Char Dham Yatra: Kedarnath overtakes Badrinath in attracting devotees

For the first time in the pilgrimage history of Uttarakhand, Kedarnath is all set to overtake Badrinath in tourist footfall. The annual pilgrimage to the four most sacred Hindu shrines (Char Dhams) – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri – of Uttarakhand Himalayas will come to a close next month. This time the Char Dham Yatra witnessed a record crowd with attendance of about 50 Lakh devotees. Surprisingly, a big craze existed among the pilgrims to visit Kedarnath. With the current trend Badrinath holds little chance of surpassing Kedarnath. By attracting over 18 lakh tourists Kedarnath is clearly leading the table and Badrinath is second spot with 16 Lakh tourists. Prem Dutt Goswami, president of Sri Kedarnath Hotel Owners Association, says, “The craze of youths to visit Kedarnath has completely transformed the tourism trend of the Char Dham Yatra to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The improvement in road connectivity, growing number of hotels and other tourist facilities has contributed in boosting footfall in Kedarnath.” If the current flow remains unchanged then for the first time Kedarnath will hold the top position among the four holy shrines of Uttarakhand. Old tourism data available since 1990 clearly indicates that there used to be a big difference in annual attendance of pilgrims at Badrinath and Kedarnath. Badrinath used to attract double the number of pilgrims compared to Kedarnath. In 1990, Badrinath attracted 3.62 Lakh and Kedarnath 1.17 Lakh pilgrims. In 1995, Badrinath received 4.61 Lakh and in 2000 the tourist number crossed the 7.35 Lakh mark. Kedarnath with 1.05 Lakh visitors (1995) and 2.15 Lakh (2000) was far behind. The trend remained unchanged till 2022, in which Badrinath got 17.6 Lakh tourists and Kedarnath 15.6 Lakh. This year a sweeping change was witnessed and Badrinath is no-longer the number one pilgrimage centre among the Char Dhams. The reason for Badrinath attracting a bigger attendance than Kedarnath was simple. It’s easy connectivity as it was approachable by motorable road and it offered a comfortable journey. To reach Kedarnath one has to trek 16 kms and face high altitude challenges. Other options like helicopter, mule, Kandi (basket), palanquin (Doli) also exist but most visitors opt for the tough trek, which can be completed in 6-8 hours. This year 1,830,138 (data till 27 October) pilgrims have visited Kedarnath. This number has surprised the tourism experts as it is more than tourist arrival in Badrinath, total 1,662, 936 in the same period. With a difference of over 1.67 Lakh pilgrims and less than three weeks remaining for the closure, Badrinath is unlikely to regain the number one position. Even the daily footfall, on 27 October, at Kedarnath was 14,387 and it was much higher than Badrinath (9,276). The other two shrines are far behind. Gangotri has attracted 871,721 and Yamunotri 713,774 pilgrims (till 28 October) this season. The portals of Badrinath will close for winter break on 18 November and Kedarnath on 15 November. Gangotri is closing on 14 November and Yamunotri on 15 November. In 2013 flash-flood Kedarnath was the epicentre and thousands of pilgrims lost their lives. The disaster served a major blow to the tourism industry of the Mandakini valley. One year after the devastating flash flood, only 40,832 pilgrims (2014) visited Kedarnath and 1.8 Lakh others came to Badrinath. The scene was gloomy and little hope existed for the revival of tourism in Kedarnath. In 2015, the number jumped to 1.54 Lakh and in 2016 it crossed the 3 lakh mark. But, the regular visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and development in road connectivity has totally transformed tourism in Kedarnath. Narendra Modi came for the first time in Kedarnath after becoming Prime Minister in May 2017. Hotelier Manoj Semwal says, “The tourism trend changed after 2017. The trip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi created a lot of media hype. He has come here half a dozen times. The Kedarnath restoration is one of the dream projects of Prime Minister Modi.” The high movement of youths and their obsession for shooting reels for social media also created problems for the temple management. The Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee imposed a ban on shooting reels at temple complex after a woman proposing to her boyfriend outside Kedarnath temple went viral on social media. After the 2013 flash flood, not many were willing to go to Kedarnath. The memories of the devastating flash flood, in which thousands of stranded pilgrims were rescued and over six thousand lost their lives, were still fresh. But a decade after the 2013 disaster, Kedarnath has turned into the top crowd puller among the Char Dham shrines. This is an overwhelming response. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.