Hotels in Gaurikund, Uttarakhand

Gaurikund is the trailhead for Kedarnath. It sits at about 1,980 m in Rudraprayag district, at the end of the motorable road, and the roughly 16 km walk to the temple starts here. It is not a place people visit for its own sake — it is where you sleep so that you can start walking early.

Private vehicles do not reach Gaurikund. They stop at Sonprayag, a few kilometres below, and shared jeeps run the last stretch up. Plan for that transfer when you are working out arrival times, especially late in the day.

Staying at the trailhead

Rooms at Gaurikund are simple pilgrim accommodation — attached bathrooms, hot water, meals, clean bedding. Nobody comes here for the amenities. What you are paying for is the twenty minutes of sleep you gain by not driving up from Sonprayag at 4am, and that is a fair trade for most people.

The property Pulp Hotels lists on this stretch, Behl Ashram, is on the trekking way near Gauri Mata Temple and appears under hotels in Kedarnath, since that is the city it is filed under. It runs two-bed, four-bed and five-bed rooms.

Getting here

Come via Rishikesh or Haridwar, then Rudraprayag, Guptkashi and Sonprayag. It is a long drive — a full day from Haridwar in good conditions. From Sonprayag take the shared jeep. Char Dham registration on the Uttarakhand tourism portal is mandatory before you travel.

When to come

The season follows the temple: it opens around Akshaya Tritiya in late April or early May and closes around Bhai Dooj in October or November. Gaurikund effectively shuts outside those dates. May, June, September and October are busiest. The July–August monsoon brings landslides and road closures across Garhwal.

What the day actually looks like

Most people staying here are up between three and five in the morning. The queue for the trek gate forms early, ponies and palanquins are arranged at the trailhead rather than booked ahead, and the walk takes six to nine hours going up. Weather turns fast above Rambara, so an early start is not about beating crowds so much as being off the exposed sections before afternoon.

Coming down the same day is common but hard, and many travellers underestimate it. If you intend to return to Gaurikund the same evening, hold your room for that night rather than checking out in the morning — arriving back after dark with nowhere booked is a bad end to a long day.

What to check before booking

• Hot water and heating — nights are cold here through the whole season.
• Room occupancy, since group rooms are the standard here.
• Whether meals are included.
• How early the kitchen opens, if you plan a pre-dawn start.
• Cancellation terms, because weather closes this route regularly.

Alternatives if Gaurikund is full

Most travellers fall back to Guptkashi, about ninety minutes down the valley, which has more rooms and a lower altitude to sleep at. Sitapur and Phata are also common. For the route as a whole, see hotels in Kedarnath and the Gaurikund travel guide.

Frequently asked questions