Places to Visit in Badrinath
Village Mana (3 km)
Not very far from Badrinath, on the banks of river Saraswati, is a beautiful village ‘Mana’. Mana is inhabited by Indo-Mongolian tribe and is the last Indian village before Indo-China Border.
Bheempul
A little beyond Mana village is this legendary rock bridge over Saraswati river. Maintained ever-since, the bridge is said to have been originally built by Bheema, who placed a huge rock over the river to make it conducive for Draupadi to cross it. River Saraswati roaring down, from between the mountains, makes a beautiful sight.
Vyas Gufa
Close to Mana village is a rock cave where Maharishi Vyas is said to have meditated and composed the great Indian epic of Mahabharata.
Inside the cave, a rock formation appears to resemble an orderly stacking of palm-leaf manuscripts, the oldest writing material and is worshipped as ‘Vyas Pustak’.
Ganesha Cave
Another natural cave, where Ganesha is said to have written Mahabharata as dictated by sage Vyas from Vyas Gufa.
Charanpaduka (3 km)
A steep climb from town leads to a beautiful meadow, carpeted with wild flowers in summers, in which lies a huge boulder bearing the footprints of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is believed to have stepped on this boulder while descending on earth from Vaikunth (His heavenly abode).
Hot Water Springs
Badrinath has a couple of hot water springs like Tapt Kund and Surya Kund which are believed to have curative properties.
