Joshimath Joshimath
Living in the mountains mostly in places that are not easily accessible the people of the district have been able to preserve their culture, folklore, folksongs and folkdances, the last, a distinctive feature of the district, being seasonal, traditional and religious, some of the better known being described below.....Read More
Adi Badri Temple


Adbadri ,also known in revenue records as Helisera, is set in beautiful surroundings and the road from Lohba to Adbadri passes through scenic terrain. Just above Adbadri is the small Lake of Benital. At Adbadri are the remains of Sixteen temples similar to those found at dwarahat ( in district Almora) and the one dedicated to Badrinarayan is still used for worship as are the others but to a lesser degree. The local people have a superstitious belief that in a few year the road from Joshimath to Badrinath will be closed by the meeting of the hill near the temple that stand opposite each other and that then this temple will become a place for pilgrimage. There are remains of sixteen small temples, of which seven are more ancient with flat roofs belonging to the late Guptas period. Local tradition assigned the building of the temples to the the Shankracharya, the celebrated reformer and philosopher of the eighth century. All the temples are crowded together into a small space( 12.5 mts X 25 mts.) and vary in height from 2 to 6 mts.

The Main temple of Narayan is distinguished by a raised platform in the front, roofed in and leading to the small enclosure of the pyramidal form, where the idol is enshrined. The idol of Vishnu is a metre high, sculpted out of black stone. Vishnu is of course, another name of Bdrinath and so this temple is also known as adibadri. It is one of the five Badris ( Panch Badris) the others being Vishal Badri, Yog-Dhyan Badri, Vriddha Badri and Bhavishya Badri. All five shrines are situated in close proximity.


How to reach By Air ?
The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, about 221 kms away from Chamoli. One has to hire a taxi from there onwards.

How to reach By Train ?
The nearest railway station is at Haridwar, located at a distance of about 297 kms from Chamoli. Haridwar is connected to all the major cities of India like Howrah, Mumbai, Delhi and Lucknow.

How to reach By Road ?
Chamoli is directly connected to National Highway 58 and many Government and private (and deluxe) buses ply to the city. The buses are generally obtainable from the town of Gopeshwar for major cities of Uttarakhand like Dehradoon, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Almora and Nainital. One can also hire private taxis which are convenient but costly.