Chardham Yatra by Car

Doing the Char Dham Yatra by car means a sedan or SUV with a driver who knows the Garhwal roads, collected in Delhi and kept for the whole loop. A car carries 4 to 7 people, turns in the tight bends above Uttarkashi and on the Joshimath approach more easily than a larger vehicle, and can be parked close to hotels in the crowded base towns of Barkot, Guptkashi and Badrinath. For couples, families and groups of up to seven it is the quickest way round the four shrines by road.

The route from Delhi runs to Haridwar in about 5 hours, then to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in the traditional order and back to Haridwar, a loop of about 1,800 km that most groups spread over 10 to 12 days. The season runs from the temple openings after Akshaya Tritiya in late April or early May to the closures around Diwali. Every traveller registers with Uttarakhand tourism before departure, and the car carries the green card issued at the Haridwar check post.

Two shrines involve walking: about 6 km from Janki Chatti to Yamunotri and about 16 km from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, with ponies, palkis and helicopter services on both. The car waits at the road head on those days.

Chardham Yatra Car Rental Packages

Our fleet for the Char Dham runs from a Swift Dzire for two or three passengers to the Innova Crysta for six or seven with luggage. The Crysta is the usual choice for families with elderly members because of its ride height and seat comfort on long hill days; the Ertiga for Char Dham yatra suits a party of five or six on a tighter budget; a Dzire or Etios is enough for a couple travelling light. All vehicles are air-conditioned and the daily rate in the table below is based on 250 km a day averaged over the trip.

Hotels can be added at each halt on request, in standard, deluxe or premium grades, and we book them close to the temple or the road head so that early starts are easy. Without hotels the car package is transport only and you book your own rooms or dharamshalas.

The driver stays with the car throughout, handles the check posts and the parking at each stop, and advises on the day's timing. The legs below fix the order Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, with approximate road times so you can judge how many days to allow.

Suggested route for Chardham trip with car

The legs below are the ones a car covers on the standard loop. You can begin at Delhi with a car rental in Delhi or join the car at Haridwar with our Chardham yatra package from Haridwar.

• Start from Rishikesh or Haridwar: Both towns are about 5 to 5.5 hours from Delhi and are where registration is checked and the vehicle's green card is issued. Most groups spend the first night here and attend the evening aarti.
• Rishikesh/Haridwar to Yamunotri: The road climbs through Chamba, skirts Mussoorie and drops to Barkot in the Yamuna valley, about 180 km and 7 hours with a lunch halt. Barkot is the overnight base for Yamunotri.
• Barkot to Yamunotri: Drive 45 km to Janki Chatti in about 1.5 hours. The last 6 km is on foot, by pony or by palki and takes 2 to 3 hours up; the car waits at Janki Chatti and you return to Barkot the same evening.
• Yamunotri to Gangotri: About 80 km and 4 hours from Barkot over Radi Top to Uttarkashi on the Bhagirathi, the staging town for Gangotri, with an afternoon for the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
• Uttarkashi to Gangotri: About 100 km up the valley through Harsil, 3 to 4 hours each way, to the temple at about 3,100 metres. Done as a day trip with the night back in Uttarkashi.
• Gangotri to Guptkashi: The long transfer of the loop: about 220 km and 8 to 9 hours via Tehri, Srinagar and Rudraprayag into the Mandakini valley. Lunch at Srinagar, night at Guptkashi.
• Guptkashi to Kedarnath: Drive 30 km to Sonprayag, where private cars stop; shared jeeps cover the 5 km to Gaurikund and the 16 km trek to Kedarnath begins there. Helicopters fly from Phata, Sersi and Guptkashi in season. Night at Kedarnath.
• Kedarnath to Guptkashi: Morning darshan, then the descent to Gaurikund in 4 to 5 hours. Rejoin the car at Sonprayag; many groups push on to Pipalkoti or Joshimath the same day to shorten the next leg.
• Guptkashi to Badrinath: About 185 km and 6 to 7 hours up the Alaknanda through Karnaprayag and Chamoli to Joshimath. Joshimath runs a one-way gate system for Badrinath traffic in the peak weeks; the driver times the arrival to the gate.
• Joshimath to Badrinath: About 45 km and 1.5 to 2 hours past Govindghat to Badrinath at about 3,300 metres. The car reaches the town, so no trek is needed; Mana village is 3 km further.
• Badrinath to Rishikesh/Haridwar: About 300 km, usually broken at Rudraprayag or Srinagar, with the last stretch through Devprayag. Two days on the road brings the loop back to Haridwar, and Delhi is a further 5 hours.

Route notes for the Char Dham loop by car

• Loop from Haridwar about 1,500 km, plus 220 km each way from Delhi; allow 10 to 12 days so that no driving day exceeds 9 hours.
• The driver stops at wayside restaurants for breakfast and lunch; dinner is at the hotel or dharamshala in the halt town.
• Pilgrim registration is mandatory and the car's green card is issued at Haridwar; both are checked at barriers on the way up.
• Hill driving is daylight only; the car does not move between dusk and dawn on the mountain sections.
• Included: chauffeur-driven AC car from Delhi, driver's charges and allowances, fuel, tolls, parking and green card. Not included: hotels unless added to the package, meals, ponies, palkis, helicopter tickets and temple fees.
• Suits couples, families and groups of up to seven who want a faster, more flexible loop than a larger vehicle allows.