Ancient route Pandavas used for Char Dham to be thrown open for all soon

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The Uttarakhand government has said it plans to open to the public the ancient routes for Char Dham that are believed to have been used by rishis, munis, and the Pandavas.</p>
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The routes considered to be 3,000 years old were discovered again by a group of 25 trekkers about 8 months ago.</p>
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Many still believe that route was the “ancient trail” taken by the Pandavas as was mentioned in the Mahabharata. Until the 1940s, however, when the route was known, pilgrims would start from Haridwar and complete the journey to the Char Dham shrines in 14 days. The route was abandoned after motorable roads were built.</p>
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Uttarakhand Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami released a documentary that was made on the journey and also made details of the route public via a book release and said that the government was inclined to “open it for all”. He said, “The trek routes will give a new dimension to the state’s religious tourism.”</p>
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The expedition team, comprising trekking experts, personnel from the State Disaster Response Force, and the forest department, started their journey from Rishikesh and took an old “walking route” to all the four shrines, covering a distance of 1,156 km.</p>
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They crossed 24 different terrains, considered to be among the toughest in the Garhwal hills, before returning on December 24.</p>
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The expedition team found several ‘chattis’ (open rest houses) along the way.</p>
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Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “These rest stops had their own significance. If a devotee would forget his belongings at a chatti, people would tell him not to worry as he would find them at the exact spot he left them when he came back."</p>