Kedarnath Temple premises

The sanctum Sanctorum of the sacred Kedarnath Temple.

The place is buzzing with pilgrims participating in the

Temple's Pooja activities.

The View of the Temple.

The height of the Temple is around 40 ft.

Locals say that during winter, the entire temple is covered under snow.

Recently, the local Government and Temple administration

 decided to provide Solar powered lighting to the Temple.

The Resting points.

This is one of the Resting points.

It is at a distance of 7 Kms from Gaurikund or exactly

halfway through the Trek from Gaurikund to Kedarnath.

A pilgrimage to Kedarnath is considered as one of the

most difficult amongst the 4 Dhams or Sacred places.

The best view of the Trek Route.

              A Bird's eye view of the route one has to  cover on Foot, Horses or Dholis(One will be seated on a chair which will be tied to strong wooden poles. Two people will carry you all the way to Kedarnath shrine and back to Gaurikund). The distance between Gaurikund and Kedarnath is 14 Kms. 

             While trekking from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, the journey is very difficult and vice-versa.

The rugged terrains of Kedarnath

We are on the way to Kedarnath.

Kedarnath is one amongst the 12 Jyotirlings.

It is one of the four sacred places for 

Hindus, called Dhams.

Cheshma Paani and Kashmiri Costume

We tried wearing the local costumes.

Does it look good?

Behind us is the famed "Cheshma Paani",

located in Mughal Gardens, Srinagar.

The water that flows into the pond is very sweet

and the exciting part is that no one till date is aware

of the source of water that keeps flowing into the pond.

This is the "Cheshma Paani". The locals say that one should

drink as much water as possible. The pleasure of drinking water

at this place is when you are hungry.

God always Favors the Brave

This was one of the Five women who travelled 

in my group of 20 pilgrims.

She defied all odds and her Age, 

displayed tremendous courageand will power 

to undertake the most difficult Pilgrimage travel 

to seek the blessings of Sri Amarnath.

She never gave a second thought when she was told to 

ride on horse. She completed the entire journey 

riding on Horse. As they say 

" God always favors the Brave."

Hotel Snowland at Sonmarg

Hotel Snowland at Sonmarg. Sonmarg is located at

90 kms from Srinagar on the way to Baltaal.

With my Wife and friends at Sonmarg.

We had stopped by to have coffee while coming back to

Srinagar from Baltaal.

The Beautiful Sonmarg.

This is a popular destination for Film shoots / Photo shoots.

Many Bollyhood Blockbusters have been filmed here.

House Boats- Dal Lake's Pride

The house boat where we stayed.

The experience, hospitality and the warmth extended

to us has been excellent.

Checking into the house boats on

Dal lake in small ferries called Shikara.

Welcome to the Heaven's abode on Earth.

The Beautiful Gulmarg.

Nature's Creation in the clouds.

Nature at Best. This picture was taken while traveling

from Baltaal to Srinagar. It was half past six

in the evening when all of a sudden my eyes fell

on this unusual cloud formation. It took me a minute

to realise that the clouds had gathered to form the

shape of a flying Bird/ Eagle.

The formation of the clouds is so accurate that even

the fully spread wings of the Bird / Eagle is clearly visible.

Twin Fountains

On one side, i was surprised to find the twin trees and

here i was excited with the twin fountains.

Human Creation destroyed by Nature's Fury.

The only visible remains of a submerged building

in Dal Lake,Srinagar,Kashmir.

It has been recorded that thousands of buildings were

destroyed in the lake. This particular building

must have been built to a good height.

Twin Trees in Dal Lake

We are made for each other.

I was amazed to see these two trees next to each other

almost of the same height. there are no other trees around.

This picture was taken at Dal lake area in Srinagar, Kashmir.

The Back view of Sheshnaag Taal

Behind the mountains is the sacred Amarnath Cave.

I am so eager to have the darshan. It's been the

most difficult of pilgrimage i have undertaken in my life.

Heavy Snowfall Range

While travelling in the Himalayas, One is bound to come

across Snowfall. This place is exactly at halfway mark

between Ganesh Top and Panchatarni.

We had to stay overnight at this place as we

experienced heavy snowfall. The next morning,

our eyes opened to around 4.5 ft of snowfall.

Brrrrrr...brrrr.. it's freezing out here.

Three Identical cliffs

Open your eyes to the three identical cliffs formed on

top of one mountain in line with each other side by side.

The locals believe that the three supreme deities,

Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva

have taken this form to protect the pilgrims.

This picture was taken behind the Sheshnaag Taal.

Ganesh Top

Passing through the Ganesh Top. The entire stretch
from Sheshnaag Taal upto Panchatarni is totally
covered by thick Snow.

Free Food for wearied Pilgrims

It's time for Indian Food served hot.

This is a makeshift Food Court put up by Non - Profit

Organisations. It is located just after crossing the Pisu Top,

Which is very high and steep.They operate during the

entire period of the yathra.

One can enjoy the Punjabi delicacies like

Dal chaval, Dal Roti, Rajma chaval, Aloo Tikka, Panneer Tikka.

One should'nt forget to savour the Hot Kesar/ Badam Milk

enriched with Almonds and Saffron.

Sheshnaag Taal

The Beautiful "Sheshnaag Taal" ( Taal means Pond).

Just behind the visible mountains is the

Holy Cave of Sri Amarnath.

The ever Dependable and struggling Horsemen

While mentioning and capturing scenic places on the camera,

one tends to forget those people responsible for taking Pilgrims

safely to seek the blessings of Sri Amarnath.

A special thanks to The Horsemen who do a commendable

job. They hold and guide the horses and walk with you

all the way to Amarnath & back.

In fact they are the luckiest people on earth as they

have the time and oppurtunity to visit the

Holy Shrine of Sri Amarnath on each of the 60 days in a year.

Tents for Pilgrims at Panchatarni

Pilgrims take rest in Tents at Panchatarni. The Temperature

at Panchatarni is always below 0 degrees even during

daytime as the region is totally covered by snow.

The snow filled mountains lit up with the

Sun's rays occassionally falling on them.

A commendable Service by NGO's

Medical Aid Camp positioned at Panchatarni.

It is the last stop for wearied pilgrims before the

holy shrine of Sri Amarnath.

Room for everything.

Water flowing beneath the glacier,

with space for a man to walk in and out of the cave.

Fun to ride Horses over Snow.

Riding on horses to cover a distance of 20 miles over snow filled mountains makes it much more difficult.

Resting Tents

At a temperature of 4 degrees farhenheit

(it can be below 0 degrees at nights)

with cold winds, staying in this tents demands a healthy body.

Glacier

A Glacier on the way to Sri Amarnath located in the

toughest snow filled Terrains of North India,

in the Himalayas.