prayers at Yogbadri Pandukeshwar and Narasimha Temple in Joshimath, panchayat representatives will hand over the pot to authorities at the royal palace in Narendra Nagar on February 2, where as per tradition extracted sesame oil will be filled in the pot by women from the royal family. This will be kept there till the first week of the opening date of the portal.”
The date of opening of the portal will be announced in the presence of members of the royal family, including Maharaja Manujyendra Shah, MP Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, Shirja Shah, Rajpurohit Krishna Prasad Uniyal and BKTC Chief Executive Officer Vijay Prasad Thapliyal.
Meanwhile, the date of opening for the Kedarnath shrine will be determined on Shivratri (February 26) at the Shri Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath, temple priest Anand Shukla said.
Last year, more than 4.8 million pilgrims visited Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib shrines, of which 1.42 million visited Badrinath, 1,83,722 visited Hemkund Sahib, 1.65 million visited Kedarnath, 0.81 million visited Gangotri Dham and 0.71 million visited Yamunotri Dham. The 2023 Char Dham yatra saw a record turnout of 5.6 million pilgrims, according to tourism department officials.
