Discover the spiritual essence of the Indian Himalayas with the legendary Char Dham Yatra – a pilgrimage that touches the very heart of Hindu tradition. This sacred journey leads you to four divine destinations:
Badrinath: The abode of Lord Vishnu
Kedarnath: Where Lord Shiva’s presence is eternal
Gangotri: The source of the holy Ganges
Yamunotri: Birthplace of the revered Yamuna River
Known as the ‘Four Abodes’, this pilgrimage is more than just a trek – it’s a transformative experience that cleanses the soul and opens the path to spiritual liberation. As you navigate challenging terrains, you’ll find yourself on a journey of self-discovery, mirroring the path to enlightenment.
Seekers from across the world undertake this revered yatra to receive divine blessings, achieve purification, and take a step closer to moksha – freedom from the cycle of rebirth.
NOTE:
GUIDELINES:
Flight Timings:
This is a daily fixed departure helicopter tour and all departure timings for each destination are pre-planned. Therefore, passengers must ensure to leave the hotel as per the scheduled estimated time of departure each day of the tour, or else the delayed or No show shall be treated as cancelled without any refund.
Helicopter & VIP Restrictions:
Helicopters flying pilgrims in the Chardham sector are mainly single-engine machines and the maximum seating capacity is 06 passengers + 01 pilot. Single-engine helicopters are debarred from flying the following VIP as per DGCA SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). Speaker Lok Sabha
Dy. Chairperson Rajya Sabha
• Central Ministers of Cabinet Rank
.CJI Supreme Court Governors of State
. Chief Ministers of State
· State Ministers of Cabinet Rank SPG Protected – Z category only.
Helicopter Weight Limitation:
The maximum weight capacity of the helicopter is 450 kgs (excluding baggage weight). Passengers are taken on board depending upon the load, weather, temperature conditions, etc and the pilot’s call shall be final. The total weight of all passengers on board must be within this limit. Hence, passengers are required to provide us with their exact weights with heavy clothes at the time of booking in order to shuffle passengers between helicopters to maintain the right weight of the helicopter for safe flying.
Baggage Allowances:
Only one baggage weighing a maximum of 5 kg is allowed per passenger. Guests are not permitted to carry suitcases or any other bags in the helicopter due to size constraints of boot space in a helicopter. Therefore, only duffle/handbags are to be carried on the tour. In view of helicopters’ limited weight-carrying capacity, operators reserve the right to shuffle passengers between helicopters to manage the right weight for safe flying in the hills. Therefore, passengers traveling together may not be accommodated in the same helicopter flight at times on way to the same destination.
Note:- Guests are strongly advised to disclose the accurate body weight with clothes/shoes/handbags on at the time of booking and any major variation might lead to the unfortunate deboarding of such passenger without any refund. The Pilot & the operation crew of the aviation crew shall have the final call on the same.
Single Person Supplement:
The pilgrims are charged per seat basis on a double/twin accommodation sharing basis at all destinations and the separate single occupancy room if any, shall be chargeable @ INR 40,000/- per person for Chardham 5 Nights / 6 Days (Tax Inclusive). Over & above the package cost.
Infant / Senior Citizen Policy:
Children below 02 years are treated as infants and are accommodated free of charge along with guardians. For verification of the age of the child, ID proof/birth certificate shall be checked before boarding. Children above 02 years flying by helicopters are considered adults as per DGCA SOP and are thus charged at par with an adult. Moreover, there are no provisions for any discount for senior citizns.
Hotels/ Charges:
Hotels at all destinations except Dehradun are non-star category but are the best available as of date with all amenities including Western Commode, cozy mattresses & hot running water. The package includes the accommodation in twin/double sharing & meals (Non-Onion Non-Garlic) only for the nights mentioned in the final itinerary and any extension beyond the same due to any reason whatsoever, shall be chargeable to the guests on an actual/ direct basis by the hotel.
Land Transfers:
Land transfers at Dehradun & Gangotri are by Innova, whereas suitable local cabs are used in Sersi/Phata/Guptkashi (Helicopter bases of Kedarnath) & Badrinath.
Mobile Network:
Network connectivity at Harshil & Badrinath is poor and BSNL & Jio are the main telecom services active in the region.
Medication:
All temples in the Chardham sector are located at a high altitude of about 10,000 feet and thus the passengers are advised to consult their doctor before commencing the journey and not to forget to carry their personal medication as prescribed. However, the Government of Uttarakhand shall be operating local medical centers’ at Chardham Circuit to attend to any medical emergencies.
Rescheduling:
Request for replacing passenger or rescheduling the booking shall be entertained subject to suitability of body weight and the availability of seats but only after payment of 20% extra of the tour cost. No refund shall be applicable if the request for rescheduling/replacing is not processed owing to different reasons within 24 Hrs from its first official notification and the pilgrims don’t wish to fly on previously reserved dates with original passengers.
