Dehradun is the beginning of your holy journey
Your actual pilgrimage begins from Dehradun. It is the beginning of the sacred journey, a place filled with history, nature and spiritual connections. Here, you must visit some ancient temples, world class educational institutions, and training centers. Dehradun has been recorded  in the holy hindu scriptures too in Ramayana and Mahabharta. The story goes like,  sage Drona trained the Pandavas at his ashram here, which is how the valley received its name Drona's Doon. Walking around Dehradun reveals that it had been the culmination of these places during its long existence. For example  sage’s forest retreat or imperial administrative center or colonial infra and much more. Ultimately now a modern gateway to the Himalayas. It has been beautiful no matter what name it has been called or what purpose it served, Dehradun has been beautiful throughout its entire history. 

Here, you must visit the Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple which is a cave where a natural spring falls on a naturally created Shivalinga dating back before any records have been kept. The seekers have shared that this is the best place to start with, by offering prayers. This cave has a very unique atmosphere, of intimacy and antiquity, provides feelings of the sacred, and allows for a nice opportunity to converse with Lord Shiva. This is right before you actually experience Kedarnath the next morning. We would also like to recommend that, if your time allows, you must visit a forest research institute, which can serve you to prepare your heart and mind for the next day. There is quite an interesting fact associated with the Forest Research Institute related to its infrastructure. The architecture is the mixture of 3 different traditions. You can see the Mughal, Hindu, and European Gothic architectural styles - to form an amazing and unique looking building.  Because of its exceptional beauty and uniqueness, this building has served as a site for location filming for various Bollywood movies, and has been recognized as one of the premier examples of the Indo-Saxonic architectural style in India. We highly recommend that you should take a walk during the golden hour. You may be able to carefully see the grounds of this structure, the size and age of the existing trees create a unique form of silence to prepare oneself for a trek up to the mountains. 

The Drive to Phata through Mandakini Valley
The drive begins in the morning from Dehradun to Phata, which is approximately 4 to 5 hours through Gharwal hills in the Himalayas. This is not just a mere start, but indeed you will be able to feel the air of pilgrimage. This route passes through the yoga capital of India, Rishikesh. Rishikesh is known very well for attracting seekers, sages for many years. The entire surrounding is filled with ancient ashrams, jungles, caves along both banks of Ganga. Ganga is the deity, you will witness a very beautiful jade green state. It flows through Devprayag which is the confluence of the two rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. Devprayag is also the site where Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have composed proportions of his great philosophical theories and commentaries. 
 
This is where the rivers of different colours, blend together ultimately creating River Ganga. It has a history of having been holy ground for thousands of years. And then through Rudraprayag the point at which Alaknanda joins with Mandakini, another holy river associated with Lord Shiva.  It signifies that at Rudraprayag, the road continues to follow the river coming from the very feet of the deity you will be travelling to visit. This period of travel continues to the town named after a sage, Agastmuni and Tilwara. Words will fall short, to describe its beauty. with the Mandakini River flowing into an increasingly majestic valley, with the Himalayas continuing to hold their impressive height, gradually revealing themselves to the traveller as they progress along this route and an increasingly impressive view is offered every kilometer of travel along this route.

Phata, the Helipad 
The Phata Helipad is at an elevation of 2500 meters in Mandakini Valley. As you reach here, you will feel the air getting thinner and colder. From here, you will get a distant glimpse of Snow capped kedarnath peaks. The entire atmosphere at Phata is quite holy and spiritual. You will see the pilgrims and devotees across India and abroad with all kinds of age groups. The whole surrounding is filled with a sense of collectiveness, anticipation and prayer. Just waiting for your helicopter at Phata is a reunion of fellow pilgrims, and is a remarkable instance of shared human experience. Here is an interesting fact about the Phata Helipad. Phata Helipad serves the Kedarnath route via helicopter at an elevation of 2,500m above sea level. It is one of four helipads including Guptkashi, Sirsi and Dehradun. The Phata route takes approximately 10-12 minutes of flight time, making it one of the shortest helicopter routes to reach Kedarnath from any of the four locations; therefore, it is a reliable operationally efficient route for pilgrims travelling at a higher rate than other routes. 

Kedarnath, the final Revelation
Kedarnath is just 500 meters from Helipad, which makes it one of the shortest distances. Now, this is the moment of peace, reflection and prayers. The moment you have been waiting for, your entire life. As soon as you land, you will see the Chorabari Glacier. Also, the three major peaks Kedar Dome, Kedarnath and Chaukhamba. And when you look down, you will be mesmerised to see the Mandakini river. The temple is ancient but small compared to the peaks, yet present before you because they surround you with their presence on either side of you as you stand there waiting for someone to guide you into the temple. You will see Kedarnath and the Kedar Dome, two of the highest mountains in India. On the left and right you will see the snow capped himalayan peaks in golden shade at dawn. And when you enter the winner sanctum of the holy shrine, you will see thousands of illuminated lamps. And the sacred Kedarnath Jyotirlinga, the stone embodiment of God's presence. Which was actually discovered by the Pandavas  and restored here by Adi Shankaracharya, and has had pilgrims pressing their foreheads and palms against it with the most private prayers for over a thousand years.