Press "Enter" to skip to content

Uttarakhand: State’s Yamunotri and Kedarnath Shrines Close for Winter

Uttarakhand: State’s Yamunotri and Kedarnath Shrines Close for Winter:

Hundreds of devotees thronged Yamunotri and Kedarnath on Friday amid chanting of vedic hymns and complex rites as portals of both well-known Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand were shut for the winter.

Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district was shut for devotees at 8 am in the morning while Yamunotri in Uttarkashi district was shut at 1:15 pm in the day.

“About 2,000 pilgrims visited Yamunotri to observe its yearly close for the winter when the famous temple standing at a height of 10,804 feet above sea level lies under snow,” Purola SDM K. K. Singh said.

Authorised priests worship the lord during his winter sojourn at Ukhimath.

The increasing amount of pilgrims indicates growing assurance about security, besides improved facilities on the pilgrimage path, the Rawal said.

Many other places in Uttarakhand and Kedarnath had seen devastating floods and landslides in June 2013.

Nevertheless, lots of reconstruction work was done there since then for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

Found at 11,755 feet above the sea level, gates of the Himalayan temple are shut for six months during winter when it stays snowbound.

Yamunotri and Kedarnath are among Uttarakhand’s four renowned Himalayan shrines known as the other two being Gangotri and Badrinath Chardham,.

Gangotri’s gates were shut for winter on Thursday whereas those of Badrinath are scheduled to be shut on November 17 this year, indicating the ending of the yatra season. PTI