Enroute to Badrinath (Joshimath Gate System)

Day 4 : Birahi - Joshimath - Badrinath

Our day 4’s route of Birahi to Badrinath was an 80 km drive and passed through the town of Joshimath where one encounters a ‘Gate system’. (Similar gates are encountered at Badrinath too and these gates regulate the traffic flow uphill and downhill in between them.)

What is a Gate System?

The Gate System simply means that the routes from thereon become one way; when vehicles from Joshimath are let go, vehicles at Badrinath are stopped and vice versa. It is a very well-organized approach adopted by the local authorities to manage the traffic and ensure that no untoward accident occurs on account of the narrow and treacherous routes between these two places.

Our Day starts

The earlier day, we had planned to leave Birahi by 4.00 AM so as to pass through the first gate at Joshimath that opens at 6:30 AM (Birahi - Joshimath is 37 kms that’s approximately a 2 hrs drive). This would then facilitate our further plans which were simply to reach Badrinath as soon as possible, take blessings at the Badrinath temple in the morning before the temple closes down in the noon and then spend the rest of the day exploring around!

But thanks to the chilly weather conditions which had aided our sleep, we could leave Birahi only by 5.00 AM, one hr late than the predecided time. The delay simply meant that we (or rather Vishwanath, our driver) had to hurry and try catching up on the lost time. Missing this gate would not only mean wasting 2 hours in Joshimath but it would stall all our further plans too.

The just-rising sun highlighting a Garhwal mountain faraway

Vishwanath was at his driving best speeding past the quiet elegant waters of the River Alaknanda which was giving us constant company all along after Devprayag leading us towards the great Dham of Badrinath.

The narrow stream of the Alaknanda River along the
Badrinath route in the Himalayas

We reached Joshimath by 7.00 AM, a few minutes later than the stipulated gate closure time. But what surprised us was that our car kept on moving… we anticipated barricades… policemen talking in their walky talkies, check posts, long queues of waiting vehicles, but as luck would have it… none came in view!

Travelling off season does have a lot of advantages! Royalty was definitely one of them which we were experiencing in abundance in this trip.  And, need I say, we were enjoying every bit of it! Apparently, lesser number of pilgrims (even lower than 10% of the peak pilgrim crowd) meant dim traffic due to which the entire gate system had been scrapped.

After crossing Joshimath, the roads ahead looked difficult. We drove along the narrow stretches crisscrossing the dangerous, steep, snaky and bumpy terrain of the Himalayas with stones strewn here and there along the path.

The trail was difficult for even a lone vehicle transiting through and the gate system approach seemed a lot more logical to us now!

Look how narrow and dangerous the roads at Joshimath are!

And there is also the danger of overhead rocks falling on you any moment!

A few minutes later, we passed through the mythical twin mountains of Nar and Narayan dedicated to the sages of the epic Mahabharata by the same name. It is said that with each passing day, as the evil in the world is rising, the two mountains are inching closer towards each other. A day will come when the two will join in and the route to Badrinath will be shut forever. Then, the Lord will be worshipped at the Bhavishya Badri or future Badri which is situated at Subain near Tapovan, about 17 kms east of Joshimath. At the moment though, the mountains are distant enough to let your car pass through comfortably.

The mythical mountains of Nar and Narayan on the Badrinath roadway

After crossing these mountains, the roads became much much better and it didn't take us long to set foot on the sacred soil of the Badrinath tirtha...

The roads become smooth as butter much to my surprise and relief,

just before reaching Badrinath

Soon, we sighted the regional board welcoming us to the holy land of Badrinath –

'Jaya Badri Vishal' - Welcome to the holy town of Badrinath

And Vishwanath burst into a loud chant of ‘Bolo Badri Vishal Ki Jai’. Boy! He was really excited… Actually we all were… Eagerly looking forward to the Diwali celebrations in the Valley of the Gods…

Our Travel Route Map for Day 4 of the Char Dham Yatra

Birahi-Badrinath travel route map, Char Dham - Himalayas

(Click on the map to enlarge)

Color Key for the map

       - Our Route for the day from Birahi to Badrinath

       - Halts en route, starting point and destination included

      - Joshimath, the town enroute to Badrinath where one comes across the 'Gate System'

       - One of the Char Dhams, The Badrinath Dham which was also our place of stay for the day.

Related Information and Travel Tips

1. Important Distances -

Birahi to Badrinath is 80 kms, Birahi to Joshimath is 37 kms and Joshimath to Badrinath is 43 kms.

2. Plan your arrival at Joshimath carefully to match the Gate opening batch timings and avoid wasting long hours in queue. Gate timings for vehicles traveling upwards from Joshimath to Badrinath are 6.30 AM, 9.30 AM, 11.00 AM, 2.00 PM & last batch at 4.00 PM.

Previous posts from this trip -

1. Char Dham Yatra

2. Planning the Char Dham Trip
3. Introduction to Uttarakhand and Char Dhams

4. ISKCON Temple, Delhi
5. Entire DAY 1 of the Yatra (includes The journey finally begins... Haridwar to Uttarkashi)

6. Entire DAY 2 of the Yatra (includes Enroute to Gangotri - Gangnani, Enchanting Mother Ganga... Our First Dham - Gangotri, Places to visit in and around Gangotri, Bhaironghati, Harsil, Pilot Baba Ashram in Bhatwari, Temples of Uttarkashi)
7. Entire DAY 3 of the Yatra (includes Uttarkashi to Birahi (Chowrangikhal), Uttarkashi to Birahi (Kemundakhal))