Rishikesh & Panch Kedar 2025 Review (Amazing)

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Rishikesh:

This year we stayed at “The Himalayan Tree on the Ganges” hotel, which was the same place as last time, with the same staff, but a new name and new management company. I love this venue. The rooms are basic but clean, the food is wonderful and the location is perfect. You are right on the banks of the Ganges, but a short walk from Lakshman Jhula with it’s markets and cafes.

It was not without it’s excitement this time. Early in our stay we had a massive thunder storm that lasted all night and the stream we cross to get to the hotel washed out the town end of the bridge and the power cable. We had no access and no power, but as is typical in India, they soon ran a new cable and welded an add on to the bridge and we were back in business by lunch time. Normally the short walk into town is a delight but this year we had to negotiate a troop of monkeys at times and also Esther had a little scare with a snake crossing her path. You know that you’re not in Aotearoa/NZ when this is what you’re experiencing. We all came through unscathed.

The Ashtanga Yoga Workshop Mysore morning practices went really well. There is nothing quite like the energy of practicing with Mama Ganga right there in front of you. Thank you to Becs for being the wonderful assistant that she is. Very beautiful and powerful energy!

I was a bit nervous about the afternoon/evening sessions. Not so much for the recovery stretches and breathing, but more for the “Yoga Philosophy” sessions. I had done quite a bit of preparation, but I always worry that I don’t have anything relevant or worthwhile to share and that I’ll run out of things to say. I guess that I should know by now that once I get started, the trouble is stopping me. No one walked out, or fell asleep (I think), so I guess that it went okay.

I want to thank everyone who travelled with us this year. Again, you made my job easy by being great company and by organising your days and taking India in your stride. I hope that you’ll join me again in 2026 if you can.

Panch Kedar:

Kedarnath

I think it’s noo secret that Kedarnath Temple is the reason that I keep going into the Himalayas for Yātrā. That temple, or more particularly, that Shiva Lingam evokes such a strong emotional response in me. I always struggle to contain that response whenever I come into it’s presense and mostly fail. This trip was no different, but then it was different.

I’ve discovered that it is not a good idea for me to go from Rishikesh at around 350m above sea level, to Sonprayag at around 1900m to Kedarnath at 3583m in the soace of 2 days. I struggle a little with the altitude when I go that high that quickly, so with that and with the crowd and having to avoid ponies and pony shit, this is never an easy or enjoyable walk. I think that we all felt the altitude a little, but for me, the darshan was worth it. They have streamlined the VIP entry process there, so we were able to easily enter the temple for Aarthi in the evening (when you can’t get in to the inner sanctum) and for darshan and puja in the early morning. We got up at 3:00 am and so were the second group into the temple in the morning and this was the best experience I’ve had in there. I had the time to anoint the lingam with ghee and water. I got to actually spend enough time in there to let my emotions settle a bit and to actually “see” the lingam. This was an amazing experience for me.

Maybe it’s enough. Maybe that has cured the pull the place has on me. I know for sure that that’s the 4th and final time I walk up there. There’s always the ponies though…..

Madhmaheshwar

Our Panch Kedar 2025 yatra continues. The next day was a relatively easy one and a nice relief from the rigours of the Kedarnath trek. After a latish breakfast and lunch in Ransi we had an easy 6 km, mostly downhill walk through beautiful forest alongside the Madhmaheshwar Ganga River to Gaundhar. This is a small and peaceful village beside the river where we spent the night. There is no road access so no vehicles which adds to the relaxing atmosphere. It would have been very easy to spend more time here.

However, the next day our amazing trek continued with a 10 km hike up to Madhmaheshwar. The scenery walking up was just stunning and this temple is in a spectacular setting amongst alpine meadows. The Aarthi and Darshan was powerful. Afterwards we enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts, being invited in to sit beside the cooking fire for dinner. There is something special about eating chappati that have come straight off the embers.

The next day was a long 16km walk all the way back to our vehicle made less strenuous by the wonderful scenery, a dip in the river and lunch at Gaundhar.

