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Char Dham Yatra :
Badrinath Yatra
The most popular of the four main temples of Garhwal, 298
km northeast of Rishikesh and just 40 km south of Tibet, is
that of Badrinath. "Lord of the Berries". One of
Hinduism's holiest sites, it was founded by Shankara in the
ninth century, not far from the source of the Alaknanda, the
main tributary of the holy Ganga. Although the temple has
a stunning setting, deep in a valley beneath the sharp snowy
pyramid of Nilkantha, the town that has grown up around it
is greay, grubby and unattractive.
Until a few years ago, Badrinath was a remote and evocative
placem, where legends spoke of mysterious sadhus such as the
Englishman who lived high in the mountains amid the snow and
ice. Now, however, it has grown out of all proportion to its
infrastructure. The army-built road up from Joshimath, 48
km south brings endless convoys of buses and taxis, and the
temple truns over astronomical amounts of money.
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