the Badrinath - abode of Vishnu at a height of 3133 msl. The temple, which has a colourful facade typical of Budhist temples , lies between the Nar and Narayan mountains and on the bank of river Alaknanda. One of the attractions near the temple is the Tapth Kund which is a natural thermal spring. Badri refers to a berry which grew abundantly in the area and Nath means Lord. Legend says Goddess Lakshmi took the form of berries to provide nourishment to Lord Vishnu who was observing a long penance at that place. It is believed that 2000 years back the great sage Shankaracharya from Kerala re-instated the idol which was thrown into Alaknanda by the Budhists and established an order of Priests called Namboodiris from Kerala which is still being continued. The mountains around Badrinath is mentioned in the Mahabharath. The Pandavs shed their body ascending to Heaven through the Swargarohini. I had trekked to Swargarohini and Satopant tal 3 years back ( link of photo album : http://community.webshots.com/user/sheineshk) which was tough trek through active glaciers. The Badrinath temple is closed during winter between November - May.
There is a village , Mana, 3 km up which is known as the "last village on Indian side" and inhabited by semi nomadic Indo-Mangolian tribe called Marchas. Indo-China border is a few kilometers away. Mana occupied a prominent place on the Indo-Tibet trade route which pass through Mana pass, but the border was closed by China in 1950s. Mana was a prosperous village in 17th century as per the accounts of the Jesuit priests.
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