Kedarnath Dham

Kedarnath Dham is the Himalayan shrine of the Kedarnath Temple in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, dedicated to Shiva. Wikipedia describes the temple as one of the twelve jyotirlingas and the highest of them, standing at 3,583 metres (11,755 feet) near the Mandakini River in the Garhwal Himalayas. It is one of the four sites of the Chota Char Dham and the first of the Panch Kedar sites. It cannot be reached by road, and the final 17 km from Gaurikund is a trek.

The temple is open each year from about Akshaya Tritiya in April to Kartika Purnima in November, and in winter the deity is worshipped at Ukhimath for about six months. The Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, constituted under a 1939 Act according to its official website, is named as its governing body. Flash floods on 16 and 17 June 2013 caused extensive damage to the temple complex, though Wikipedia says the temple structure itself survived.

The shrine is in the news because of its winter closure. ANI reported on 10 November 2026 that Rudraprayag District Magistrate Vishal Mishra said the portals would close on the morning of 11 November 2026. After the closing rituals, the doli of Baba Kedar will move to the Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath for winter worship, and the idol returns around Akshaya Tritiya in April or May. The report gives no exact hour for the ceremony.

Sources: Wikipedia, Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, ANI