Tungnath

Panch Kedar 2025 continued. Tungnath temple is famed for being the highest Shiva temple in the world at 3,500 metres. It’s a relatively easy 3.5km walk up through rhododendron and meadow to what is indeed a spectacular place. The Pandit/priest who guided us for Darshan and then did puja for us was a special person, very warm, friendly and funny. He made our visit to Tungnath something quite special indeed. On the trek back down I met some Indian kids who loved having their photo taken with me. Interactions like this with fellow Yatris made the Panch Kedar 2025 trip extra enjoyable. Everyone we met was happy to be going to these sacred places and happy to see us on the journey as well. The dosa in Chopta after we’d walked back down was pretty good too.

Rudranath

The trek to Rudranth and back is actually 3 days and probably the most challenging of them all. This is well offset by the stunning beauty of the scenery.

The first day we hiked 8 km up to Lyuti Bugyal which is really just a bunch of temporary shelters set up on a hill side meadow. Our accommodation there was in tents which actually were comfortable enough. We were certainly dry and warm which is the most important thing.

There was rain and thunder storms during the night so we were wondering how the trek would be the next day, but it dawned calm and fine. We left just before daylight for the 8.5 km hike to the temple at Rudranath. You get to the temple over a saddle at 3900 metres, the highest point of our journey. This was a tough track to walk, but the backdrop of the Himalayan mountains is incredible. Words and even photos cannot convey the grandeur, the splendour of the environment we walked through. Just truly amazing.

Rudranath itself is a lovely and tranquil temple. We got there in full sunshine and enjoyed a break for chai before visiting the temple. This small temple is dedicated to Shiva’s face and is a special and peaceful place. While the darshan we had there was a little perfunctory the time we got to spend, soaking up the sun, the beautiful surroundings and the energy of the place will stay with me. Rudranath is a special, special place and well worth the effort to get to.

We got rained on for the last 45 minutes of the trek back to our base at Lyuti Bugyal, which was the only time we got wet while walking. Thankfully we all had raincapes and managed to stay dry in the downpour. Our tent was dry, the food was good and the company superb.

The next day’s walk back to our hotel in Sagar we took a different path from our ascent and while the track was challenging it was also through beautiful forest, stream crossings and a couple of small settlements. It was an awesome feeling to reach the hotel and know that the trekking was done! We had 1 more temple to complete Panch Kedar and we knew that Kalpeshwar was a 200 meter walk from the car park. Woooohooo! Then, of course, we would visit Badrinath which I already knew was also a very short walk. We’ve almost completed Panch Kedar 2025

Kalpeshwar

Our guide, Hitik, was called away to lead another group to Kedarnath and so we were now in the capable hands of our driver, Sandeep. It was, perhaps, a bigger job than he expected. We were supposed to take a jeep to drive the rough track from the main road to the temple but there was some issue with price, so Sandeep drove us all the way in. It was a testament to his skill and patience that he negotiated the road so well.

Kalpeshwar, at 2,200 meters, is the lowest of the 5 Temples of Panch Kedar and the easiest to get to. The short walk across a bridge with a spectacular waterfall to our right and the temple to our left was maybe even a little anti-climax after the efforts to reach the other 4. None of us were complaining. We arrived just as they closed the temple briefly for lunch, so joined the very short queue to wait. Here you worship Lord Shiva in the form of his matted dreadlocks. I liked this place. It was warm and the energy was lighter, a little less intense, maybe as a reflection of the easy access. Of course we had to visit the waterfall for the inevitable dip by Rachel and the “Panch Kedar” banner photo. We then drove to Badrinath which pilgrims traditionally visit after completing Panch Kedar 2025.

Badrinath

It is an unwritten religious rite upon completing Panch Kedar to visit Vishnu at Badrinath Temple as a final affirmatory proof by the pilgrim that he/she has sought the blessings of Lord Shiva. Besides which, Badriath is a beautiful temple to visit and we were there for evening Aarthi, which was a bonus. The next day we took the long journey back to Rishikesh with a quick stop at Devprayag for a dip at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers. It is from this point on the the river is named Ganges and I love to dip here.

For me, this trip, with the workshop in Rishikesh followed by Panch Kedar 2025 Yatra was the best trip I’ve had to India since the early days of practicing in Lakshmipuram with Guruji. I love Rishikesh and trekking in the Himalayas while following the ancient pilgrimmage of Panch Kedar was something very, very special. I’m glad that I got to do it in this lifetime as it reinforces the journey that I’m on. Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga works for me on a physical level and visiting these amazing temples just deepens my understanding of the spiritual side of my practice.