Dehradun, April 22 (IANS): Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will arrive here on Thursday and trek to the Kedarnath shrine on Friday, officials said.

Surendra Kumar, media in-charge of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, told IANS on Wednesday that Gandhi, accompanied by general secretary in-charge of the state Ambika Soni, will arrive at the Jolly Grant airport in the morning.

He would then proceed to Gauri Kund from where he will trek to Linchauli. After a night stay there, he will be going to Kedarnath shrine on foot on Friday.

He will be accompanied by the Uttarakhand chief minister, state Congress president Kishore Upadhyaya and some other senior Congress leaders.

Kumar said this was the first occasion that such a senior and high-ranking leader would be walking to Kedarnath - the seat of Lord Shiva.

The Congress vice-president along with Chief Minister Rawat would also take stock of the preparations for the Chaar Dhaam Yatra - an annual pilgrimage which started on Tuesday with the opening of the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines.