Best Winter Trek - Chopta - Tungnath & Chandrashila

About 35 km after Rudraprayag, we take the road to Kedarnath. You will continue traveling on this road to arrive at Chopta via Agastyamuni (named after the famous saint Augustya and also a small market place for the vicinity villages) and Ukhimath (A tiny hamlet also known for being the winter seat of Kedarnath). The estimated arrival time is around lunch. Long journeys can be exhausting for some hence this fairly early arrival gives you time to relax and rejuvenate and for those not too tired from the journey it is a picturesque campsite, an eye candy for the shutterbugs. You can go around the campsite and explore the trails around. The forests around here appear like those straight out of a movie. Early to bed and early to rise is definitely what we prefer. We advise our travellers to get proper rest before we get up, close and personal with Chandrashila also known lovingly as the Moonpeak the following day.

Note – In this place there is a basic accommodation available with hygienic simple Veg- food so don’t expect any luxurious but I am sure that the beauty of nature you found here is never comparable with any Luxurious…

 

Up, Uppity Up! As we gear up for the most enthralling day of the Deoriatal Chopta Chandrashila trek we a empt to climb the summit which is one of the most captivating and unparalleled of any summits that you might have witnessed. (If the weather gods permit). This reminds us there are various legends associated with this place. According to a popular folklore, this is the place where lord Rama meditated a er defeating the demon-king Ravana.

Another legend says that moon-god Chandra spent time here in penance. The trek from Chopta to Tungnath is approximately 3 km in distance and a fu her ascend of 1.5 km steep ascend leads to the summit of Chandrashila. The trail till Tungnath from Chopta is a well paved cemented trail and fu  her from Tungnath to Chandrashila, the trail becomes a li le rickety. For those who are ardent lovers of history - The Tungnath Temple is one of the Panch Kedar temples and is considered the highest temple of Lord Shiva in the world. The legend states that sage Vyas Rishi advised the Pandavas that since they were responsible for killing their own kin the Kauravas during the Kurukshetra war in Mahabharat, their act could be pardoned only by Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva being mi ed with Pandavas disguised himself as a bull. Pa s of this bull appeared in 5 di erent places, each of these identi ed as a Panch Kedar. The Pandavas built temples at each of these locations to seek penance, worship, blessings and pardon from Lord Shiva. Tungnath is identi ed as the place where the hands were seen. The trek is pleasant but is a very steep climb. It ascends sharply towards the end. You can also notice a change in the landscape due to an increase in the altitude. The tree line ends before Tungnath temple and a  er that, you may nd only shrubs. It normally takes around 3 hours to reach the Tunganth temple from Chopta and another 1 hour to reach the Chandrashila summit from the temple. Once at the top of the peak, you get a panoramic view of the mountains of Garhwal and Kumaon. The Chandrashila Peak is at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level. It o ers pe ect panoramic views of remarkable peaks of U arakhand such as Kedarnath, Mandani, Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi, Nanda Ghunti, Hathi, Ghodi, etc. A er capturing some beautiful shots at the summit, the trek back to Chopta is via the same route taken while ascending. It takes approx. 30 minutes to reach Tungnath and another 60 -90 minutes to reach Chopta from Tungnath.

 

CHOPTA TO DEORIA TAL TO DELHI