Cancellation – COVID-19 / National – State Emergency:
In case passenger(s) test COVID positive or the yatra gets terminated by the government or any National or State emergency is imposed, there shall be no refunds applicable beyond the refund policies mentioned above. However, passengers shall be provided with a credit voucher against the amount (Applicable refund minus service and flight management charges @ 5% of total cost, which shall remain valid for one year from its issuance, and can be utilized against any other helicopter tours or charter services by the passengers or any of their friends/relatives
Bad Weather & Force Majeure Disclaimer:
Clothing:
Guests are advised to carry heavy woolen because the temperature drops drastically during the night. There are no set guidelines for clothing to be worn within temple premises but the formal clothing should be comfortable & trekking-friendly.
COVID Travel Guidelines:
COVID-19 protocols shall be followed by the passengers and the operator as well as per prevailing government guidelines. Boarding can be denied to the passengers without refund if found not adhering to the same.
Payment Terms:
30% of the tour package shall be paid in advance to get confirmation of the booking by official mail and Appx
70% is to be paid 30 days prior to the yatra date. The full payment must be made 15 days before the date of yatra ex-Dehradun (or any other helicopter base). Any delay in payment on the due date shall invite the cancellation of the booking without any refund. Passengers shall not be permitted to board or commence the tour unless full & final payment of the tour is made on the due dates.
Cancellation and Refund Policy:
. Any moment after booking with an advance -30% cancellation and 70% refund of total tour cost.
.30 days or fewer prior to travel date – 70% Cancellation and 30% refund of total tour cost.
.15 days or fewer prior to the travel date – 100% cancellation and No refund of total tour cost.
•No show or after commencement of the tour – 100% cancellation and No refund of total tour cost.
Note:-The cancellation and refund policies are drafted after having carefully catered to the different policies of all aviation companies operating Chardham helicopter tours within Uttarakhand. The cancellation fee is charged to compensate for the lost/ forced low-priced seats, flight planning efforts, Services/flight management charges, and crew positioning costs at all destinations on the entire tour due to Force Majeure reasons (Beyond our control due to any reason). A full refund minus 5% of the tour cost shall only be applicable if the entire tour gets cancelled due to the above-cited reasons or bad weather/International/ National / State emergencies due to force majeure reasons.
Our services will start with pickup, either from the airport or Railway station. Our tour starts from next day, however today’s stay in Dehradun is a complimentary sojourn organized by the company for the guests. We will drive to the hotel to check in. The rest of the day is free for you to relax or explore the city of Dehradun. OVERNIGHT STAY – DEHRADUN
Our journey starts early in the morning as the weather tends to stay
stable in the morning. We will take pack breakfast from the hotel & will check out and drive to the helipad for our flight. Load being an essential part of the helicopter flying logistics, we only allow maximum 5kgs of luggage to be carried by each passenger. The reshuffling of the luggage can be done the previous night itself so that you are not in a rush to leave for the charter. The extra baggage can be stored in the hotel. It takes around 10 mins drive from the hotel to the sahastradhara helipad. We take off for Kharsali helipad. Our staff at Kharsali will receive you and take you to your hotel tocheck in and later we will begin our journey for Yamunotri Dham. We can take Palkis or ponies as per availability. The trek is approximately 6 kms long and takes around 5-6 hours to complete the round trip. We will be back to the resort by afternoon and stay overnight at the hotel.
OVERNIGHT STAY-KHARSALI
Today after breakfast we will check out from the hotel and head towards the helipad to catch our flight to Gangotri. The helipad we land at is called Harsil, one of the most beautiful and scenic sites in the Chardham sector. Our staff will lead you to the hotel for check in. The Gangotri Dham is around 25 kms from Harsil and takes around an hour to drive. We will head out in our cars for gangotri Dham. The round trips take around 3 to 3.5 hours. Once back you can explore the beautiful localities like the shiv temple in Harsil, walks to villages like Bagodi and mukwa. OVERNIGHT STAY – HARSIL
Post breakfast we check out from the hotel and head out to the helipad for our next flight to Phata or Guptkashi. Once there we, as per the guidelines of the state govt, change the helicopter and switch to the shuttle service, which will take us to the Kedarnath Temple. The temple is only around 500mts from the helipad at Kedarnath dham.
It approximately takes around 2 hours to do the darshan at temple. If time permits then you can also visit the Bhairon mandir (Optional). Later we fly back in the shuttle service to Phata/guptkashi and head to the hotel.
NOTE – There might be a waiting time of around 1 to 2 hours at phata to switch to shuttle service. As much as we would like to expedite the transfer to shuttle, multiple factors like backlog, weather, passenger load at shuttle service affect the logistics resulting in the wait. OVERNIGHT STAY – PHATA/SERSI/GUPTKASHI
After breakfast we will head to the Phata/ Guptkashi helipad to catch our flight to Badrinath ji. We land at helipad close to Badrinath. We will take the cars and drive to our hotel in Badrinath to check in. Later in the day we will head out to visit the temple. It takes approximately around 1 – 2 hours to do the Darshan. Other attractions at badrinath are hot springs, evening arti (on direct payment basis) and if time permits then we can also visit mana village, the last village on the indian side before the Tibet border. This would be the completion of our chardham yatra and next day we head back to Dehradun. OVERNIGHT STAY BADRINATH
After breakfast we will check out and drive to the helipad at Badrinath. Our estimated time of arrival in sahastradhara would be around 0815 AM. Once there we can drive to the hotel to collect the baggage and then head to airport or railway station. End of services