24hour pilgrims journey- Shri Karthik Swami shrine
Last year I spent two months in India, traveled lots of places and shrines mostly in Uttarakhand, one was a spectacular, easy & picturesque journey I ever had at Shri Kartik Swami Temple is dedicated to the Lord Shiva’s elder son Kartikeya.
KartikSwami Temple is located at the end a narrow ridge with deep valley all around, at an altitude of 3050mt above sea level, offering a splendid 360-degree view of Himalayas.
I started the journey from Rishikesh to Karthik Swami shrine by 6 pm which is nearly 180km by road, it took us nearly 7 hours to reach by road.
let me tell you how it happened -me & my other two mates having a chat in the afternoon same day as we travelled, about to do trekking in Himalaya, then we suddenly came with idea to go Karthik Swami temple bcz it could do it by one or two days so we gave us 2 hours to get ready for us.
Started driving 6 pm to Srinagar(Garhwal) where we had our dinner & continue after 3hour drive we reached kanakchorny 1 am in the night. Village in deep sleep, one no one there at night —no one.
We trekked around 3km long and is one of the easier treks I have ever done. Although the trail passes through a jungle stretch in the pitched dark night. Sometimes feared about black bear or ghost(lol) then reached in 1.5 hours in near pujari ashram, found the place for pitched our tents for rest of night.
Woke up at 5, fresh breeze u can smell it enjoying the sunrise and picturesque valley around us, then last 500 m stretch to reaches the temple n spend a few hours there then back down.
It remains open throughout the year and is easily reachable. The place has natural tranquillity which will provide one a piece of mind. Devotees or tourists can also visit the shrine in the month of June when a grand festival (Skanda Purana & Shiv Mahapuran) is celebrated for 11 days with great devotion and enthusiasm.
Kartik swami is one of the best places to photography because from the place so many peaks can visualize like Nanda Devi, Nanda-Ghunti, Trisuli, Meru-Sumeru, Chaukhamba Panchachuli, Kamet, Doonagiri Neelkanth, Bandarpoonch, and many more.
Temple is opened from 6 AM to 11.30 AM and from 5 PM to 8.30 PM.
Activities - Trekking, Bird watching, Spiritual journey, Camping, Village tour.
Highest altitude - 3050m above sea level
Time to visit - All year around.
To reach - Buses or taxi
Festivals - karthik swami mahayagya ,karthik poornima(Check dates on the calendar for this year festival)
For information —
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