Portals Of Shri Kedarnath Temple In Uttarakhand Opened Amid Devotional Fervour; Over 12,000 Witness Grand Ceremony

The portals of Shri Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district were opened on Friday (2 May), with over 12,000 devotees attending the ceremony, PTI reported.

The temple, situated at an altitude exceeding 11,000 feet, officially opened its gates at 7 am, according to officials from the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC).

The temple was adorned with 108 quintals of flowers of 54 varieties—sourced from different countries like Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Among the Char Dham temples in Uttarakhand, Kedarnath—revered as the 11th Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva—draws the highest footfall of devotees each year.

Kedarnath is the third of the Char Dham temples to reopen after winter, following Gangotri and Yamunotri on 30 April. Badrinath is slated to open on 4 May.

The process of opening the gates of Kedarnath began at 5 am.

Kedaranath temple's chief priest Rawal Bhimashankar Ling, priest Bagesh Ling, Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal, religious leaders and several Vedpathis entered through the east gate and participated in the worship of the gate of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple before the portals were opened.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was present at the ceremony and performed the first puja post-opening.

Visited annually by lakhs from India and abroad, the temple remains closed for six months through winter due to harsh Himalayan conditions.

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