Kedarnath Temple will open for pilgrims on May 10 at 7am this year, the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has announced on Friday. The announcement was made on the auspicious occasion of the Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri.
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The pilgrimage will start with the departure of the Panchmukhi Doli on May 6. It will travel through various stops before reaching the holy site of Kedarnath Dham on the evening of May 9, reported news agency ANI. The decision was made during a religious ceremony conducted at the Pachkadar Gaddi Sthal Shri Omkareshwar Temple in Uttarakhand’s Ukhimath, in the presence of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee President Ajendra Ajay.
On November 15, 2023, the doors of the temple were closed ahead of the winter season. Indian Army band played devotional sounds during the ceremony and the event was witnessed by two thousand five hundred pilgrims.
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Why Kedarnath Dham gets closed in winter season every year
Due to heavy snowfall in the winter season, all routes to Kedarnath Dham get closed for six months. Every year, the doors of Kedarnath Dham are closed two days after Diwali, on the occasion of Bhai Dooj in the winter season. The temple then reopens in April or May.
While the temple stays closed during winter, the idol is shifted to Ukhimath and reinstalled again during April or May.
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Significance of the Kedarnath Temple
Kedarnath Temple is the eleventh Jyotirlinga in India and dedicated to Lord Shiva. Every year, thousands of devotees and pilgrims undertake pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu site.
The pilgrimage is also a part of the popular Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand. During the yatra, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri – four holy Hindu sites nestled high up in the Himalayas are covered.
