Badrinathpuri, a town as well as a nagar panchayat regarded holy by the Hindus, is situated in the Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand in India. Out of the four sites in India`s Char Dham pilgrimage it is the most important. The exact location of the town is in the Garhwal hills, on the banks of the Alaknanda River, at an elevation of 3133 metres. The town is sandwiched between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges and lies close to the Nilkantha peak (6,560m). Badrinathpuri is situated 301 km to the north of Rishikesh. The distance by road from Gaurikund (near Kedarnath) to Badrinath is 233km.Adi Shankara made Badrinathpuri an important pilgrimage spot in the ninth century. In recent years it has become a much esteemed pilgrimage spot, with an estimated 600,000 pilgrims visiting during the year 2006 season as against 90,676 in 1961. The temple in Badrinathpuri is also a hallowed pilgrimage spot for Vaishnavites. It finds mention as a holy place in the scriptures and legends that date back to thousands of years. The Srimad Bhagavatam says that, "There in Badrikashram the Personality of Godhead (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities." The word Badri denotes a berry that was said to grow abundantly in the locale, and nath refers to Vishnu. Badri is in fact the Sanskrit name for the Indian Jujube tree whose fruit is a berry that can be eaten. Some scriptural references talk about the plenitude of Jujube trees in Badrinathpuri. According to a particular legend, the Goddess Lakshmi took the shape of the berries to provide nourishment to Lord Vishnu during his long reparation in the harsh climatic conditions of the Himalayas.

The chief attraction of the town of Badrinathpuri is the Badrinath temple. A legend says that Shankara once came across a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan in the Alaknanda River. It was made of Saligram stone. He initially preserved it in a cavern near the Tapt Kund hot springs. But later on, most probably in the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal shifted the idol to the present temple. The temple has been renovated several times because of damage as a result of age or avalanche. In the 17th century, the temple`s area increased under the supervision of the kings of Garhwal. After momentous damage in the enormous Himalayan earthquake in 1803, the King of Jaipur restructured it. This temple in Badrinathpuri is more or less 50 ft (15 metres) tall with a little cupola on top, enclosed within a roof that is covered with gold. The front wall is built of stone, with windows bearing arches. A wide staircase leads up to a lofty vaulted gateway, which is the major entrance. Situated just inside the gateway is the mandapa, a huge pillared hall that leads to the "garbha griha", or the main temple area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are decorated with intricate statues. The statue of Lord Badrinath depicts the godhead in a contemplative posture along with a bull.

The Badrinathpuri area finds mention in the Hindu scriptures as Badari or Badarikasram. It is a place held sacred to Vishnu, principally in Vishnu`s twofold form of Nara- Narayana. Thus, in the Mahabharata, Siva, speaking to Arjuna, says, "Thou wast Nara in a former body, and, with Narayana for thy companion, didst perform dreadful austerity at Badari for many myriads of years." According to a legend, when the goddess Ganga was earnestly asked to come down to the world to help the anguished human race, she did so but the earth was not capable of withstanding the force of her descent. As a result, the great Ganga River was ripped into twelve sacred channels, with Alaknanda as one of them. It afterwards turned into the dwelling place of Lord Vishnu or Badrinath. The peaks in the region of Badrinathpuri are referred to in the Mahabharata, which states that the Pandavas have ended their life by climbing up the slopes of a peak in western Garhwal called Swargarohini (which literally means, the `Ascent to Heaven`). The local residents believe in a legend which says that the Pandavas travelled through Badrinathpuri and the town of Mana, located 4 km to the north of Badrinathpuri, on their way to Swargarohini. A certain cave in Mana is held sacred because it is believed that in this cave Vyas wrote the Mahabharata. The Skanda Purana asserts that: "There are several sacred shrines in heaven, on earth, and in hell; but there is no shrine like Badrinath." The area of Badrinathpuri finds mention in Padma Purana as flourishing in religious resources. The Vamana Purana says that the sages Nara and Narayana (fifth avatar Of Lord Vishnu) carried out Penaces in this place. Badrinathpuri is also famously known as Bhu Vaikunta or the earthly habitat of Lord Vishnu. Many religious intellectuals such as Madhawacharya, Ramanujacharya, and Vedanta Desika came to this town and composed sacred texts, such as interpretations on Brahmasutras and other Upanishads.

Situated only a few kilometers from the Indo- China (Tibet) border, Badrinathpuri is usually a two-day long trip from Kedarnath (the spot that comes before it in the Char Dham route), or one of the chief disembarkation spots on the plains. Hemkund Sahib, a significant Sikh pilgrimage site, is also on the way to Badrinathpuri. As a result, the path is particularly crowded during the pilgrimage season in summer. Travelling on road can access the temple and the nearby neighboring villages. There is a warm spring close to the temple. A lot of saints live in the neighboring mountains throught the whole year in spite of the severely cold temperature at such high altitudes. The other places of tourist attraction around the Badrinath temple are Trikut Parvata mountain and Triveni Sangam, which is the meeting point of the Ganges, theYamuna and the Saraswati. Other significant places in the area are Haridwar, Har Ki Pauri, Rishikesh, Laksman Jhula, and Nara Narayan Parvata. All of these places are located in the Himalayas between Haridwar and Badrinath. The ideal time to visit Badrinathpuri is between June and September. Warm clothes are needed throughout the year. The closest airport from Badrinathpuri is the Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun, about 317 km from the town. The nearby railway stations are Rishikesh and Kotdwar, which are at a distance of 297 km and 327 km respectively. One can also travel by buses that operate from New Delhi, Haridwar and Rishikesh.

As per the 2001 India census, Badrinathpuri had a population of 841. Males comprise 65% of the population and females 35%. Badrinathpuri has a mean literacy rate of 85%, notably higher than the national average of 59.5%. 70% of the males and 30% of the females are literate. 9% of the population is children below six years of age.

Thus Badrinathpuri is a consecrated place amidst the scenic beauty of the Himalayas. It attracts tourists, especially pilgrims, throughout the year.