Covering all 12 jyotirlingas

The twelve sit in five regional groups. This page sets out what each group needs, the station and airport for every temple in it, and the travel modes that link one group to another. You choose where to begin and which way to go.

There is no official order. The stotram lists the twelve, but it is a hymn, not a route. Start from the group nearest you.

Temples
12
Groups
5
States
8
Our day estimate
12 to 16
Closed in winter
1 of 12

Day counts on this page are our own planning estimate, and the groups are trip groups rather than official divisions.

The twelve on the map

Each pin carries the temple's number in the stotram list. The numbers are a list order, not a visiting order.

Map of India with the twelve jyotirlinga temples, numbered as in the stotram list1Somnath2Mallikarjuna3Mahakaleshwar4Omkareshwar5Kedarnath6Bhimashankar7Kashi Vishwanath8Trimbakeshwar9Baidyanath10Nageshwar11Rameshwaram12Grishneshwar
  1. 1Somnath
  2. 2Mallikarjuna
  3. 3Mahakaleshwar
  4. 4Omkareshwar
  5. 5Kedarnath
  6. 6Bhimashankar
  7. 7Kashi Vishwanath
  8. 8Trimbakeshwar
  9. 9Baidyanath
  10. 10Nageshwar
  11. 11Rameshwaram
  12. 12Grishneshwar
Numbers are each temple's place in the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram list, not a visiting order. Pins sit on the temple town. Outline: Natural Earth, public domain.

The five groups, and what each one needs

Temples inside a group are listed by their stotram number. Station and airport names come from each temple's own page.

North group2 temples · 2 to 3 days, our estimate

The Himalaya and the Ganga plain. Kedarnath alone takes the better part of two days once the road and the climb are counted. Open only part of the year.

West group5 temples · 5 to 6 days, our estimate

The Gujarat coast and the Maharashtra hills. Two coast temples, three hill temples, and the long leg between Gujarat and Maharashtra.

By state: Jyotirlingas in Maharashtra, Jyotirlingas in Gujarat

Central group2 temples · 2 days, our estimate

Malwa and the Narmada valley. Two temples a short leg apart, both served from Indore.

By state: Jyotirlingas in Madhya Pradesh

East group1 temple · 1 to 2 days, our estimate

Jharkhand, the Shravan route. One temple. A night in Deoghar is the comfortable version.

South group2 temples · 2 to 3 days, our estimate

The Srisailam forest and the island. The two temples sit far apart, so the leg between them is the main cost.

How the groups link

Each link works in either direction. Our estimate counts each one as up to a day of travel, and a night train or an early flight is what keeps it from costing a day of its own.

Travel modes between the regional groups
BetweenUsual modes
West and CentralRail from Mumbai to Khandwa Junction, which sits on the Mumbai-Delhi line via Bhusawal, or a flight to Indore from Mumbai, Pune or Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Central and NorthRail between Ujjain and Dehradun, or between Indore and Haridwar, then the road up from Rishikesh, the railhead for Rudraprayag. Varanasi has direct trains to Indore and Dehradun. Data check pending
North and EastRail towards Jasidih Junction for Deoghar, which the trust names as a major stop on the Howrah-Delhi line, or a flight to Deoghar from Delhi or Kolkata. Varanasi lists direct trains to Delhi and Kolkata. Data check pending
East and SouthA flight out of Deoghar, which the trust lists as linked to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Patna, on to Hyderabad (Shamshabad), the airport the Nandyal district gives for Srisailam, then the road to Srisailam. Data check pending
South and WestA flight or a train between Hyderabad and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the district of Grishneshwar.

Each mode is one the district, trust or airport pages in the sources below name for the towns at either end. This page gives no train numbers, schedules or travel hours: check those with Indian Railways and the airline before booking.Data check pending

How many days all twelve take

Twelve to sixteen days inside the groups. That range is our own estimate, added up from the group estimates above, and it does not count the links between groups: each one that is not a night train or an early flight adds up to a day.

The low end needs night trains on the long links and a single day at most temples. Kedarnath alone takes the better part of two days once the road and the climb are counted. Below the low end, the trip stops being a yatra and becomes a transit schedule with darshan fitted in.

