Annual 'Char Dham' pilgrimage begins from today, portals of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri opened for public

Dehradun: The annual 'Char Dham' pilgrimage in Uttarakhand will begin from Monday on the auspicious ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ festival with the reopening of the Gangotri and the Yamunotri shrines in the Garhwal Himalayas.

According to reports, all the preparations related with the pilgrimage have been done at the Gangotri, Yamunotri Temples in the Uttarkashi district and at the Kedarnath Temple in Rudraprayag district of the state.

The pilgrimage that spans for a period of six months attracts lakhs devotees from country and abroad and is considered as the economic backbone of the Garhwal Himalaya region.

The gates of the temples will be reopened after remaining closed for six months during the winters, whereas, gates of the Badrinath Temple in the Chamoli district will reopen on May 11.

#WATCH: Portals of Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) re-opens for public, Annual 'Char Dham' pilgrimage to begin from today.https://t.co/WqRoDlWypV — ANI (@ANI_news) May 9, 2016

With PTI inputs