Entitled as one of the most sacred places on the Earth and the oldest of Hindu places of worship, Badrinath is located in the panoramic view of Himachal Pradesh. Badrinath, one of the four main dhams in India is on the right bank of the river Alaknanda and lies this sacred shrine perched at an altitude of 3133 m above sea level, guarded on either side by the two mountain peaks Nar & Narain with the towering Neelkanth peak providing a splendid back-drop.

The holy place is also known as Vishal Badri, the largest among the five Badris, it is revered by all as the apt tribute to Lord Vishnu. Every year, thousands of devotes from all parts of the world come to pay homage to this famous shrine even without caring their life because the way is considered as very risky to death.

It would not be wrong to say that Badrinath is the most important of four destinations in India’s Chardham Pilgrimage. Badrinath is one of the most blessed towns for Hindus. It is one of the most famous Hindu pilgrimage centers very popular retreat with the towering Neelkanth Peak in the background. For ancient times, this holy town has been a sacred ground of many saints and sages who came here looking for Moksha (deliverance). The hallowed town of Badrinath has a lot to offer in terms of tourism especially for pilgrims.

The Badrinath Temple and the Badrikasharam are major centres of attraction in Badrinath. Tapt Kund (Hot water pool), Surya Kund, etc are also attractions of the town. This city also attracts nature lovers as well as pilgrims. The surrounding of the town is scenic and provides great treat for visitors’ eyes. The main entrance gate is colourful & impressive commonly known as Singhdwar.

Orientations to Sri Badrinath have been made in the Vedas & perhaps it was a popular shrine during the Vedic age also. The Skand Purana gives an account of the Adiguru sanctifying the statue of Lord Badri Vishal in the place of worship after recuperating it from Narad Kund, in a pursuance of a celestial call from heaven. The idol is made of black stone similar to granite. So holy is the shrine that it forms one of the four prominent places of Hindu worship.

The epic Mahabharat, it is believed, was composed in the Vyas & ganesh caves close by. The Vishnu Ganga which later becomes the Alaknanda flows below the temple. Almost 3 km north of Badrinath, mana is the last Indian village before the Tibetan border. The Vasudhara falls are quite spectacular. On the closing day the residents of Mana offer a choli to the divinity to envelop the divine being all the coldness. It is taken off on the opening day & its fibers are dispersed surrounded by the pilgrims as a maha prasadam.

The temple is opened in the month of April-May & closed for winters in the third week of November every eyar. Badrinath's four supplementary Badris include Bhavishya Badri, Yogdhyan Badri, Bridha Badri and Adi badri. It is popularly believed that with spread of Buddhism, the Buddhists enshrined the statue of Lord Buddha there and during the Hindu resurgence; the statue of Buddha was later restored by Adi Guru as the idol of Vishnu. This possibly explains the deity sitting in Padmasan posture, typical of Buddha icons. However, also according to Hindu mythology, Buddha was considered to be the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.