Char Dham is a holy pilgrimage that consists of four pilgrimage sites. It is believed that every Hindu should visit these four abodes in order to attain moksha(salvation). Char Dham is a sacred pilgrimage and often challenging for the pilgrims.
In order to complete the Char Dham the pilgrims have to visit four different sites all over India. The four main ‘dhams’ are the places of Lord Vishnu and Rameshwaram is of lord Shiva. All the ‘dhams’ are related to four epochs (1) Dham of Satyug- Badrinath, Uttarakhand (2) Dham of Tretayug -Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu (3) Dham of Dwaperyug – Dwarika, Gujarat (4) Dham of Kaliyug – Jaganath Puri, Odisha.
- Dham of Satyug – Dham of Satyug – Dahm of Satyug is Badrinaath in Uttarakhand. Unlike all the Dhams which are open all year, Badrinaath is only open for pilgrims from April to October. There are various sight seeing such as Nilkantha Peak, Vyas Gufa, Mana amd the Mukh of Saraswati River.
- Dham of Tretayug – Rameshwaram is the next destiantion for the pilgrims. According to the legends, Rameshwaram is the place where Lord Ram and his brother Laxman built the famous Ram Setu bridge to reach Lanka to rescue Sita from Ravana. The place is occupied by the majestic Ramantha Swamy temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Rameshwaram is very important to the devotees as without Rameshwaram no pilgrimage to Benaras is complete.
- Dham of Dwaperyug – Dwarka is the third destination of the Char Dham. It is in Gujarat and is famous as being the dwelling city of Lord Krishna. Also, some other places to visit are the Gomti river, Devaraka and the Lord Krishna temple.
- Dham of Kalyug – Puri is the final place of the sacred Char Dham. The city is dedicated to Lord Jagannatha. The evening aarti at the Jagannatha temple is often considered one of the most spiritual experience for the devotees.