Char Dham

The journey in one line

4 stops in India. Complete means all 4 visited.

The Char Dham are four temples set at roughly the four compass points of India: Badrinath in the Himalaya, Dwarka on the Arabian Sea, Puri on the Bay of Bengal and Rameswaram at the southern tip. The grouping is traditionally credited to Adi Shankara in the eighth century, who is said to have established monastic seats in the four directions. Whether he named these four temples is debated, but the set has been travelled as a unit for a very long time. Three of the four are Vaishnava. Rameswaram is Shaiva, which is part of the point.

The route is a claim about scale. It says the sacred geography is the whole subcontinent, not one region, and that walking it is a way of holding the country in one journey. Before railways this took years. It is now commonly done in two to three weeks, which changes what it is without settling whether it is the same thing.

Badrinath is the constraint. It is open only from roughly late April to early November and the dates are announced each year. A common order is Badrinath first in the summer window, then Dwarka, then Rameswaram, then Puri, but there is no fixed sequence. Puri is busiest at the Rath Yatra in June or July. Rameswaram is reached by the Pamban bridge from Rameswaram Road.

Where it goes

The stops, in order

What a visit means here. A visit means being in the authorised visitor area of each temple. Two of the four restrict entry to Hindus, and where that applies the visit is recorded for whatever part of the site you were admitted to. The journey is complete when all four are visited.

1. 1

   Badrinath Temple

   बद्रीनाथ मंदिर

   Badrinath, India

   

   Badrinath is the northern seat of the Char Dham, a Vishnu temple at 3,133 metres beside the Alaknanda river. The black stone image of Badrinarayan is said to have been recovered from the river and installed by Adi Shankara. The temple closes for winter and the worship moves down the valley to Joshimath.

   What counts as a visit

   The temple courtyard and darshan queue, and the Tapt Kund hot spring below it.

   Access

   Open roughly late April to early November, with dates set each year by the temple committee. Registration is required for the Uttarakhand yatra. Altitude above 3,000 metres. Checked 2026-09-17.

   SeasonalHigh altitude

   Check access · last checked September 17, 2026

2. 2

   Dwarkadhish Temple

   દ્વારકાધીશ મંદિર

   Dwarka, India

   

   The Jagat Mandir at Dwarka is the western seat of the Char Dham and marks the city Krishna is said to have ruled. The present five storey temple on seventy two pillars is largely sixteenth century over older work. A flag on the spire is changed several times a day by families who have waited years for the turn.

   What counts as a visit

   The temple precinct entered through the Swarga Dwar gate, and the Gomti ghat below.

   Access

   Phones and cameras are not allowed inside the precinct. Checked 2026-09-17.

   Check access · last checked September 17, 2026

3. 3

   Jagannath Temple

   ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମନ୍ଦିର

   Puri, India

   

   Puri is the eastern seat of the Char Dham. The twelfth century temple houses Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra as wooden figures that are remade at intervals in a rite carried out in private. At the Rath Yatra the three are pulled through the town on chariots built new each year.

   What counts as a visit

   The temple compound for those the temple admits, and the Grand Road and Gundicha Temple for everyone during Rath Yatra.

   Access

   The temple admits Hindus only and that rule is enforced at the gates. The Rath Yatra procession outside is open to all. Checked 2026-09-17.

   Faith restricted

   Check access · last checked September 17, 2026

4. 4

   Ramanathaswamy Temple

   ராமநாதசுவாமி கோயில்

   Rameswaram, India

   

   Rameswaram is the southern seat of the Char Dham and one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Rama is said to have set up the lingam here after the war in Lanka. The temple has the longest pillared corridor in India, running more than a kilometre around the outer court, and twenty two wells that pilgrims bathe at in order.

   What counts as a visit

   The temple corridors and the outer prakaram. The inner sanctum has its own rules.

   Access

   Bathing at the wells is done in wet clothes and has a separate ticket. Phones are restricted inside. Checked 2026-09-17.

   Check access · last checked September 17, 2026

Respect and access

Puri and, if you add it, Padmanabhaswamy admit Hindus only and the rule is enforced at the gate. Do not argue with it and do not try to pass as something you are not. Phones and cameras are banned inside at Dwarka, Puri and Somnath and go into lockers. Footwear comes off well before the entrance. At Badrinath the altitude is over three thousand metres and the temple sits at the end of a long mountain road, so plan for the body as well as the queue.

Faith restricted

The custodian limits entry by religion. Check the official terms before you travel. TravelDay does not ask what you believe and does not decide whether you qualify.

Seasonal

Access follows a season, a calendar or an event rather than being open year round.

High altitude

The place sits high enough that altitude affects who can reach it and how long it takes.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

• badrinath-kedarnath.gov.inhttps://badrinath-kedarnath.gov.in/ · checked September 17, 2026
• gujarattourism.comhttps://www.gujarattourism.com/saurashtra/devbhoomi-dwarka/dwarkadhish-temple.html · checked September 17, 2026
• incredibleindia.gov.inhttps://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/odisha/puri/sri-jagannath-temple · checked September 17, 2026
• incredibleindia.gov.inhttps://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/tamil-nadu/rameswaram/sri-ramanathaswamy-temple · checked September 17, 2026

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.