Badrinath

The land VaikunthBadrinathDham situated on the banks of AlaknandaRiverat an altitude of 3133 metres (10276 ft) from sea level in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In ancient texts like Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata and Skanda Purana, it is described as the best in the mythological four dhammas of the country. The Badrinath temple is believed to have been built between the seventh and ninth centuries. The 15-metre high temple built in a coniferous style has a dome at the top and sits in the sanctum with Srivishnu in the male-Narayan meditation.

The statue of Srivishnu made of Shalagram stone is one metre high. It is believed that the primitive Shankaracharya had distinguished it from Narad Kund around the eighth century in the temple sanctum. This statue is considered to be one of the eight self-proclaimed statues of Srivishnu. This temple is one of the 108 divine temples of Srivishnu, built by the vaishnava sect. In the year 1803, there was a severe earthquake in the Himalayas, causing a lot of damage to the temple. Then the king of Jaipur revived it.

The main priests of the temple are Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala, called Rawal. This arrangement was made by the primitive Shankaracharya himself. According to another concept, the temple is called Badri Vishal and the entire group is known as Punch Badri by linking the nearest four other temples dedicated to Shri Vishnu with yoga-Meditation Badri, Future Badri, Old Badri and Adi Badri.

Nearest Airport: Jaungrant-317 km

Nearest Railway Station: Rishikesh-297 km & Kotdwar-324 km

Road: Apart from Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun and Kotdwar can also be reached here.