Kedarnath (3584 m) is a Hindu holy town located in the Rudraprayag district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Kedarnath is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Gaurikund to Kedarnath trek takes 7 hour (14 km). By hiring a pony, one can complete the Yatra in a day (Rs 300). As of 2011 census, Kedarnath had a population of 900.

Kedarnath is accessible only after a steep 14 km trek through a paved path (horses or palanquins are available for rent) from Gaurikund, which is connected by road from Rishikesh. The temple is open only during the months of April / May (on Akshaya Trithiya) to October/November (closes on Diwali - festival of light), due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold weather during winter. In a scenic spot at the origin of the river Mandakini, the shrine of Kedarnath is most venerated amongst the Hindu pilgrims.

Legend in the Mahabharata : Pandavas on their Himalayan pilgrimage, decided to pay homage to Lord Shiva. But Lord Shiva was not interested in meeting them as they were guilty of gotra hatya (killing their brethren). Seeing the Pandavas coming, the Lord disguised himself as a bull. But the Pandavas saw through Shiva's disguise. Realising that his disguise had not worked the bull tried to plunge himself beneath the ground. But Bhima was swift and held on the hind legs of the bull, thus preventing it from vanishing. In the struggle that ensued different parts of Lord Shiva's body appeared at various places in Kedarkhand. The forehead showed up at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, the hump of the bull at Kedarnath, the torso including the navel at Madhmaheshwar, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, and the matted hair at Kalpeshwar. The Panch Kedar trek includes all the five shrines associated with the legend. All of them are situated in the Kedar Valley.

There are places en route like Janglechatti, Rambara and Garurchatti where you can rest a while or spend the night if the travel becomes too tiring, or if you wish to take it a bit slower. Just one kilometer before Rambara is a high and beautiful cascading waterfall which crashes down the heights.

View of Kedarnath as one approaches Garurchatti, the magnificent. Sri Kedarnath temple is visible on advancing some 500 meters. With the background of towering white mountains mantled with snow, the temple presents an enchanting sight. All around it is an aura of peace and purity. Here, the unholy are said to become holy and the holy, holier still.

The temple is magnificent in its style and architecture. It is built on a morainic ridge jutting out at right angles from the snowy range. The present temple, built in 8th century by Adi Shankaracharya, stands adjacent to the site of an earlier temple built by the Pandavas. The inner walls of the assembly hall are decorated with figure of various deities and scenes from mythology.

Outside the temple door a large statue of the Nandi Bull stands as guard. Built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones, it evokes wonder as to how these heavy slabs had been handled in the earlier days. The temple has a Kedarnath Temple Garbha Griha for worship and a Mandap, apt for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form.

The place remained close from November to April due to heavy snowfall and the temple is submerged under the snow. Besides its affiliation with Shiva, Kedarnath is also believed to be the site of Shankaracharya's samadhi. The actual temple is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date.

The temple of Kedarnath stands on a large raised platform, rectangular in shape, with tall snow clad mountains guarding Kedarnath from three sides. There are two flights of stairs. The one in front has a rectangular archway with bells of various sizes and shapes. When they are rung in unison during the arati, the sound of the bells and the blowing conches are echoed by the surrounding mountains creating a rare moment of devotional ardour. The numerous halogen lamps light up the premises in the evening, giving it an ethereal look.

Lord Shiva manifested in the form of Jyotirlingam or the cosmic light. This temple, over a thousand years old is built of massive stone slabs over a large rectangular platform. Ascending through the large gray steps leading to the holy sanctums we find inscriptions in Pali on the steps. The inner walls of the temple sanctum are adorned with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology.

Immediately behind the temple, is the high Keadardome peak, which can be sighted from great distances. The sight of the temple and the peak with its perpetual snows is simply enthralling.

Temple Rituals : The temple opens daily at 4 am and closes at 1 pm. In between the bhog puja, abhishek puja and other pujas of Lord Kedarnath are performed. Then again the temple opens at 4 pm and closes at 9 pm, after the Aarti.

No specific family of pujaris supervises rituals at Kedarnath, which focus around veneration of the stone lingam that rests in the inner sanctum of the temple.