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Gaurikund sits at 1,982 metres in the Mandakini valley of Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand. The site has two distinct sacred dimensions: as the base-camp for the 16-kilometre Kedarnath trek, and as a tirtha in its own right associated with Goddess Gauri (Parvati). Tradition holds that Parvati, daughter of the Himalaya, came to this exact spot to perform tapas for the boon of Shiva as her husband — bathing daily in the hot springs that flowed naturally here.

The hot spring (kund) is the focal sacred feature of Gaurikund itself. Water emerges from underground at approximately 35-40°C. The original large stone tank was largely destroyed in the 2013 floods; a smaller, restored kund now receives the spring for bathing pilgrims. Pilgrims starting the Kedarnath trek bathe here on the morning of their departure; the warmth eases stiff muscles before the long uphill walk. The Gauri Mata Mandir, a small Devi shrine on a low rise above the kund, is visited before pilgrims begin the trek — a bow to the goddess of the place before climbing to her consort Kedarnath.

The trek to Kedarnath

The 16-kilometre trek from Gaurikund to Kedarnath is one of the great pilgrim walks of India. Pilgrims start at dawn, walk through pine and rhododendron forests for the first half, then cross the high meadows of Lincholi and Rambada (the latter washed away in the 2013 Kedarnath floods and partially rebuilt), and finally reach Kedarnath at 3,583m. The trek takes 7-8 hours one-way at a comfortable pace. Helicopters operate from Phata, Sersi, and Guptkashi for pilgrims who cannot trek; Gaurikund itself is also the helicopter pickup-back point for the return.