Never go to Kedarnath—otherwise, you will regret it.
A few days ago, I came across a Reel about Kedarnath on Instagram. After watching that Reel, I became so eager to visit Kedarnath that I couldn’t think of anything else.
Some of the Kedarnath Reels showed scenes where snow-covered mountains surrounded the spiritual temple of Mahadev, where just one darshan (holy sight) of the deity seemed enough to bring peace to the human mind.
👉 If you are planning a spiritual journey in Uttarakhand, you may also enjoy this Rishikesh itinerary for 2 days before visiting Kedarnath.
Some Reels showed the place as peaceful and free from crowds.
Some videos even showed only 5 to 10 people standing inside the Kedarnath temple, offering prayers to Lord Mahadev; but was any of this actually true?
My biggest mistake was that, influenced by these Reels, I convinced my parents to join me on this trip to Kedarnath.
Through this article, I—a devotee of Mahadev—want to share my Kedarnath travel experience with you; an experience in which pilgrims faced hardships unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
The harsh reality of our trip was this: while my parents did make it to Kedarnath, they were unable to complete the climb to the temple.
And although I managed to reach the Kedarnath temple myself, I was unable to get proper darshan (holy sight) of Lord Mahadev.
You will fully understand why you should never plan a Kedarnath trip based only on Instagram Reels and YouTube videos after reading this entire article.
My Kedarnath Travel Experience: The Never-Ending Crowd
I arrived at Sonprayag—the gateway to Kedarnath—with my parents. The Kedarnath pilgrimage begins from here. We were very excited, but that excitement did not last for long.
Sonprayag was packed with people. We had never seen such a huge crowd before.
Long lines of vehicles covered the roads, and the traffic moved so slowly that many people left their vehicles and started walking instead.
Our first stop was a few hotels in Sonprayag, but every hotel was already full. Outside the hotels, many people stood with money in their hands, yet they still could not find a single room.
We then went to the taxi stand, and after somehow getting into a cab, we finally reached Gauri Kund. It took us almost three to four hours to travel just four kilometres.
We had come to seek the blessings of Lord Mahadev and see the beautiful snow covered mountains, but after seeing the condition of the pilgrims, we felt deeply disappointed.
The trek to Kedarnath starts from Gauri Kund. But Gauri Kund was also overflowing with people. The crowd was so huge that people kept bumping into each other while walking.
When I looked at the Kedarnath trek route going up toward the mountains, I was shocked.
The entire trek was packed with pilgrims standing in long queues for hours. At that moment, we understood that this place was far from peaceful.
Before planning a trip, many pilgrims should first check the official Kedarnath travel guide provided by the Uttarakhand tourism authorities.
On both sides of the road, pilgrims were sleeping on the ground. At first, I thought they were simply resting, but their tired and worried faces showed the reality.
After asking at many hotels, I finally found a man who agreed to give us a room in his house.
The room was dirty, yet he charged us five to six times more than the normal price. In simple words, we were heavily overcharged for a basic room.
After seeing the huge crowd everywhere, my parents decided not to continue to the Kedarnath Temple.
They stayed back in the room to rest and asked me to visit the temple alone for darshan (holy sight) of Lord Mahadev.
I started walking alone toward the Kedarnath Temple. It truly felt as though the entire country had come there to offer prayers.
Based on my Kedarnath travel experience, I can honestly say that the Kedarnath pilgrimage is no longer the peaceful spiritual journey often shown in Instagram Reels and YouTube videos.
And this was only the beginning—what happened next completely changed my entire perspective.
The Reality Behind Kedarnath Viral Reels
Chanting “Har Har Mahadev,” I set off toward the Kedarnath Temple.
Upon seeing the jostling crowds on the trek, I immediately realized that my Kedarnath travel experience was going to turn out to be a very unpleasant one.
The strange thing was that most of the pilgrims visiting here, much like myself, had come after watching viral videos and reels on social media.
I somehow managed to continue making my way toward the temple.
Amid the noise and constant shoving of the crowds all around me, I began to feel mentally exhausted within just a few moments.
I considered turning back, but when I turned around and looked behind me, I saw an endless sea of people standing there.
The scenic shots of Kedarnath featured in Instagram reels are typically captured using drones, angles that conveniently hide the jostling crowds. But unlike drones, we humans cannot simply fly through the air, can we?
As time went on, my mental exhaustion became worse because of physical exhaustion.
As horses passed through the dense crowd, they frequently bumped into people.
At one point, the crowd became so heavy that several horses got frightened and started running wildly, creating complete chaos all around.
Some horses even threw the tourists riding on their backs to the ground.
After walking for two to three hours, I became so exhausted that I stepped off the trail and sat down by the side of the path.
The sounds of people shouting and screaming could be heard all around me.
The stench from the horses passing along the trail was so overpowering that many people were walking with their hands clamped over their mouths; the foul o
dor even caused some people to vomit.
The Kedarnath trek is already difficult to begin with. It is neither as beautiful nor as effortless as it is portrayed in social media reels and videos.
The trek becomes much more difficult when it is overrun by an endless, jostling crowd of people.
