Badrinath Temple

Darshan and aarti timings

These times are from the temple committee’s online puja booking table. The terms on the same page give the abhishek as starting at 4 am and, in summer, the evening aartis as running from about 6 to 8:30 pm. The shayan aarti begins once everyone in the queue has had free darshan. The temple is closed during solar and lunar eclipses.

Source: badrinath-kedarnath.gov.in·Checked: 5 October 2026·Times can change; check the official source before you go.

When it is open

The doors open every year in April-May and close in November. In 2026 they opened on 23 April at 6:15 am; the date was fixed on Vasant Panchami at the Narendranagar royal court. The closing date is announced on Vijayadashami (20 October in 2026); it had not been announced by 5 October 2026. In 2025 the doors closed on 25 November.

Source: newsonair.gov.in·Checked: 5 October 2026

The story (by tradition)

The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee gives this story: Vishnu was born as Nara-Narayana, sons of Dharma, from Murti, a daughter of Daksha Prajapati, and did penance here for the good of the world. While he did so, Lakshmi became a badri (berry) tree and sheltered him; the place is named Badrinath after that tree, the badri.

According to the committee the region was called Muktiprada in the Satya Yuga, Yogasiddhida in the Treta, Vishala in the Dvapara and Badrikashrama in the Kali Yuga. The committee also writes that the Vamana Purana mentions Nara and Narayana doing penance here; we have not checked that chapter ourselves.

The image and its history

According to the temple committee the sanctum holds a black image of shaligram stone about one metre high, seated in padmasana in meditation, with images of Kubera, Narada, Uddhava and Nara-Narayana. The committee writes that, according to the Skanda Purana, Adi Shankaracharya recovered the image from the Narad Kund and re-installed it in the 8th century, and that in the 16th century the king of Garhwal had it moved to the present temple.

Worship is led by the chief priest, the Rawal; according to the temple committee the Rawal is a Namboodiri brahmin from the Malabar region of south India. The temple is managed by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee.

Around the temple

According to the temple committee the Tapt Kund, a natural hot spring at about 45 °C, lies between the temple and the Alaknanda; next to it is the Narad Kund, where many pilgrims bathe before darshan. On the Alaknanda is the Brahma Kapal ghat, where shraddha is offered for ancestors. Opposite Mana village is the Mata Murti temple, dedicated to Narayana’s mother; by tradition, once a year on Vamana Dwadashi, Narayana visits Mata Murti and the Rawal performs worship there.

In winter, after the doors close, the festival images of Uddhava and Kubera stay at the Yogadhyan Badri temple in Pandukeshwar, and Shankaracharya’s gaddi goes to the Narsingh temple in Jyotirmath, where Badrinath’s winter worship is performed (temple committee; All India Radio, 25 November 2025).

How to reach Badrinath

• Rail: the nearest railway station is Rishikesh, about 295 km according to the temple committee (297 km according to Uttarakhand Tourism).
• Air: the nearest airport is Jolly Grant, Dehradun, 314 km according to the temple committee (about 317 km according to Uttarakhand Tourism).
• Road: the road goes up to the temple; it is about 45 km from Jyotirmath (Joshimath). Pilgrims register on the Uttarakhand government site registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in.

Main festivals

Where the sources differ

• Badrinath is in two lists: the Char Dham of India (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, Rameswaram) and the Chhota Char Dham of Uttarakhand (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath).
• Height: the temple committee gives 3,133 m, Uttarakhand Tourism about 3,100 m.
• The temple committee’s own page says two things: in one place Lakshmi as the berry tree shades him from the sun, in another she shields him from cold, rain and snow; the posture of the image is given once as ardha-padmasana and once as padmasana.

Frequently asked questions