The doors of Kedarnath Dham closed for the winter on the morning of Wednesday, November 11, ending this year’s pilgrimage season at one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines. The ceremonial palanquin, or doli, of Baba Kedar now travels to the Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath, where winter worship takes place.
Kedarnath, in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, sits at an altitude of more than 3,500 metres, and the winter snow makes the temple unreachable for months. The closing ceremony is one of the most watched religious events in India, with thousands of pilgrims gathering for the final darshan.
A season ends in the snow
The 2026 pilgrimage season drew huge crowds to Kedarnath, as it does every year, with pilgrims walking the steep mountain path or arriving by helicopter. The temple’s closing marks the end of the Char Dham yatra season, the four-temple pilgrimage circuit that includes Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
The doli’s journey down the mountain to Ukhimath is itself a ceremony, with devotees following the palanquin as it moves to its winter home. Worship continues at Omkareshwar through the winter, until the doors reopen in the spring.
A date on the calendar
The closing of Kedarnath is a fixed point in India’s religious calendar, and the images of the snow-covered temple and the departing doli are shared widely every year. For the pilgrims who made it this season, the closing is a moment of farewell — and for those who did not, it is a reminder to plan for next year.
The temple will reopen when the snow clears in the spring, and the doli will make the journey back up the mountain. Until then, Kedarnath waits under the snow.
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