Now book a helicopter with IRCTC to visit Kedarnath Temple

There’s good news for those planning to go to Kedarnath Temple, high in the hills in Uttarakhand. From Friday (March 31), Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will start online booking of helicopter service for Kedarnath Dham.

The doors to Kedarnath Temple are scheduled to open on April 25 after being closed for winter months.

Passengers can book tickets from IRCTC’s website after online registration for Kedarnath. IRCTC has been given the responsibility by Uttarakhand government to ensure transparency in ticket booking and to prevent unauthorised sales.

Also read: IRCTC has variety of tour packages; here’s how you pick one for holiday season

MoU signed

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority and IRCTC for a period of 5 years.

To book helicopter services, one needs to first complete registration on Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board for visiting Kedarnath. Registration can also be done through Tourist Care Uttarakhand mobile app.

There’s also a WhatsApp facility to complete the registration – one would need to type ‘Yatra’ to initiate the registration process on Mobile number +91-8394833833.

Popular pilgrimage

Kedarnath is one of the char-dhams (four pilgrim places) in Uttarakhand and is a popular pilgrimage for Hindus in the country. Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are the other three temples that comprise the char-dham yatra.

While Kedarnath Dham will open on April 25 and Badrinath Dham on April 27, the Gangotri Temple Commitee will open the temple doors on 22 April.

Also watch: Kedarnath Dham closed for winter

Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council said that a total of 6.34 lakhs devotees have registered for the Char Dham Yatra of which 2.41 lakh registrations have been done for Kedarnath Dham.