2019 Chardham Yatra Begins: Details, Dates, Significance

2019 Chardham Yatra Begins: Details, Dates, Significance

India's most famous Chardham Yatra began located in the great Himalayas in Uttarakhand. The Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams were opened for pilgrims

Chardham (Hindi Word) literally means four sacred pilgrimage centers. These four pilgrim-destinations are Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath which are collectively called Chardham.

In accordance with Hindu conventions, devotees take up this pious tour of Char Dham yatra in hope to experience bliss (heaven) and successfully remove their souls of all worldly demons.

1.Yamunotri: dedicated to Goddess ‘Yamuna’. It stands high up in deep left on the western face of Bandarpunch Peak.

2. Gangotri: dedicated to Goddess ‘Ganga’. The shrine overlooks River Bhagirathi.

3. Kedarnath: dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is also a part of Panch Kedar. It is northern-most Jyotirlinga and is close to the source of holy River Mandakini.

4. Badrinath: dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is situated on the bank of River Alaknanda (it is one of the two headstreams of Ganges other is Bhagirathi).

Chardham Project

The Chardham project involves developing and widening 900-km of national highways connecting the holy Hindu pilgrimage sites of; Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri at an estimated cost of Rs.12,000 crores.

The highway will be called Char Dham Mahamarg(Char Dham Highway) and the highway construction project will be called as Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project).

The roads will be widened from 12m to 24m and the project will involve the construction of tunnels, bypasses, bridges, subways, and viaducts.