Ancient Char Dham route followed by Pandavas to open for public

Dehradun, Aug 4: Uttarakhand state govt has announced that it is planning to open the ancient routes for Char Dham for public, that are believed to have been used by rishis, munis, as well as the Pandavas. A group of 25 trekkers discovered the 3,000 years old ancient routes again around 8 months ago.

 

 

 

 

It is still believe that route was the 'ancient trail' taken by the Pandavas, as mentioned in the Mahabharata. Until the 1940s, however, when the route was known, pilgrims would start from Haridwar and complete the journey to the Char Dham shrines in 14 days. The route was abandoned after motorable roads were built.

 

 

 

 

 

According to India Narrative, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami released a documentary that was made on the journey and also made details of the route public, through a book release and said that the govt was inclined to “open it for all”. He said, “The trek routes will give a new dimension to the state’s religious tourism.”

 

The expedition team, comprising trekking experts, personnel from the State Disaster Response Force, and the forest department, started their journey from Rishikesh and took an old “walking route” to all the four shrines, covering a distance of 1,156 km. The team reportedly crossed 24 different terrains, considered to be among the toughest in the Garhwal hills, before returning on Dec 24, 2021. The expedition team also found several ‘chattis’ (open rest houses) along the way.