Overview of the destinationOn way back from Badrinath, we halted at Rudraprayag. This town is situated on the ?prayag? of the Mandakini river (coming from Kedarnath) and the Alaknanda river. The hotel staff intimated us about two temples nearby worth visiting before we leave for Delhi. These were the Koteshwar cave of Lord Shiva and the Umara Narayan temple of Lord Vishnu, which became our next day?s itinerary. Though only a few kms away from the main Rudraprayag market, the Koteshwar cave is very close to the Alaknanda river flowing through the Rudraprayag region and hence, the walk downhill, and thereafter uphill, is pretty steep but worth it. The cave is housed with innumerable ?shivlings? (and hence the name Koteshwar) and has natural water droplets sprinkling from the cave roof. Next destination was the Umara Narayan temple which is only a few kms away. The priest at the temple apprised me that the name has been derived from a tree called ?umara?, similar to the name of Badrinath where there was a forest of ?badri? berries, once upon a time.
Back into the hotel after another long day, we sat in our balcony for the daily evening ?aarti? at the Rudraprayag ghats, which was truly relaxing.
Food, sight-seeing and shopping
Since Rudraprayag is the point from where the route for Kedarnath and Badrinath fork out, it is worth to break the onward journey here for a one-night stay at the most. It has a big market place with all necessary amenities available.
Activities & things to do
Besides the religious sight-seeing, a walk to the river banks is also recommended.
Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
We had gone by road from Delhi with one stopover in Deoprayag. In case one is ready to start early morning, it is possible tor each Rudraprayag on the same day, after passing through Haridwar, Rishikesh, Deoprayag and Shrinagar, being the main cities.
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