Kedarnath
Haridwar to Kedarnath
Distance, drive time and route options from the railhead at Haridwar to the Kedarnath trailhead at Gaurikund.
- Distance to Gaurikund
- ~245 km
- Drive time
- 9-10 hours
- Route
- Via Rishikesh & Rudraprayag
- Recommended stop
- Guptkashi / Sonprayag
Haridwar, as one of Uttarakhand’s main railway gateways, is a common starting point for pilgrims arriving by train. The route to Kedarnath from here largely mirrors the one from Rishikesh, just with an extra 25 km or so at the start.
The route
From Haridwar, the road runs through Rishikesh before joining the Alaknanda valley route via Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag, continuing on to Guptkashi, Sonprayag and Gaurikund.
Distance and drive time
Gaurikund is roughly 245 km from Haridwar, typically 9-10 hours of driving. As with the Rishikesh route, most travellers break the journey overnight around Guptkashi or Sonprayag rather than pushing straight through.
Why many start in Rishikesh instead
Since the route passes directly through Rishikesh anyway, many travellers arriving in Haridwar by train choose to continue on to Rishikesh first — about 25 km, 40-45 minutes — and start their Kedarnath taxi booking from there, particularly if they also want a night in Rishikesh before heading into the hills.
After Gaurikund
As with any approach, the road ends at Gaurikund. From there it’s the 16 km trek, pony, palki or helicopter up to the temple — see our Kedarnath trek guide for what that stretch involves.
