Being a citizen of a culturally rich country, we all have been fascinated by the rituals and prayers performed in our households on different occasions. Whether it is to celebrate the birth of God, his or her win over evil, or their magical life events, we celebrate them all with great pomp and show.

Adding to this, we revere our religion. Be it a Temple, a river, a Stupa, or even an old Shrine, we never stop giving them the respect they deserve. This is instilled in us from our childhood. Gayatri mantra, Sanskrit shlokas, and everything written in the forms of bhajans or prayer recitals have always been considered to give us a sense of satisfaction and relief.

While going through the government websites, or getting to know the personal experiences of people visiting religious places in India, it occurred to me that there is something which is known to many but is still unknown to a lot of us. It is about the 4 Dham in India.

The Char Dham Yatra in India is considered to be the most holistic experience of a person’s travel journey to religious places.

People might get confused over the fact that there exist two types of 4 Dham in our country one is the Chota Char Dham which makes us visit the religious places of Uttarakhand, namely “Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath”.

The Main Char Dham of India is located in the East, West, North, South, that is in all directions of India. These 4 places are claimed to be religious and are said to have God seated there thousands of years ago. In this Feeding Trends article, we are going to give you all the possible details related to the Main Char Dham Yatra of India.

In the sacred religion of Hinduism, it is believed that everyone should visit these Char Dhams once in a lifetime. In the Hindu Puranas, it is believed that Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are eternal friends. Thus, wherever Lord Vishnu is worshipped Lord Shiva is worshipped nearby. So Kedarnath is considered as the pair of Badrinath, Rama Setu is considered the pair of Rameswaram, and Somnath is considered as the pair of Dwaraka.

The Char Dham can be visited easily with a prior booking of trains or any best-suited Transport service you feel comfortable travelling in. As the Char Dham Yatra makes you travel every part of India, it will give you details and lessons which you might have not known earlier. Be it a fact related to our ancient history or the gods you worship, things will be on their way to amaze you every day.

Talking about the cost and the days you will have to spend to make your travel worth remembering totally depends on your way of booking for your travel to the Char Dham. There are offers and discount prices available at different websites which will help you complete the tour in your preferable amount of days. The more number of days, the higher will be the cost but everything which you will see and experience will be worth spending.

Different Travel agents start the journey from different destinations, make sure you choose the one which starts from your place of residence and ends there. Dharmashala and hotels are booked by the Travel Agents and if you do not like their arrangement you can book one for your own!

Now, Let me tell you the significance of each of the four places in the Char Dham Yatra. As the sun rises from the East, we will start our journey from Eastern India:

1) Puri

This religious place of Eastern India is located in Odisha and is situated on the coast of Bay of Bengal. The place is of great religious importance as it is one of the pilgrimage sites to be visited every year by thousands of people in their journey of the Char Dham Yatra. Here, Lord Krishna is worshipped as Lord Jagannath in the famous Jagannath Temple. This is the only place in India where Goddess Subhadra is worshipped with her brothers Krishna and Balram. The main temple is about 1000 years old and was built by Raja Choda Ganga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva.

2) Rameswaram

Located in South India, this religious place is one of the destinations visited by thousands of devotees on their visit to the Char Dham. The place is situated in the Gulf of Mannar and the tip of the Indian Peninsula. According to the people and the old manuscripts, the place is said to be of great significance as it is regarded as the place where Lord Rama along with his brother Lord Lakshman and Lord Hanuman started creating a Bridge named (Ram Setu) to rescue his abducted wife Goddess Sita from the King of Lanka “Raavan”. This place is named Rameswaram because Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiv in the Treta Yug. “Rameswaram” means “Lord of Ram”.

3) Dwaraka

This religious place of the Char Dham Yatra is said to be the home of Lord Krishna from the Satya Yug. The place is located on the Western side of Indian in the Gujarat State. The place is located where the Gomti River merges into the Arabian Sea. Lord Krishna’s Mahal was said to be built above the surface of the water and has been submerged in the sea 6 times. The current standing monument is the 7th built in the city. Every year thousands of people make their way to visit the holy temple of Dwaraka so that they can see and experience the place of the residual of their beloved god.

4) Badrinath

The fourth religious place of the Char Dham Yatra is located in India's Greenland or the Land of Nature, Uttarakhand. The place is considered to be of religious significance as it is said that once Lord Vishnu meditated there and his companion Lord Lakshmi took the shape of a Berry Tree to protect Lord Vishnu from any natural disturbances such as sunlight, dust and the heavy winds. Berries are known as “Badris” thus it is very much clear why this place was named Badrinath!

As you now have reached the end of the article you might be wondering if all the things listed above are true or did these miracles actually take place on our Motherland Earth? Well, the answer to all your questions lies in those holy places of the Char Dham Yatra. Visit all the 4 Dham once in a lifetime and get the closest experience to God.

Explore: Feeding Trends | Events

The Char Dham Yatra Offers Closest Experience of God and Peace