Char Dham winter closing dates confirmed: Gangotri 10 November, Kedarnath and Yamunotri 11 November, Badrinath 16 November 2026

The 2026 Char Dham season now has a firm end date. The closing muhurats for the four shrines were fixed on Vijayadashami, 20 October, and ThePrint reported that the Badrinath doors will shut at 9.37 pm on 16 November, with the utsav doli leaving for its winter seat the next day. Gangotri closes on 10 November at 12.05 pm during the Annakut rituals, and Kedarnath and Yamunotri both close on 11 November.

On 27 October the Rudraprayag district administration confirmed the Kedarnath detail: the portals close at 8.30 am on Bhai Dooj, the palanquin leaves the shrine the same day and reaches Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath on 13 November. Two high routes that riders care about more than pilgrims close even earlier. Tungnath shuts on 6 November, with the deity reaching Makkumath on 8 November, and Madmaheshwar closes on 16 November.

What the dates mean for a driver or rider

Treat the closing dates as the outer edge, not the plan. Snow has already arrived. ThePrint reported on 25 October that Yamunotri had its first snowfall of the season, with the Panch Panda Committee saying about 6,000 pilgrims came up on the Saturday, and temple officials asking visitors to carry their medicines and travel carefully. At Gangotri and Kedarnath heights, a single wet spell in the first half of November can put black ice on shaded corners by early morning. If you are going, aim for the first week of November rather than the last two days, and budget 2 to 3 days of slack for weather.

Registration is still mandatory. The Uttarakhand government's yatra registration and tourist care portal says online registration for Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib is open, that it is compulsory under state policy before you start, and that the registration letter carries a QR code which has to be verified at each shrine. The same portal points to the Tourist Care Uttarakhand and SACHET apps. Registration is free, so there is no reason to skip it and argue at a check post.

The quieter drive starts after closing

Once the portals shut, the deities move down to winter seats that stay road connected. Gangotri's doli goes to Mukhba in the Ganga valley, Yamunotri's to Kharsali, and Kedarnath's to Ukhimath. For anyone who dislikes yatra season traffic, late November to February is the better Garhwal drive: Harsil, Mukhba, Kharsali, Ukhimath and Chopta with a fraction of the vehicles. The trade off is cold, early sunset, shut dhabas and roads that can close for days after snowfall. Carry proper warm kit, keep fuel topped up well before Uttarkashi or Joshimath, and treat any high link road as a day to day call by the district administration rather than a fixed route.

A record season by footfall

The numbers explain why the hill roads felt busy all summer. As of the 20 October announcement, 56.19 lakh pilgrims had visited the four shrines since the season opened on 19 April. Badrinath led with 20.69 lakh, Kedarnath had 17.65 lakh, Gangotri 9.45 lakh and Yamunotri 8.38 lakh. Earlier in the season, the state had already logged 25,76,149 registrations by 30 April, with Kedarnath alone at 9,09,432.

Plan around those crowds next April, and for now check with the district administration and police before committing to any late season run.

Sources

• Kedarnath Temple portals to close on Nov 11, ThePrint, 27 October 2026
• Badrinath Dham portals to close on 16 November, ThePrint Hindi, 20 October 2026
• Gangotri Dham portals to close on 10 November, ThePrint Hindi, 19 October 2026
• First snowfall of the season at Yamunotri Dham, ThePrint Hindi, 25 October 2026
• Char Dham Yatra registration and Tourist Care Uttarakhand portal, Government of Uttarakhand
• Record registrations for Chardham Yatra 2026, Devdiscourse