Pilgrimage

India pilgrimage routes

Leg-by-leg distances, how pilgrims cover each stage, and the best window — every distance source-verified, not a guess off a blog.

• Panch KedarFive sacred Shiva shrines in the Garhwal Himalayas: Kedarnath (3,583 m), Tungnath (3,680 m, the world's highest Shiva temple), Rudranath (~3,559 m), Madhyamaheshwar (3,497 m) and Kalpeshwar (~2,200 m). The religious canonical order is Kedarnath -> Tungnath -> Rudranath -> Madhyamaheshwar -> Kalpeshwar; on the ground most operators sequence the temples geographically. The full circuit is widely cited at ~107 km of trekking (plus ~500 km of road) over ~12 days; it requires acclimatization, with pony/porter/palki access at Kedarnath. All shrines except Kalpeshwar close roughly November-April/May; Kalpeshwar alone stays open year-round.Uttarakhand, Garhwal Himalayas107 km→
• Vaishno Devi YatraPilgrimage to the sacred cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi at ~5,200 ft (1,585 m) on Trikuta mountain, Reasi district. The traditional trek is 13 km uphill from Katra base through waypoints Banganga, Charan Paduka, Adhkuwari (Ardhkuwari), Himkoti and Sanjichhat to the main Bhawan, then ~1.5 km further to the Bhairavnath (Bhairon) temple above. Shrine Board-regulated; every pilgrim must register and collect a free RFID Yatra Access Card (Yatra slip). Open year-round; best March-June and October-November (May-July and Navratri are peak-crowd). Register online at maavaishnodevi.org or at the Katra Yatra Registration Counter.Jammu & Kashmir13 km→
• Kamadgiri Parikrama, ChitrakootSacred circumambulation of Kamadgiri hill at Chitrakoot, traversing an approximately 5 km paved path that loops around the base of the wish-fulfilling hill. The route passes four major temple complexes (Prachin Mukharvind, Bharat Milap, Dwitiya Mukharvind, Choupada and Baraha ke Hanuman Ji) plus numerous smaller temples, ashrams and shrines, and is traditionally walked barefoot. The path is shared by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and is associated with Lord Rama's exile.Uttar Pradesh / Madhya Pradesh border5 km parikrama→
• Shatrunjaya, PalitanaShatrunjaya is the holiest pilgrimage site in Jainism, an ancient temple city of 850-1,000 temples atop a sacred hill (summit ~580 m above sea level) near Palitana, Gujarat. The main shrine experience is a steep climb of roughly 3,500-3,750 carved stone steps over about 3.5 km, typically taking around 2 hours to the summit. Pilgrims must descend before sunset; no overnight stays are permitted for anyone, including priests, and no food may be carried or eaten on the way up. The hill is closed for four monsoon months (June-September) and otherwise accessible year-round. The Kartik Purnima full moon (October-November) is the principal pilgrimage season.Gujarat3.5 km→
• Amarnath YatraSacred swayambhu ice-lingam shrine inside a 40-metre-tall Himalayan cave at 3,888 m elevation. Two official routes managed by the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB): the traditional Pahalgam route (longer, gentler, ~3-5 days, pony/palki available) and the shorter, steeper Baltal route (14 km, 1-2 days). Registration with a Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) and an RFID card is mandatory. Summer-only: the 2025 yatra ran 3 July - 9 August (38 days), aligned to the month of Shravan; exact dates shift yearly with Shravan Purnima. Helicopter services were BANNED for 2025 (both routes no-fly zones 1 July - 10 August) following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack - this is recent, not a long-standing rule.Jammu and Kashmir→
• Ashtavinayak YatraPilgrimage circuit of 8 self-manifested (svayambhu) Ganesha temples across Maharashtra, traditionally started and ended at Morgaon and completed in the canonical sequence Morgaon → Siddhatek → Pali → Mahad → Theur → Lenyadri → Ozar → Ranjangaon → Morgaon. Most temples are reached on the flat from parking; only Girijatmaj at Lenyadri sits in a hillside cave (~30 m above the plain) reached by a long flight of carved steps. Inter-temple road distances and the overall circuit length vary by route and are not pinned by an official source, so they are left unstated rather than guessed.Maharashtra→
• Do Dham (Kedarnath + Badrinath)Two-shrine subset of the Char Dham: Kedarnath (Shiva Jyotirlinga, 3583m) and Badrinath (Vishnu/Badrinarayan, 3133m). Kedarnath requires a foot/pony/palki/heli ascent from the Gaurikund roadhead (the prevailing official trek figure is ~16km, sometimes cited 16-18km); Badrinath is itself a roadhead. Road link between the two is ~221-225km via Rudraprayag and Joshimath (8-10h). Mandatory free QR registration via the Uttarakhand government portal, daily darshan quotas. Season: ~22 April to ~mid-November (Kedarnath closes 11 Nov 2026, Badrinath 13 Nov 2026); best months May-June and September-October; July-August open but high landslide/flood risk.Uttarakhand (Garhwal)→
• Char Dham YatraThe four-shrine Himalayan pilgrimage circuit in Garhwal — Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath, visited in that canonical clockwise order — linked by road, trek, and mountain transport. Yamunotri and Kedarnath require a trek (or pony/palki/heli); Gangotri and Badrinath are roadhead towns. Registration (yatra e-pass) is mandatory for all pilgrims. All four close seasonally for winter snow; the open window runs roughly late April (Akshaya Tritiya) to mid-November.Uttarakhand→