SPECTACULAR CHANDRASHILA-TUNGNATH TREK

My trekking enthusiasm and resolve to see new places took me to Uttarakhand this time. I had combed the corners of Himachal Pradesh quite a few times so this time, I wanted to go somewhere new. I had heard about this trek many times from trekkers that it is an easy trail but the views are magnificent.

I started my journey from Delhi early in the morning and boarded a bus to Rishikesh. I reached Rishikesh in the afternoon and then after some refreshment boarded a bus towards Srinagar, a small town near Rudraprayag. Unfortunately we met with an accident on the way when the bus overturned and tilted on the mountain side but everybody was safe and no casualties took place. This incident made the journey a little more adventurous and thereafter the bus driver proceeded with caution. We reached Srinagar at night and took a halt there. Next morning we proceeded towards Rudraprayag in a bus and from Rudraprayag, we took a pooled taxi to Ukhimath and from there, we hired a car to reach Chopta.

The trek to Tungnath starts from Chopta. Chopta is at a height of around 2600m and offers beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Till the time we reached Chopta, it was afternoon and clouds had enveloped the mountains. After eating Maggi and Parathas alongwith hot tea, we started our trek to Tungnath Temple. The trail was well defined and scenic views accompanied us throughout the way. We reached Tungnath Temple in about two hours and it was cold there as the place is at a height of around 3600m. The highest temple of Lord Shiva, Tungnath Temple attracts a lot of pilgrims to the place.There were strong winds due to the clouds and the surrounding mountains were not visible. So the local tea stall owner advised us to visit Chandrashila peak early in the morning so that we can see the clear early morning view. We spent rest of the day at leisure in Tungnath and clicked pictures. The place was beautiful and the views were outstanding. We could see the entire valley and faraway mountain ranges from there. After sometime, it started raining and we had to take refuge in our room which we had booked for the night.

There was no electricity there and we had light up candles for some light. We ate our dinner early as it was really cold outside due to the rain. Next morning, we woke up early and when we stepped outside, we came to know that it had snowed the night before. There was snow and hail lying outside and due to clear weather, the beautiful mountain ranges and peaks were clearly visible. We had our morning tea and started for Chandrashila peak. We reached Chandrashila peak in half an hour and were stunned by the views there. The peak was at a height of 4000 m and offered a 360 view of the entire Himalayan ranges and major peaks of Uttarakhand, right from Nanda Devi to Chaukhamba, Trishul, Bandarpunch, Kedarnath, Panchchuli and other high peaks of the region. I hadn’t seen such a mesmerising view before and I was totally dumbstruck. We spent an hour there clicking pictures and savoring the view and then headed back to Tungnath. We had our breakfast there and then left for Chopta and from there back to Rishikesh.

The trek is easy and not very difficult and is suitable for first time trekkers as well. The only issue is the long distance which has to be covered to reach Chopta from Rishikesh as it generally takes a whole day if you travel non-stop but the scenic views which are offered by the place are worth visiting. I would recommend trekkers and nature lovers to do the trek.