It is open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), because of extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.

The temple is located in Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of Alaknanda River.

It is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, an early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE.

The temple is located in Garhwal hill tracts along the banks of the Alaknanda River[3] in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand.

Just inside is a mandap, a large, pillared hall that leads to the sanctum, or main shrine area.

These include that of Lakshmi (the consort of Vishnu), Garuda (the vahana of Narayan), and Navadurga, the manifestation of Durga in nine different forms.

The temple also has shrines of Lakshmi Narasimhar and for saints Adi Shankara, Nar and Narayan, Ghantakarna, Vedanta Desika and Ramanujacharya.

Hindu followers assert that he discovered the deity of Badrinath in the Alaknanda River and enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs.

[8][11] A traditional story asserts that Adi Shankara expelled all the Buddhists in the region with the help of the Parmar ruler king Kanak Pal.

[12] The throne of Badrinath was named after the presiding deity; the king enjoyed ritual obeisance by the devotees before proceeding to the shrine.

[13] At that time, the town was still small, consisting of only the 20-odd huts housing the temple's staff, but the number of pilgrims was usually between seven and ten thousand.

Lakshmi, his consort, protected him in the form of the Badri tree (jujube or Indian date, called 'ber' in Hindi).

[9] According to the Bhagavata Purana, "[t]here in Badrikashram the Personality of Godhead (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nar and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities".

The Badrinath temple is one of five related shrines called Panch Badri, which are dedicated to the worship of Vishnu.

The temple is considered one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine) sites, comprising Rameswaram, Badrinath, Puri and Dwarka.

[27][28] Though ideologically the temples are divided between the sects of Hinduism, namely Saivism and Vaishnavism, the Char Dham pilgrimage is an all-Hindu affair.

[31] The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus, who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetimes.

[32] Traditionally, the pilgrimage starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding clockwise in a manner typically followed for circumambulation in Hindu temples.

[32] The most prominent festival held at Badrinath Temple is Mata Murti Ka Mela, which commemorates the descent of the river Ganges on mother earth.

The mother of Badrinath, who is believed to have divided the river into twelve channels for the welfare of earthly beings, is worshiped during the festival.

[36] Special pujas are performed on the day by the chief priest in the presence of pilgrims and officials of the temple.

[39] Devotees visit the temple to worship in front of the image of Badrinath in the sanctum and have a holy dip in Alaknanda River.

When the last of the ascetics died without an heir in 1776 CE, the King of Garhwal invited non-ascetic Nambudiris from Kerala for the priesthood, a practice that continues in modern times.

[38][43] Till 1939, all the offerings made by the devotees to the temple went to the Rawal (Chief Priest), but after 1939, his jurisdiction was restricted to religious affairs.

[44] Although Badrinath is located in North India, the head priest, or Rawal, is traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin chosen from the South Indian state of Kerala.

A Tilak Ceremony is held to instate the Rawal and he is deputed from April to November when the temple remains open.

The Rawal is assisted by the Garhwali Dimri Brahmins belonging to the village Dimmar of Chamoli district, Naib Rawal, Dharmadikari, Vedpathi, a group of priests, Pandas Samadhi, Bhandari, Rasoiyas (cook), devotional singer, clerk of devashram,[what language is this?]

Badrinath is one of the few temples in North India that follow the ancient Tantra Vidhi of Shrauta tradition more common in the south.

[47] The temple is reached from Rishikesh, located 298 km (185 mi) away via Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag, Jyotirmath, Vishnuprayag and Devadarshini.