The day pages below show which groups fit in 7, 10 and 14 days. You put the groups in whatever order suits where you start.

Our estimate, not measured travel times.
What fits in 7 daysWhat fits in 10 daysWhat fits in 14 days

What can break a plan

Three things turn a working plan into a missed temple. All three are known before you book.

Kedarnath in winterThe temple committee says the shrine generally closes on the first day of Kartik (October or November) and reopens in Vaishakh (April or May), on a date it announces in advance. A trip planned for December has to drop Kedarnath or move to the open season.
Monsoon on the Kedarnath roadThe temple committee gives July to mid-September as the monsoon there, with regular rain and occasional landslides that can make travel difficult. A plan that crosses those weeks needs slack on the north group.
Mahashivratri and ShravanThe two festival windows of the Shiva year. The Deoghar trust calls the Shravani Mela, in July and August, one of the largest pilgrimages in India, and puts Mahashivratri in February or March. A trip that crosses those dates needs the extra day, not less time.

The exact Kedarnath dates for the coming season are not on the committee site yet.Data check pending

What else fits on the way

Most people add one or two of these to a jyotirlinga trip. Each is taken from the source that publishes it, not picked from a list of attractions.

Panch Kedar and the Char DhamFits with Kedarnath

Kedarnath is one of the Char Dham and one of the Panch Kedar, and the official site names the four shrines that complete the Panch Kedar circuit as Madhyamaheshwar, Tungnath, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar.

Dwarkadhish and the Dwarka groupFits with Nageshwar and Somnath

Nageshwar is on the road between Dwarka town and Bet Dwarka. The district lists the Dwarkadhish temple, a gurudwara at Bet Dwarka, Harshad Mata, Indreshwar at Bhanvad, Sonkansari and the Navlakha temple at Ghumli in the same district.

The Varanasi clusterFits with Kashi Vishwanath

The Annapurna temple beside it, Sankatha near Sindhia Ghat, Kaal Bhairav, the Mritunjay Mahadev temple, the ghats themselves and Sarnath 10 km away.

The Ujjain clusterFits with Mahakaleshwar

The committee counts 53 temples inside the Mahakaleshwar premises, and the district adds the Navagraha temple at Triveni, Chaubis Khamba, the Rama-Janardana temple and Kaliadeh Palace on the Shipra.

The Rameswaram clusterFits with Rameswaram

Devipattinam for the nine planets, Thiru Uthirakosamangai 18 km from Ramanathapuram, Dhanushkodi at the end of the island, Erwadi and the Kalam memorial.

The Deoghar additionsFits with Baidyanath

The 22 temples in the Baidyanath complex, the Satsang Ashram, and for a rest day Trikut Pahar, Nandan Pahar and the Naulakha temple 1.5 km from the main shrine.

When to time a group

  • The east group is the one a festival decides. The trust's own festival page puts the Shravani Mela in July and August, Mahashivratri in February or March, and the Basant Panchami Tilkotsav in January or February.
  • The north group is the one the weather decides. Kedarnath is open only part of the year, from Vaishakh to Kartik, and the temple committee announces the dates in advance.
  • Mahashivratri and Shravan are the two dates to check against your travel window at every one of the twelve.

Common questions about covering all twelve

Is there an official order for the twelve jyotirlingas?
No. The Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram names the twelve in a fixed order, and this site uses it to number the temples, but it is a hymn, not a route. Start from the group nearest you and plan the rest from there.
How many days does covering all twelve take?
Twelve to sixteen days inside the groups, by our own planning estimate, plus up to a day for each join between groups that is not a night train or an early flight. The 14 day page shows what fits at the compressed end, and the 7 and 10 day pages show which groups fit in less time.
Can the twelve be split across several trips?
Yes, and most people do. Each group on this page works as a trip on its own, and the group pages set out the temples, the railheads and the airports for each one.
What has to be booked before the trip?
Two things beyond transport: the Mahakaleshwar bhasma aarti slot, which is limited and booked ahead, and a Kedarnath night during the season, when the rooms near the temple fill. Everything else can be arranged a day ahead.
Sources for this page

Plan the trip

What fits in 14 daysThe groups that fit, and all twelve at the compressed endWhat the yatra costsThree bands, cost line by cost lineWhere to stayOne stay page per temple