Temple and significance
The actual temple is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date. According to the Puranas, the Pandava brothers did a major penance in Kedarnath to please Lord Shiva. As a matter of fact, as one enters the main temple, the first hall contains statues of the five Pandava brothers, Lord Krishna, Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva and Virabhadra, one of the greatest guards of Shiva. An unusual feature of the temple is the head of a man carved in the triangular stone fascia of the temple. Such a head is seen carved in another temple nearby, namely the temple constructed on the site of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. No specific family of pujaris supervises rituals at Kedarnath, which focus around veneration of the stone lingam that rests in the inner sanctum of the temple.

See
The temple itself is quite an exquisite example of stone work. Houses the lingam, a symbol of the Hindu God Shiva. The temple is located among astonishing mountain landscape surrounded by peaks that are over 6000 m in elevation. Close to the shrine lies Adi Shankaracharya’s samadhi, where he is believed to have taken rest after establishing the four dhams at an early age of 32 years. At a visible distance from the shrine also lies an ancient Bhairav Temple, beyond which one comes out to green glades and tiny streams, fed by the surrounding (and approachable) glaciers.

Treks leading out from Kedarnath are strenuous. If one arrives here early in the season, glaciers blocking these routes would be a common occurrence - and quite risky since one can never tell the thickness of the ice. Gandhi Sarovar (lake) -and the Chorabari Glacier that feeds the lake - lie the closest, at a distance of 3km, which makes for an hour of trek. Vasuki Tal - which is famous for its blue waters - is at 7km, and involves very difficult climb and crossing glaciers. It generally takes one 4-5 hours to reach there, so set out early.

Sleep
Many ashrams and dharamshalas provide cheap accommodation. There are also many private hotels and restaurants although most have only basic facilities. Also beware that Kedarnath can be extremely crowded during peak pilgrim season. The state-run guest house is generally booked throughout, so arrive early if you want options.