Badrinath is a very important Hindu pilgrimage destination , as it is one of the four ‘Char Dhams’ and ‘Chota Char Dhams’ pilgrimage sites. The temple is also one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, holy shrines for Vaishnavites.The image of the presiding deity worshipped in the temple is a 1m (3.3 ft) tall, the black stone statue of Vishnu in the form of Badrinarayan. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu.

The Badrinath is located in Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of Alaknanda River.It is open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), because of extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.When Badrinath temple remain closed during winter every year, one idol of Lord Badri is brought to Narsinh temple in Joshimath (which is around 50kms from Badrinath) and worshiped there for six months. Although Badrinath is located in North India, the head priest or Rawal, is traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin chosen from the South Indian state of Kerala.

Continue reading about my journey to Badrinath on my blog below.

http://thelazytravel.com/hitchhikers-guide-to-badrinath/