Indian Himalaya, following great yogis!

This tour is very special as we went to it several times over the last 8 years and all the participants were very happy with it. My own experience is that going to Himalayas is an adventure that also brings all the people in the group closely together. In modern society it is rarely found when different persons can share deep experience together, and many of us actually looking for this kind of association. Please join and you will never forget what happened to you. Success is guaranteed.

New Delhi (India's capital) - 2 days

New Delhi is the capital of modern India, during Mahabharata times it was named Hastinapura, city of the elephants. Since 5.000 years many things changed, but still we can see whatever is left from great empire and culture. We will visit few places including Red Ford, India’s Gate, Jama Masjit (biggest Musk in India), Lotus Temple, Laxmi Narayana  Mandir and famous Swami Narayana Akshardham Temple.

Rishikesh (Holy Place on the bank of Ganga) - 3+2 days on the way back from mountains.

Rishi means holy man, so naturally Rishikesh means abode of the holy people. This ancient city mentioned in the Vedas as best place for meditation and yoga, and much yoga studious is there with monks living on the bank of the Ganga. We will meet interesting people and perform Ganga Puja. Every morning we will invite you for yoga and meditation sessions. There are many holy places to visit and we will travel around to the mountains and caves of the ascetics.

 Another very interesting feature of this place is rafting, after this experience you will remember Rishikesh and Ganga for the rest of your life. In Rishikesh markets are best in India for gems, chanting Rudraksha and Tulasi beads, Yantras, meditation music etc. In this holy city alcohol and meat are prohibited and the whole atmosphere is very pure and inspiring. On our way back we will stay in Rishikesh again to meditate on what happened to us and go deep into this experience, also we will relax after travel and tracking.

Devaprayag-Rudraprayag - 1 day

Prayag is special place where two or more holy rivers flow together. Deva Prayag is the confluence of the Baghirati and Alakananda rivers. It is 90km from Rishikesh and 610m above sea level. It is second most important confluence in India after Allahabad. In Treta Yuga Lord Rama and Laxmana performed Yajna (sacrifice) here to atone for killing Ravana who was a Brahmin by birth. Rudra Prayag is where Mandakini from Kedarnatha meets Alakananda. There is large temple of Rudranath (Siva) here. Nearby is the place where Narada Muni is said to have performed austerities. At this point river is very forceful and moves quickly. We will visit both places on our way up to Badrinath, and most probably spent one night in Rudraprayag to get used to the mountain climate.

 Joshimath (1.845m above sea level) - 1 day

When Badrinath closes during the winter, the priests from Badrinath temple come to Joshimath and continue worship at the Narasimha Temple. There is Vasudeva temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna. Adi Sankarachariya meditated here under Kalpavriksha tree and attained Samadhi 1.200 year ago. Narasimha mandir is very special. Deity of Lord Narasimha is self manifested from a shalagrama sila. He is 25cm high and remarkable detailed sitting in the lotus position. The left wrist of Narasimha is incredibly thin and gets thinner every day. It is said when Kali Yuga overtakes the world, the wrist will break and mountains Jaya  and Vijaya  will (near Vishnu Prayag) will collapse and block the present way to Badrinath. This temple is over 1.200 years old.

Badrinath (Eternal abode of Lord Vishnu) - 3 days

Badarik Ashram another name for Badrinath (3.100m above sea level), is the abode of Nara Narayana sages and is a great place of pilgrimage. According to Srimad Bahagavatam even 5.000 years ago this holy place was visited by such holy person as Uddhava and even at that time the place was known to be very old. Badrinath is a very important place of pilgrimage and very dear to Lord Krisna. Badri is the name of the Ilandai tree, which is very dear to Maha-Laxmi.  Badrinath is also called ‘”Narada Kshetram” since Narada Muni attained liberation here in five days. Gautama Rishi, Kapila, and Kashyapa are said to have come here, and Shankaracharya established temple here  some 1.225 years ago; Ramanujacharya visited 955 years ago and Madhavacharya visited twice about 735 years ago. Badrinath is on the small plateau between Narayana Parbat and the Alakananda River.

 The Nara and Narayana peaks tower over Badrinath. The Temple is full of the ancient stone carvings. The murti of Lord Badrinath is self manifested from a 2/3m high black shalagrama shila. The canopy over the Deities is covered with a sheet of pure gold. Lord Badrinarayan is said to have been installed by Shankaracharya, who recovered the Deities from Narada kund. Lord Badrinath is sitting meditating in the padmasana (lotus yogic posture). Near the temple are number of ponds with hot sulfur water. Pilgrims bath in the water before going to the temple. Mana is 4km northwest of Badrinath, near the Tibet border. This is where Vyasadeva’s cave is located, nearby Ganesha’s cave. There are rocks here that look like layers of paper and are said to represent his works of writing the Vadas. Vyasadeva narrated these works and Ganesha wrote them down, under the condition that Vyasadeva would not stop reciting. To get to Mana is easy climb. Nilakanth peak (6.596m) is to the left of Narayana Parvat and we will go up as much as possible.

 Kedaranath (Eternal abode of Lord Siva) - 2 days

Kedarnath is on the bank of Mandakini River between Gangotri and Badrinath, alt. 3.583m. Over 100.000 pilgrims come here every year; it is believed that Shankaracharya passed away here about 820 AD. Kadeshvar Siva is the presiding deity. It was built by Pandavas to atone for their sins procured during the Kurukshetra war. Pandavas decided to ask Lord Siva for his blessings.

They first went to Varanasi, but Siva fled to Uttarakhand and lived there incognito. Pandavas found him there and Lord Siva turned into a bull. Bhima recognized his disguise and grabbed the bull by the tail. The bull slowly sank into the ground. And Lord Siva then appeared before them on account of their great determination. Lord Siva instructed them to worship the remaining hump of the bull “panda form”. A Temple was constructed and worship has been going on ever since.