Pilgrimage by air
Chardham yatra by helicopter
All four dhams — Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath — flown across a compressed itinerary, with ground movements and darshan timings arranged as one journey.
What flying changes
The Chardham circuit takes ten to twelve days by road. Flown, it takes a fraction of that — and for older pilgrims that difference is often the difference between making the journey and not making it. The roads are long, the altitude accumulates across the week, and the trek to Kedarnath defeats a great many people who set out fully intending to complete it.
What we arrange is the flying, the ground movements and the darshan timings, held together as one itinerary rather than assembled as you go. The helicopter sectors are flown by the operators permitted to fly them; the planning, the coordination and the desk you deal with are ours.
Sector detail and itinerary length are confirmed against your dates. We do not publish a schedule we cannot hold.
The shrines
Where you land
Yamunotri
The source shrine of the Yamuna, at roughly 3,290 metres. The first of the four, and the hardest of them to reach on foot — which is the reason many pilgrims choose to fly it.
Gangotri
Where the Ganga is honoured at its source, at roughly 3,100 metres. The temple stands beside the river at the point the goddess is said to have descended to earth.
Kedarnath
One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, at roughly 3,580 metres, with the Mandakini below and the Kedarnath range behind it. The road stops a long way short of the temple.
Badrinath
The Vishnu shrine at roughly 3,130 metres, in the valley between the Nar and Narayan peaks. The only one of the four that the road reaches directly.
Booking
How a yatra is arranged
Tell us the yatra and dates
Numbers travelling, ages, and any mobility or medical considerations. Those three decide most of the planning.
We confirm availability
Sectors, timings, ground arrangements and total cost, itemised and in writing before anything is committed.
Passenger details
Names, ages, weights and identification. Weights are a load-planning requirement at altitude, not paperwork.
Reporting and departure
You receive reporting times and a named ground contact for each day of the journey.
Coordination & assistance
Handled end to end
The flying
Helicopter sectors booked and confirmed with the operators permitted to fly them.
The ground
Transfers, accommodation and the movement between helipad and temple, arranged as one chain.
The darshan
Timings coordinated with the temple arrangements rather than left to be assembled on arrival.
Travel notes & safety
What flying does not change
Three things decide whether a Himalayan sortie flies, and none of them are negotiable by price. Better to know them before you book than on the morning you were meant to depart.
Weather sets the schedule
Cloud base, visibility and wind are assessed each morning. Sorties are held when conditions do not meet the standard.
Altitude reduces payload
Helicopters carry less at these elevations. Passenger weights are collected in advance and used for load calculation.
Build in a contingency day
If your dates cannot move, the mountain will still not move for them. Plan a spare morning wherever you can.
Pilgrims have been travelling to these temples for a very long time. The mountain sets the schedule, not the operator.
Enquiries
Check availability for the Chardham
Tell us your dates and the number travelling. Availability, the itinerary and an itemised cost come back in writing.