Hemkunt Sahib to open for pilgrims on May 25
Hemkunt Sahib portals in Chamoli district to open on May 25, with record pilgrim numbers expected this year. Trust and administration cooperate for smooth yatra.
The portals of Hemkunt Sahib, located in Chamoli district, will open on May 25, according to trust chairman NS Bindra.
Bindra met chief secretary Radha Raturi in Dehradun and informed that the Trust has decided that the portals of the shrine will be opened on May 25 and closed on October 10 this year. Raturi assured that the administration will provide full cooperation to the Trust for the smooth conduct of the yatra.
Bindra said last year over 2.62 lakh people had registered for the yatra of which 2.40 lakh visited the shrine. In 2022, 2..47 lakh pilgrims visited the Hemkunt shrine, the highest in the recorded history of the yatra. Over 10,000 pilgrims visited the shrine in 2021, compared to around 8,500 in 2020. In 2019, 2.40 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine. The pilgrims take a trek from Pulna, three kilometres from Govind Ghat to Hemkunt Sahib. After a six-kilometre steep climb, the pilgrims stay overnight at Ghangaria from where they again make their way to Hemkunt Sahib on foot.
The shrine, situated at a height of over 15,000 feet above sea level is a popular centre of Sikh pilgrimage and is visited by millions of devotees from all over the world every summer. Hemkunt is inaccessible because of snow from October to April.