Badrinath Temple, the much-revered Hindu shrine in the state of Uttarakhand will be shut for tourists from November 17 for this year. The shrine opens for pilgrims every year for around six months before winters advance in the region. For the current year, the season will soon draw to a close, and the head priest of the shrine confirmed the same.

In a statement made by Chief Priest Ishwari Prashad Nambudiri, “Portals of the temple will be closed on November 17 for the winter season.” The closure of the temple is believed to mark the start of winters. Other than its religious significance, the shrine is also famous for the landscape that people traverse through on their way here.

While the temple would stay shut till the next summer, around May when it opens again, devotees can visit different temples where the presiding deities rest for the winters. The deity idols rest across various locations for all the winter months, ceremoniously worshipped, till they are moved back to Badrinath for the summers.

Badrinath Temple is one of the important stops in the pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand, commonly known as Char Dhasms, as per Hindu beliefs. The other three being Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri.