Day by day, as we travelled it in April 2026 as a family of four, with our children aged 4 and 7. Timings are as we remember them and are marked approximate. We haven’t included distances we couldn’t verify.
We flew Zurich → Delhi, then travelled on to Dehradun. The Delhi–Dehradun transfer was booked separately from the pilgrimage package.
We stayed with family in Dehradun before the pilgrimage began.
01
Day 1
Day 1: Dehradun to Barkot
Dehradun → Barkot
A day of smaller temples on the way into the mountains, ending in a Swiss tent we ended up enjoying.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
We left Dehradun at about 08:30 (approximate). We broke the drive to Barkot with several temple stops.
At Monkey Trail we stayed in a Swiss tent: a large bed, chairs, a small sit-out at the front and an attached concrete bathroom. We had worried a tent would be uncomfortable with two small children. It wasn’t, and they loved it. Dinner was particularly good.
The first dham, and a much steeper trek than we expected. The parents walked; both children went by pitthu.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
We left Barkot early and reached Janki Chatti in the morning. The trek is about 6 km each way. It took the two of us about 3 hours uphill (approximate), and it was much steeper than we expected.
At the top: darshan at Yamunotri Temple, the hot-water kund, and a puja with a priest we knew. Rice was cooked as prasad in the hot spring at Surya Kund. We collected Yamuna water. The natural river water was extremely cold. Then we walked back down to Janki Chatti and drove back to Barkot.
A slower day after Yamunotri, and one of our best unexpected finds: a cave temple that surprised us.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
After a relaxed breakfast we set off later than usual. The cave temple was one of the strongest surprises of the whole journey. In Uttarkashi, what stayed with us most was the very large trishul at the Shakti Temple.
Gangotri Paradise was a fairly simple hotel. What made it memorable was the riverside setting beside the Bhagirathi and the local vegetarian Garhwali food.
Maa Ganga darshan, a riverside puja in freezing water, and a beautiful drive through Harsil.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
We left Uttarkashi early and reached Gangotri in the morning. We had darshan of Maa Ganga, took a ritual bath using a lota at the Bhagirathi, did a puja on the riverbank and collected Gangajal. We also saw Bhagirath Shila, the Gauri Kund area and the smaller shrines around the temple complex. The river water was extremely cold.
We saw the trail associated with Gaumukh but did not trek it with the children.
The drive was part of the day: Harsil, Panchdhara, river and mountain viewpoints, and a bridge viewpoint near Bhatwari.
A long mountain travel day. Our driver took a mountain route that avoided some of the main-road traffic.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
This was mostly a driving day. Our experienced local driver chose a mountain route that skipped some main-road traffic. We stopped at the Guru Chauranginath Temple, then at Guptkashi.
Nanda Resort in the Sitapur area became our base for Kedarnath.
Helicopter from Sirsi, an overnight stay a few minutes from the temple, sun turning to rain, and a Laghu Rudrabhishek that finished close to 01:30.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
Our tour operator booked the helicopter through the official booking process available at the time (IRCTC HeliYatra). We reached Sirsi early; every passenger was weighed before boarding. Helicopter movements depend on that day’s operational sequence and weather.
We visited Shri Bhairavnath Temple, where the weather turned from sunshine to rain within minutes. We also saw Bhim Shila and the Adi Shankaracharya statue area, had evening darshan at Kedarnath, and took part in a Laghu Rudrabhishek late at night. We got back to the hotel at about 01:30.
Temperatures were below freezing during our stay. The hotel gave us heavy quilts.
Morning flight down, a rest and a laundry stop, then an easy afternoon visit to Triyuginarayan.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
We flew back to Sirsi in the morning and were at Nanda Resort by mid-morning (approximate): rest, showers and laundry.
Later we visited Triyuginarayan. Access was relatively easy. We saw couples marrying there, the sacred kunds and smaller shrines, and a very photogenic setting. One to two hours was enough for our visit.
A full day of temple stops, from Kalimath’s first puja to evening darshan at Badrinath.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
We left early. At Kalimath we arrived in time for the first puja of the day. We remember the many bells along the approach, the associated shrines, the Rakt Shila and the Mahabhairav shrine.
At Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath we arrived after the morning puja and watched the bhog being taken away. A priest gave each of our daughters a Rudraksha. We also visited the Panch Kedar shrines there and offered water.
Then brunch at Chopta, a roadside stop at Jogidhara Waterfall, Gopinath Temple at Gopeshwar (several Shiva representations, and another large trishul), Joshimath and Hanuman Chatti. We reached Badrinath at about evening (approximate), in time for general darshan that night.
A pre-dawn abhishek, rites for our ancestors at Brahma Kapal, and the caves and bridge at Mana.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
Very early in the morning we attended a ticketed Abhishek and saw the deity’s morning abhishek and preparation. We also went to Tapt Kund and the shrines around the temple complex, and performed Pitru Puja, a ritual for our ancestors, at Brahma Kapal.
At Mana we saw Vyas Gufa, Ganesh Gufa, the Saraswati River and temple area, and Bhim Pul, then drove down to Pipalkoti for the night.
The confluence at Devprayag, Rishikesh’s ashrams and bridges, and shopping in Haridwar.
We did thisFirst-hand experience, April 2026
Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda meet and become the Ganga, was one of the strongest moments of the journey for us.
In Rishikesh we saw Ram Jhula, the Lakshman Jhula area, Sivananda Ashram and Gita Bhavan. In Haridwar we did some spiritual shopping, and we noted that we could have stayed for the Ganga Aarti. The package ended here, and we continued to Dehradun because our relatives live there.
Our tour package: ₹142,000for our 10-day / 9-night package, family of four, including GST
The package included
Private vehicle and driver
Accommodation
Breakfast and dinner
Help with pilgrimage registration
Please read this
This was our package price in April 2026, not a quote for your trip. Prices change by season, operator, hotel and vehicle.
We paid separately for the Kedarnath helicopter, pitthus for the children at Yamunotri, the pujas we took part in, and the early-morning Abhishek ticket at Badrinath.
It also excludes our international flights and the Delhi–Dehradun transfer.
We were promised an Innova Crysta and were upgraded to an Innova Hycross.