I witnessed several elderly pilgrims growing dizzy and collapsing to the ground. There was just one thing I felt relieved about: that I had not brought my parents along on this trek.
This was merely the beginning of my Kedarnath travel experience; ahead lay experiences I had never even imagined.
The Overcrowded Reality Outside Kedarnath Temple
After many hours of travel and overcoming many hardships, I somehow reached the temple by the grace of Lord Mahadev. But what I saw on reaching the temple broke me mentally.
Countless people stood gathered all around the temple. At several spots, there was pushing and shoving. The lines of people waiting for hours seemed to stretch on forever.
Amidst the pushing crowd, many people, both young and old, were getting crushed.
Many pilgrims were screaming, yet amidst the loud chants of “Har Har Mahadev,” no one could hear their cries for help.
The crowd outside the temple was so dense that many people, myself included, struggled even to breathe.
👉 Many devotees who struggle with overcrowded pilgrimages now prefer peaceful spiritual journeys like this Varanasi Itinerary for 2 Days.
There are several such points along the Kedarnath trek where, if you remain standing amidst the crowd, you cannot even breathe properly.
The breath of the people standing around me carried a foul smell. Surrounded on all sides by screams and deafening noise, I began to develop a splitting headache.
My legs felt as though they had stopped working entirely. I was extremely thirsty, yet the crowd was so thick that I could not even make my way to get some water.
Silently, within the sanctuary of my mind, I began to meditate upon Lord Mahadev.
Gradually, the queue began to move inside the temple.
Pilgrims planning to visit Kedarnath should also complete their registration through the official Char Dham registration portal before travelling:
I had imagined that, once inside, I would offer my prayers to Lord Mahadev in a peaceful atmosphere; however, even this dream of mine remained unfulfilled.
And then when it was my turn for darshan (sacred viewing), just as I was about to fold my hands in prayer to Mahadev, I was pulled out by a security guard and told, “Come on, get out now; the crowd has grown too large.”
I couldn’t even get a proper view of Mahadev inside the Kedarnath temple, let alone offer actual prayers to Him.
This incident left me deeply disappointed, but my Kedarnath Travel experience was not over yet.
How Pilgrims Are Being Robbed in Kedarnath
Without having the darshan of Lord Mahadev, I started making my way down from the temple. The way down was also extremely crowded.
I was extremely thirsty and hungry. At a small shop located just a short distance from the temple, I asked for a bottle of water.
The shopkeeper charged me four times the actual price for that bottle of water. To put it simply, he took advantage of my helpless situation and robbed me.
There were thousands of pilgrims like me there who were being overcharged by locals every single minute.
Some people were being robbed in the name of food, while others were paying unbelievably high prices for bottled water.
The price of almost every item there had increased to nearly five times its original cost.
Even then, people continued spending money and somehow kept moving toward the temple just to catch a glimpse of Lord Mahadev.
To be honest, the spiritual peace I had come to Kedarnath searching for was something I could not truly feel there during my Kedarnath travel experience.
The litter scattered everywhere only made the beauty of Kedarnath feel even more disappointing.
The Peace I Found After My Kedarnath Journey
From my Kedarnath travel experience, I learned that one should never visit Kedarnath with elderly people or small children.
During my Kedarnath travel experience, I certainly learned one thing: never take your parents—or any elderly person—to Kedarnath relying solely on a helicopter.
Do not make the mistake of visiting Kedarnath between May and June; otherwise, you may have much to regret.
You may not be aware that YouTubers and social media influencers risk their lives to visit Kedarnath during the final days of October, just as the shrine is about to close for the season due to heavy snowfall.
During these final days of October, the crowds of pilgrims are very sparse, while the cold becomes extremely severe. Roads also frequently become impassable due to heavy snowfall.
It is during this time that YouTubers visit Kedarnath to capture stunning snow-covered landscapes through their cameras and drones, later making those videos go viral on the internet.
Other YouTubers then take these same videos, edit them, and upload them to their own channels.
In this way, a single video of Kedarnath is repurposed with different effects to create Instagram Reels.
Most of these Instagram Reels are actually AI-generated; that is why we see absolutely no crowds at the temple, and the roads appear to be in perfect condition.
Do not make the mistake of planning a trip to Kedarnath solely based on what you see in Instagram Reels or YouTube videos.
If you have a passion for trekking, then by all means go ahead and visit; however, do not take along anyone who is unaccustomed to such crowded and chaotic environments.
I returned home from the Kedarnath pilgrimage with my parents. Upon reaching home, all three of us fell ill.
We took medication for three days and shared the details of our Kedarnath travel experience with our family doctor.
Three days later, as I was leaving for work, my gaze fell upon the Shiva temple situated right across from our house.
I entered the temple, only to find that, aside from the priest, there was no one else there. I sat before the Shivling for some time, closed my eyes, and lost myself in the deep peace of that temple.
👉 True peace is not always found in crowds. Many devotees also visit these 7 Powerful Temples for Career Success in India in search of spiritual strength and inner peace.
Would you like to share your Kedarnath travel experience with us? If so, please be sure to let us know in the comments so that others can receive helpful advice.
