Jyotirlinga Guide

All 12 Jyotirlingas: how to reach, when to go, where to stay

A travel guide for the twelve jyotirlinga temples, not another temple directory. The nearest railhead and airport for each one, what the darshan options cost you in time, and where to stay within walking distance of each gate.

  1. 1Somnathसोमनाथ · Somnath (Veraval), GujaratVeraval about 6 kmDiu about 85 kmOct to MarOpen all year
  2. 2Mallikarjunaमल्लिकार्जुन · Srisailam, Andhra PradeshMarkapur Road about 91 kmHyderabad about 230 kmOct to FebOpen all year
  3. 3Mahakaleshwarमहाकालेश्वर · Ujjain, Madhya PradeshUjjain Jn about 3 kmIndore about 58 kmOct to MarOpen all year
  4. 4Omkareshwarओंकारेश्वर · Khandwa (Mandhata island), Madhya PradeshKhandwa Jn about 70 kmIndore about 84 kmOct to MarOpen all year
  5. 5Kedarnathकेदारनाथ · Rudraprayag, UttarakhandRishikesh about 228 kmJolly Grant, Dehradun about 248 kmMay to NovClosed in winter, dates set each year
  6. 6Bhimashankarभीमाशंकर · Pune district, MaharashtraPune Jn Pune about 125 kmOct to FebOpen all year
  7. 7Kashi Vishwanathकाशी विश्वनाथ · Varanasi, Uttar PradeshVaranasi Jn about 5.5 kmVaranasi about 25 kmOct to MarOpen all year
  8. 8Trimbakeshwarत्र्यंबकेश्वर · Nashik, MaharashtraNashik Road about 40 kmNashik Oct to MarOpen all year
  9. 9Baidyanathवैद्यनाथ · Deoghar, JharkhandBaidyanath Dham about 1 kmDeoghar (DGH) about 9.2 kmJul to Aug (Shravan)Open all year
  10. 10Nageshwarनागेश्वर · Dwarka, GujaratDwarka about 16 kmJamnagar or Porbandar Nov to FebOpen all year
  11. 11Rameshwaramरामेश्वरम · Rameswaram, Tamil NaduRameswaram about 1.3 kmMadurai about 175 kmOct to MarOpen all year
  12. 12Grishneshwarघृष्णेश्वर · Sambhajinagar (Verul), MaharashtraAurangabad about 29 kmAurangabad (IXU) about 40 kmOct to MarOpen all year

Each distance comes from the source listed on that temple's page.Seasons are planning guidance. Timings, prices and closure dates change: confirm with the temple trust before you travel.

Temples
All 12
States
8
Season
Oct to Mar
Full circuit
12 to 16 days
Open all year
11 of 12

Day counts on this site are our own planning estimates, not official figures.

All 12 on the map

The twelve are spread over eight states, and a trip can start from any of them. Each pin opens that temple's guide.

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.

By region

Open the interactive map

Why twelve

The Shiva Purana and the Nandi Upapurana carry the passage the Somnath Trust quotes on its own history page, in which Shiva says he is present everywhere but especially in twelve forms and places. The traditional verse, the Dwadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram, names the twelve, and the numbers on this site follow its list. It is a hymn order, not a route.

सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम्

First line of the stotram, as theShree Kshetra Bhimashankar Trust prints it.

What a jyotirlinga is, with sources

What every temple guide covers

Six blocks, in the same order, on all twelve guides.

How to reach

The nearest railhead and airport with the distance, then the last mile by auto, cab, boat or on foot.

Darshan and aarti

The daily schedule, which aartis need a slot, and what changes on festival days.

Entry and booking

The free queue against the paid darshan options, what each covers, and what a first-time visitor can skip.

Dress code and rules

Phones, cameras, lockers, shoe stands and wheelchair access, checked at the gate rather than copied.

Where to stay

Areas by walking distance and price band, trust guest houses and dharamshalas, and the booking links.

Around the temple

The half-day trips most visitors miss, from Ellora next to Grishneshwar to the Srisailam forest road.

Covering all 12

The five groups, how they link, and our day estimate for each.

See the five groups
Where to stay

Stay guides by temple, area and price band, with dharamshala options.

See the stay index

On the way to the temples

From the darshan guides, each photo credited to its Wikimedia Commons author.

Wide stone steps going down from the corridor towards the river at dusk
Steps between the corridor and the ghat, at dusk. Photo: Immanuelle, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A paved trail with railings climbing a green valley side, with a rocky stream below and pilgrims walking along it
The walking trail at Gaurikund, where the road ends and the trek to the temple begins. Photo: Photos Worldwide, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A long railway bridge on low piers crossing blue-green sea, seen from the shore at dusk
The Pamban bridge over the sea, the way onto Rameswaram island. Photo: Kiran Kumar Bharati, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Plan the yatra

Covering all 12The five groups and how they linkWhat fits in 14 daysThe groups that fit, with our day estimatesWhat it costsBudget, comfortable and premium bands

By group: North, West, Central, East, South

Common questions

How many jyotirlingas are there, and where are they?
Twelve, spread over eight states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The full list with states and stotram numbers has the table version, and the map shows all twelve together.
How long does it take to visit all twelve?
Twelve to sixteen days by a mix of train, flight and road. This is our own estimate, built from the five groups on the Covering all 12 page: an itinerary under twelve days spends most of its hours in transit.
Which jyotirlingas are open all year?
Eleven. Kedarnath closes for the winter because the trail and the road above Gaurikund are under snow, and the opening and closing dates are announced separately each year. The other eleven stay open, though a few hill temples change their hours in the monsoon.

Next

The 12, list and tableName, state, railhead and season in one tableThe map pageFlat and globe, filter by regionStart with Kashi VishwanathThe fullest guide, used as the template