The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), South Zone, Chennai, in association with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board has launched an exclusive ‘Kedar-Badri-Kartik (Murugan) Koil Yathirai’ tour package for tourists which consists of confirmed helicopter tickets to Kedarnath.
The tour starts on June 20 and concludes on July 2. The IRCTC will operate a Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train with 10 AC 3-tier coaches as part of this tour package from Madurai to Rishikesh with boarding points at Dindigul, Tiruchi, Villupuram, Chennai Egmore, Vijayawada, and Warangal.
Explaining the salient features of the tour package, the IRCTC, South Zone Group General Manager P. Rajalingam Basu told reporters in Tiruchi on Monday that the destinations covered will be Rishikesh, Rudraprayag, Guptkashi, Kedarnath, Joshimath, and Badrinath.
The package cost per person under the “standard” category is ₹58,946 while it is ₹62,353 under the “Deluxe” category for the 12 nights/ 13 days tour. Bookings had begun for this package, Mr. Rajalingam Basu said. A total of 100 tickets had been booked so far.
The plan was to take 300 tourists under this package. The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board will make arrangements to take tourists in groups in helicopters from Rudraprayag to Guptkashi and to Kedarnath and back under this package. The journey to Kartik Swami temple from Rudraprayag by road would be around four hours to cover a distance of 95 km. The package cost includes the chopper ride, Mr. Basu said.
One of the salient features of this tour is that the night stays will be provided at Rishikesh, Rudraprayag and Joshimath in non-airconditioned home stays/guest house/budget hotels. Morning tea, breakfast, lunch, and dinner (vegetarian) will be provided onboard train during the journey. Offboard meals (vegetarian) would be provided in good quality restaurants/hotels/banquets as per the itinerary.
All transfers and sightseeing would be by non-AC buses with local tour escorts. Security would be provided on board the train and the IRCTC Tour Manager will travel throughout the tour for necessary assistance.
Information regarding reservations and other details could be obtained from the IRCTC Tourism Information and Facilitation Centres in Tiruchi (8287932070), Madurai (8287931977/ 8287932122), Coimbatore (9003140655), Chennai (9003140739/8287931964) and on the website www.irctctourism.com.
The IRCTC, South Zone, had operated 15 Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains in 2023-2024 to popular tourist and religious circuits besides organising leisure tours to various places across the country, Mr. Basu said. The response for the packages from the tourists was good, he added.
