Discover Charan Paduka Near Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand

Charan Paduka is at an elevation of 3,380 feet above sea level near Sri Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand. Badrinath is most popular for its Badrinarayan Temple – dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The temple has made Badrinath a world-renowned site, as it is one of the Char Dham and Chota Char Dham. However, Badrinath is not only famous for the temple. It is also well-known for Charan Paduka.

Charan Paduka Badrinath

The Bhagwat Purana also contains a story that gives the Charan Paduka high importance. In this story, Lord Krishna sent his minister Uddav to visit Badrinath in order to get rid of his wrong deeds. Uddhav wore the slippers and left footprints on a boulder, which became etched into the stone.

In the story, Lord Vishnu stepped on this boulder when he stepped down from Vaikunta, which is the celestial abode of the Lord. His divine feet created footprints on the rock, and this auspicious place became known as Charan Paduka.

How to reach

If you’re looking to visit Charan Paduka, it’s just a 3 km trek from Badrinath. The path to get there is located on the left side of the Badrinath temple. Once you’ve walked a few meters, you’ll see stairs leading upwards on your right-hand side.

Follow those stairs and you’ll eventually arrive at Charanpaduka.  which is situated at Narayan Parvat. It usually takes around 1.5 hours to reach Charanpaduka if you’re walking uphill for the entirety of the 3 km journey.

What to expect

The view from Charanpaduka is excellent. On one side you can see Neelkanth peak, and on the other side is Nar Parvat. On the left side of Charanpaduka is Rishi Ganga, flowing through a manmade diversion to create a waterfall. There are several caves and boulders on the path which leads to Charanpaduka.