A little over a kilometre’s trek from Kedarnath, the Rudra meditation cave, about 3,500 metres above sea level, is booked out for April. It has a 75% booking for May and 65% for June, during the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand, scheduled to start on April 22, 2023.
The caves had shot to fame after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent 17 hours in it during his visit to Uttarakhand in 2019, on the final day of the general elections. The draw of the meditation caves or kutirs, as they appear, now three in all, is a window that offers a view of the spectacular Kedarnath valley.
The meditation caves were booked 103 times in the year 2019, but only 36 times in 2020 due to the onset of COVID, while it had no takers during the yatra in 2021 as the stay was restricted due to the pandemic. In 2022, 64 people placed bookings, said the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN — Rudraprayag and Pauri) regional manager Sudarshan Khatri.
The official of GMVN — an enterprise of the Uttarakhand government with a vision to promote steady and sustained growth of the travel and tourism sector in the State — added that the concept of the meditation cave was the brainchild of the Prime Minister himself. He wished to see pilgrims meditating in solitude when they visited the shrine after its renovation post the 2013 cloudburst disaster, the official added.
The Rudra, where the Prime Minister had meditated, has a bed, a bell, heater, geyser, and table with a lamp. Guests are offered dry fruits and fresh fruits on their arrival. The other caves only have a bed with other amenities charged separately. The main cave is available for ₹3,000 per night while the rest cost ₹1,500 plus GST.
Also Read | Yogic energy giving direction to global health: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
