Rudranath Temple in Uttarakhand – Rudranath Trek in Panch Kedar Yatra Dedicated to Shiva

Rudranath Temple is third temple visited during the Panch Kedar Yatra in Uttarakhand. Shiva is worshipped here in the form of Nilakanth Mahadev. Rudranath Trek is one of the toughest treks in the Panch Kedar Yatra. As per Hindu tradition, the face of the bull form that Lord Shiva took to hide from Pandavas appeared here. Rudranath is a cave temple and is closed for winter from Mid-Ocotber to April. Rudranth is around 42 km from Helang.

In Skanda Purana, Shiva tells Parvati that this is one of the best pilgrimages and is an important Teerth. It is believed that offering Shradh, Tarpan and Pinda Daan to ancestors here will help them in attaining Moksha.

Rudranath Temple is part of a natural cave. The temple is small hut-like structure made of stones. The temple has the naturally appeared swayambhu face of Shiva in form of a Shivling. In the compound there are nearly six small shrines of various deities.

The route to Rudranath Temple:

Route 1 –

Chopta to Gopeshwar which is around 39 km

From Gopeshwar to Sagar Village – 5 km.

A Trek of 20 km from Sagar village leads to Rudranath.

Route 2 -

National Highway 58 – Rishikesh to Rudraprayag then to Helang

Rudraprayag to Helang is 102 kilometers.

Rudranath Trek begins from Devgaon. There is now motorable road up to Devgaon – here there are two guest houses. If you are trekking from Helang then trek to Urgam and then to Devgaon.

From Devgaon, the first day of trek is to Dumak. It is around 12 km and it takes around 10 hrs to reach Dumak from Devgaon.

Next day the trek is from Dumak to Panar. It is another 12 km and it takes around 9 hours to reach Panar from Dumak.

Next it is a walk from Panar to Rudranath. It is another 16 km but it is an easy trek.