Rudraprayag

Named after Rudra, the fierce form of Lord Shiva, Rudraprayag stands at the dramatic confluence where the Mandakini — descending from Kedarnath — pours into the Alaknanda on its way down from Badrinath. As one of the Panch Prayag, it carries great religious weight, and local legend holds that Shiva himself appeared here as Rudra to bless the sage Narada, who is said to have mastered music at this very spot.

The town occupies a strategic fork in the mountains: from here one road climbs toward Kedarnath and the Mandakini valley, while another follows the Alaknanda up to Badrinath, making Rudraprayag an essential junction on the entire Char Dham circuit and a practical overnight halt for pilgrims.

Rudraprayag also holds a darker place in mountain lore as the haunt of the man-eating leopard immortalised by Jim Corbett, who tracked the animal across these slopes in the 1920s after it claimed dozens of lives. Today the town is far gentler — a place of riverside temples, swirling confluence waters and the constant comings and goings of the pilgrim trail.

Best from October to April; the town gets hot in summer and very wet in the monsoon