The Panch Kedar are traditionally visited in a long arc sweeping from northwest to southeast-Kedarnath, Tungnath, Madhyamaheshwar, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar. The highest, Tungnath and the lowest, Kalpeshwar, make for the easiest access, and September's as good a time as any to seek the blessings of Kedar-one of the manifestations of Shiva.



For Kalpeshwar, find your way to Helang, one hour short of Joshimath, on the Badrinath route. Cross the Alaknanda via a road bridge, and take the metalled track that snakes up the Kalpganga. In less than an hour, you will have climbed well above the gurgling water, into dense pine forest, and the lungs beginning to heave with the strain.

Another hour, and the forest yield to an idyllic sight, of flowers, fruit trees, and terraced fields; a concrete arch proclaims that you have arrived at Urgam. For the next three kilometers, the path climbs gently through oak and pine. On your right, the open fields are densely planted with ramdana, broad terraces yielding to narrower ones, as the valley contours down to the young Kalpganga.

It's about 8km to Devagaon, where guesthouses offer adequate shelter for the night, and excellent home food. The temple is an easy45 minute stroll up valley, and if you want to camp, there are open fields just short of a suspension bridge. Cross it, clamber up a granite boulder, and you will find yourself in a rock shelter that is the last, and lowest, of the Panch Kedar.