Why Guptkashi is a significant city of Uttarakhand. Here’s everything you need to know about this secret city, “Guptkashi.”
The city, which lies on the path of the Great Jyotirlinga Kedarnath, whose name has a mysterious story, is the city from where Vishwanath Mahadeva is worshipped; that city is the Guptkashi, surrounded by serene geography.
It’s located in the Kedar sector of the Garhwal Himalayan range. It is in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.
How’s the Guptkashi weather?
Being located at 4327 ft elevation, Guptkashi is dominated by a cold atmosphere and refreshing wind speed. The average temperature remains between 10-30°c, which is perfect to enjoy by mountain lover tourists. Apart from the weather, the surroundings of this place are also very astonishing with the views of snowy mountain peaks. It would appear as if the mountain is covered by clean white cotton. Around the Guptkashi, the Chaukhamba peaks are visible, and tourists enjoy observing these sky-touching peaks. Due to its location near the Mandakini River, this spot is perfect for exploring and enjoying. In the river valley, there are many Magnolia trees. These trees enhance the beauty of the valley and atmosphere by releasing their natural, pleasant fragrance. In a nutshell, Guptkashi is a pleasant place to stay, have food, and refuel.
Significance of Guptkashi:
Being a town of Uttarakhand, Guptkashi has various genuine reasons to be understood as a significant location from a tourism perspective. Let us count the specialties of this town one by one.
Religious Significance:
A popular temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is in the middle of the town. This temple is known as Vishwanath Temple. The pilgrims come to Guptkashi specifically to get Mahadeva Darshana and visit this mythologically significant temple. Apart from Vishwanath temple, some other famous temples in Guptkashi are worth visiting. For example, Ardhanarishwar Temple, Maa Kalishila Temple, and Kalimath Temple Bridge receive many devotees yearly. Devotees keep visiting all of these temples with extreme faith in God in their hearts.
Tourism Significance:
The primary significance of Guptkashi is that it’s located below the Kedarnath Dham. Kedarnath is one of the Chhota Char Dhams and the most important of the panch kedars. If you don’t know about Panch Kedar Yatra then read Panch Kedar Yatra: Everything in detail. The pilgrims who head towards the Kedarnath Dham pass from the Guptkashi. In other words, we can denote Guptkashi as the base of the Kedarnath Dham. One more fact is that Guptkashi is the last most developed and accessible town before Kedarnath, so it has become a pretty important place for tourists. You’ll be able to access all the amenities in the Guptkashi, which means you can stay a night here and relax your body for the Kedarnath dham trek. Most tourists prefer to take a break here to refresh and relax.
What’s the mystery behind the ‘Guptkashi’ name?
You might be aware that Kashi is the ancient name of the present-day ‘Varanasi’ in Uttar Pradesh. Besides this, Kashi is assumed to be the city of Mahadeva. Referring to Kashi, it’s the epic tale of Dwapar Yuga. After the great war of Mahabharata between Pandavas and Kauravas, the Pandavas suffered from the guilt of fratricide and war violence.
Therefore, they decided to repent on the advice of Lord Krishna and other great sages. Looking forward to repentance, they desired the auspicious darshan of Lord Shiva, the ruler of the universe. On the other hand, Lord Shiva was not delighted with the doings (Karma) of Pandavas in war. So when they went to Kashi for Darshana, Lord Shiva disappeared and went towards North. Legends say that Pandavas chased Mahadeva, so he changed into the shape of a bull and lost in the Himalayas.
The place where Lord Shiva lost himself is known as Guptkashi. Guptkashi expresses the word “secret Kashi.” It means that Lord Shiva lives secretly. However, after this game of hide and seek, the Mahadeva finally reappeared in five places, now famous as Panch Kedar Teerth. If you look forward to visiting the Panch Kedar Teerth Yatra in the future, you should see the package PanchKedar & Panchprayag Tour Package mentioned on our website.
How to reach Guptkashi
You shouldn’t be stressed about the accessibility of Guptkashi because almost all of the famous cities of Uttarakhand are well connected. For instance, Haridwar, Dehradun, Rishikesh, and Rudraprayag are connected with Guptkashi by road. The details of the distance and mode of journey from other cities to Guptkashi are given below.
The nearest railway station
Guptkashi is 168 Km and 207 km from Rishikesh and Haridwar, respectively. Rishikesh and Haridwar are well accessible from all over the country.
How to reach Guptkashi from Delhi
The distance between these cities is approx 443 Km. If you want to go by private car, it will take approx 12 hours to get there by road. Apart from that, there’s no direct route between both. But you can take the following alternative routes to reach Guptkashi from Delhi.
- From Delhi, you need to come to Haridwar first by train or bus; after that, you will have to follow the same path as mentioned above. Alternatively, you can also come to Rishikesh by train and then proceed to Guptkashi by bus.
- If you can afford it, then you can come by flight from Delhi to Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun. From outside the airport, you’ll get various taxis and bus options to reach Guptkashi.
Way to reach Guptkashi by bus
The bus is the most suitable medium to travel in the mountains because trains and flights are not accessible till the last mile of your destination.
From Rishikesh
If you’re in Rishikesh, it will take approximately 4-5 hours to reach Guptkashi by bus. The distance between both towns is about 181 Km. Your expenditure on bus tickets will be about ₹600.
From Dehradun
There’s a 217 Km distance between Dehradun and Guptkashi, so it would take approx 6-7 hours to reach there by bus. It’ll cost about ₹700 per individual.
From Haridwar:
Once you’ve reached Haridwar, half of your journey is completed. From here on, there will be various AC/non-AC buses going to Guptkashi. The bus services between the both are flawless and will make you reach Guptkashi in 6-7 hours. The Haridwar to Guptkashi average ticket fare is ₹650-₹700.
From Rudraprayag:
Guptkashi is only 45 Km away from Rudraprayag. Enough bus and taxi services are running between both towns, so you don’t need to be worried about that. It’ll take only 2 hours to reach your destination.
How to reach Kedarnath from Guptkashi
One of the main reasons behind the significance of Guptkashi is its proximity to Kedarnath Dham. Kedarnath Dham is only 47 Km away from Guptkashi. After Guptkashi, Sonprayag and Gaurikund are on the way. The distance between Gaurikund and Guptkashi is about 30 Km. Distance between Gaurikund and Kedarnath Dham, is about 15 km. From Gaurikund onwards, cars, taxis, and all other vehicles are banned. Here, pilgrims need to Trek for 15 Km to reach the doorstep of Mahadeva Kedarnath Dham.
- Most tourists reach Gaurikund from Guptkashi by rental cars or taxis. It will take approximately 1.5 hours. From Gaurikund onwards, devotees begin trekking for the Kedarnath temple. Usually, it takes about 5-6 hours to reach the temple.
- Besides the mode mentioned above, helicopter tour services are available for Kedarnath temple. Whoever doesn’t want to Trek for the temple can opt for the helicopter mode. These helicopter services are available from Guptkashi, Sirsi, and Phata. If you can afford it, it’s the time-saving mode to get the darshan of lord Shiva.
Conclusion:
Everything you need to know before visiting Guptkashi is mentioned above. However, if you have any queries regarding that, kindly approach us by using the chat now button, contact form, email, or through our social media page. There are various yatra packages mentioned on our website,
