Doused in colours of spirituality: Shambhavi’s Char Dham Trip with Thrillophilia

My mother always used to say that our plans to visit the abodes and temples of God are made by God rather than by us. My parents, being devout Hindus, had always wished to visit Uttarakhand and see the Char Dham. 

However, we couldn’t plan a trip as both my brother and I were busy software engineers who found it hard to plan this trip for our parents. After a few plans which couldn’t be executed earlier, we had left it to God to decide the fate of our travel plans. This was when we came across this brilliant itinerary and package created by Thrillophilia. 

It felt like God was calling us to visit them finally. I made a few calls after inquiring with them regarding the package of Char Dham. Their staff was quick to answer all my queries, especially how they were going to aid my senior citizen parents on difficult routes. They gave me satisfactory answers to all the doubts and I realised that this trip was happening at last. 

To the birthplace of River Yamuna and Ganga 

We started our trip by driving from Haridwar to Rishikesh where we had to stop for a biometric test. The serenity of the Yoga Capital of India won our hearts. Though we had visited Rishikesh before, this time it felt just different. During this visit, Rishikesh was the first lap of a beautiful journey that laid before us. 

We reached Barkot by the evening and relaxed in the small pilgrim town. Our accommodation was quite decent and we woke up early to catch the first glimpses of the Yamuna river. After having a delicious breakfast, we started our day to see Yamunotri Dham.

After taking a bath in Jamnabai Kund, we reached Janki Chatti and hired a pony to reach the temple, about 5 km ahead. We reached the temple after we prayed to Mother Yamuna and the idol of Ganga Devi. Lunch was then served at Surya Kund, a hot spring near the temple.

‘Waking up next to the mountains and visiting these famous temples which are revered from all over the world is a surreal feeling.’, my mother said while we were driving to Gangotri. This route was planned via Gangnani where we took a holy dip in Garam Kund. 

After driving through the beautiful Harshil Valley and witnessing the splendour of pine and deodar trees, we reached Gangotri. We worshipped Goddess Ganga and enjoyed the evening Aarti. We spent a lot of time appreciating the natural beauty of the region as every corner oozed the simplicity of life.

Drive through the Garhwal mountains from Uttarkashi to Guptkashi 

‘It is so breathtaking to drive through Uttarakhand from place to place in the realm of divinity. It felt like God has this hidden world tucked away somewhere where everything is magnificently beautiful.’, my father remarked while we were on our way from Uttarkashi to Guptkashi. 

When we were in Uttarkashi, we visited the famous Vishwanath temple, one of the oldest Shiva temples in Northern India. Another place we visited on the way was the Shakti Temple which is famous for its big Trishul of about 6 metres in height and a circumference of 90 cm.

As we drove from Uttarkashi to Guptkashi, we saw the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers at Devprayag. Our trip planners had suggested planning our lunch at Srinagar as it is the last stop on the way with proper food facilities. Post lunch, we continued our journey and I must admit that the view of Rudraprayag and Ukhimath was splendid. Watching the crystal clear waters with the reflection of powdery clouds in the air left us speechless.

Namoh Namoh

After an early morning checkout, we commenced our journey to Kedarnath. Again, we hired a pony as we didn’t want to tire out our parents with an uphill trek of 19 km. We loved our accommodation at Kedarnath and were surprised to see the hospitality of the staff even at high altitude. We loved attending the Sandhya Aarti & Darshan at Kedarnath. 

The next day, our tour guide suggested we start trekking early in the morning. Our driver was right on time and kept teaching us about the importance of different places on the way. We reached Pipalkoti after having breakfast at Badrinath Dham. The darshan at Badrinath Dham was out of this world. Afterwards, we explored the famous Mana Village and enjoyed a cup of tea there. 

Our return trip was planned via Rishikesh where we intended to spend more time exploring its streets. We paid a visit to Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula and participated in the famous evening Ganga Arti. We ended our trip thanking Goddess Ganga for making this trip exemplary for all of us. 

Even after weeks of returning back, my parents couldn’t stop themselves from praising our drivers and tour operators. They were so glad that we had everything arranged for us so beautifully which saved us so many hassles in places where we were disconnected from the world. 

Kudos to Thrillophilia! Their efforts paid off in making our lifelong plan turn from a dream into reality.

Read more: Thrillophilia Uttarakhand Reviews