This pilgrimage was last offered 18–24 September 2008. We are considering offering it again in September 2010. Please contact us if you are interested. Here are details of the 2008 trip.
A powerful place of pilgrimage since Vedic
times, the Badrinath area is also said to be the present home
of Mahavatar Babaji. The spiritual power can be felt just being
in the rarefied air, pristine natural beauty, and soaring mountains.
Leave
New Delhi Station (Shatabdi Express)
Arrive Haridwar; jeeps to Devprayag (lunch en route)
Arrive Devprayag, visit river
Check into Ramkund Resort; dinner and satsang in hotel
Friday
19 September
Early breakfast at hotel
Drive to Badrinath (8–9 hours), lunch on your own along the way
Check in and dinner at Narayan Palace in Badrinath
Saturday
20 September
Early morning puja at temple
Breakfast at hotel
Drive to Mana, walk to "Stairway to Heaven", Vyasa's cave, etc.
Lunch on your own; visits to baths and temple, or walk by river
Evening meditation, or meeting with Rawal (head priest)
Dinner at hotel
Sunday
21 September
Meditation and breakfast at hotel
Walk to Neelkanth Valley
Alternate less strenuous walk also offered
Lunch on your own; continuation of morning's activities
Evening meditation, or meeting with Rawal
Dinner and satsang at hotel
Monday
22 September
Early breakfast
Drive
Badrinath to Rudraprayag (7-8 hours)
Stop in Joshimath, visit Adi Shankaracharya's cave
Snacks on your own along the way
Check in and dinner at Monal Resort near Rudraprayag
Tuesday
23 September
Breakfast
Drive Rudraprayag to
Rishikesh
Visit Sage Vashishta's cave by river
Arrive Rishikesh; check into The Great Ganga Hotel
Visits in Rishikesh may include Kriya Yoga Ashram of Swami Shankarananda,
Swami Sivananda's kutir, and evening Ganga arati
Dinner and closing satsang at hotel
Wednesday
24 September
Breakfast
Check out; visits to ashrams in Rishikesh
Leave for Haridwar
In Haridwar, visit Swami Keshabananda's ashram with Lahiri Mahasaya's ashes,
Anandamoyee Ma's ashram, and samadhi mandir
Leave Haridwar Station (Shatabdi Express)
Arrive New Delhi Station
Our 1st night will be spent in Devprayag, where we'll
receive the darshan of the Ganga at the point the Alaknanda
and Bhagirathi Rivers join. We will then spend 3 nights
and 2 full days in Badrinath.
We'll attend the early morning puja at the Badrinath Temple
when the image of Lord Badrinarayan (in lotus posture looking
strikingly like Babaji) is bathed. We hope to meet as a group
with the temple head priest. You may decide to bathe in the temple
hot springs.
Beyond the village of Mana we will walk
to and meditate in the cave of Ved Vyasa, where he is said
to have written the Mahabharata. Ganesh's cave is close by.
Then we'll
cross the Saraswati River as it emerges from the mountain, and walk
the Pandhavas' "Stairway
to Heaven." Those who wish may climb to Vasundhara
Falls. We'll also walk to the Neelkanth Valley above Badrinath,
and we may visit sadhus living there. An alternate, less strenuous,
walk along the river boasts natural beauty, pilgrimage sites,
and other sadhus.
On the return from Badrinath, we'll meditate
in the Joshimath cave where Adi Shankaracharya found enlightenment.
We'll spend a night near Rudraprayag, then continue on to Rishikesh
to Sage Vashishta's cave. After a night in Rishikesh, we'll
visit other saints and ashrams, including the Kriya Yoga Ashram,
the samadhi mandir of Anandamoyee Ma, and the ashes of Lahiri
Mahasaya.
Tour Leaders
This pilgrimage will be led by Keshava
and Daya Taylor of Ananda Sangha India. They will be assisted
full-time by a guide from Discover Tours, the Indian tour operator
that has guided Ananda pilgrimages for 20 years.
