Photo copyright: Satyabrata Maiti
We decided to go to Tunganath temple, Chandrasila and Deoriatal trekking during middle of October since the monsoon would withdraw by that time and the journey to the hills would be safe and enjoyable. Weather also would be moderate. Finally, after lot of discussions with our travel organizer, e-Uttaranchal we finalized the itinerary as given below:
17-Oct-2021 (Sunday): Ahmedabad – Dehradun airport; night stay at Rudraprayag
18-Oct-2021 (Monday): Stay at Sari Village
19-Oct-2021 (Tuesday): Trekking to Deoriatal and night stat at Duggalbhitta (Chopta)
20-Oct-2021 (Wednesday): Trekking to Tunganath and Chandrashila summit and back
21-Oct-2021 (Thursday): Trekking to Ansuyadevi and Chopta Mandal
22-Oct-2021 (Friday): Chopta to Rishikesh and night halt
23-Oct-2021 (Saturday): Rishikesh – Dehradun – Ahmedabad airport and back to Anand
Tunganath Temple
Tunganath peacefully decorated on the Chandranath Parvat is the highest Shiva temple in the world ( about 12057 ft amsl) and also the highest Panch Kedar temple in Uttarakhand.
It is the third (Tritiya Kedar) in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. Tunganath is considered to be more than 1,000 years old.
Out of all the temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the cluster of five shrines of Shiva is the most revered. They are known as Panch Kedars. According to Mahabharata, when Pandavas were searching for Lord Shiva, he turned himself into a bull to avoid revealing. However, when Bheema tried to capture the bull, it disappeared and later reappeared in body parts at five locations, presently known as PanchKedar. These are as follows in spiritual order.
The hump reappeared at Kedarnath (1stKedar); the navel in Madhyamaheshwar (2ndKedar) ; the arms in Tunganath (3rdKedar); the face at Rudranath (4thKedar) and the hair and head emerging in Kalpeshwar (5thKedar). It is believed that the “Pandavs” built temples at these five places for worshiping Shiva.
Many devotees of Lord Shiva take part in Panch Kedar Yatra to all the five Shiva temples mentioned above. Panch Kedar trek is also very popular among people who like the thrill of trekking to the holy places hovering in the mountains. We are also among those thrill loving trekkers and always in search of undisturbed/lest disturbed nature and its beauty.
Chandrashila Summit:
About another 1.5 km trek from Tunganath Temple leads to Chandrashila summit which is about 13000 ft amsl and offers a majestic 360 degree view of snow clad Himalayan peaks including Trishul, Nanda devi, Kedar and Chaukumba.
Deoriatal:
Deoria Tal is a lake at an altitude of 7315 ft amsl which is about 3 km from the villages of Mastura and Sari on the Ukhimath-Chopta road in Uttarakhand. It has heavily forested with lush green surroundings and snow-covered mountains of Chaukumba in the backdrop.
Caution:
Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)
At altitudes above 10,000 ft the chances of being hit by AMS are real. Altitude sickness does not distinguish between a first timer and an experienced trekker. Even experienced trekkers can get affected.
Fitness helps in making your trek easier. But do not forget that even a fit person climbing too high too soon experiences equal risk of developing AMS. Some symptoms to watch out for: (a) Persistent headache (b) Feeling fatigue or weak (c) Feel nauseous or vomit (d) Feeling dizzy or light headed, often while sitting up or standing suddenly (e) You don’t feel like eating, you have a loss of appetite (f) You don’t sleep very well at night.
Journey begins
17-Oct-2021 (Sunday)
As scheduled we started our journey from Anand at 7:10 am humming the song “Amar Ei Poth Chola tei Anondo”and reached Ahmedabad Airport by 8:30 am. Flight also left the airport 10 min early at 10:30 am. I was happy with the early departure. Flight reached Dehradun airport 10 min early. After formalities of vaccination check-up, we came out of the airport and called Pradeep (our driver) to come to the pick-up area. Rain started slowly. We left the airport by 1:00 pm to reach Rudraprayag for night stay. Traffic became stand still after driving for about 10 km. We reached Rishikesh police check post by 5:00 pm and got the shock when Police said that there was red alert and no vehicle would be allowed further. We tried to enquire from other sources also but could not get information. I tried to book hotel nearby but could not find. We wanted two rooms but either not available or too costly. Finally, I booked two rooms and a dormitory for the driver in an Oyo hotel (Spot on 79585 Hotel Tapovan Valley) about 1.6 km away. We settled there by 6:00 pm. After taking some snacks and tea, we went to Police station by walking to enquire once again about the situation. We were given the same answer. This time with one more additional information that the weather might turned to be like previous Kedarnath disaster. The CM was monitoring the situation and he had announced red alert. We finally, returned back to the hotel. Rain was not heavy in Rishikesh. Mind was running around about what to do. At a point I was thinking of abandoning the trip and returned. I contacted my friend, Dr. G B Raturi who was in Dehradun, to get some authentic information about the situation. He also confirmed about the red alert and discouraged me to cancel the trip. He advised that the alert was for three days and I had time up to 19-Oct-21. Even if we could reach Chopta on 20-Oct-2021, we could trek to Tunganath and Chandrashilla on 21-Oct-2021 and return to Rishikesh on 22-Oct-2021 as scheduled. Finally, we decided to do so and also to take a chance on the next day morning to go to Rudraprayag.
18-Oct-2021 (Monday)
I got up at 6:00 am and had tea. At 9:00 am we had our breakfast and then went with the vehicle upto police station to see the situation. We found that some vehicles were allowed to go. We talked to an inspector and he told that we could go upto Rudraprayag. Hearing this we returned back to the hotel and checked out quickly and left Rishikesh by 11:00 am. Upto Srinagar we went smoothly, Pradeep (driver) was hoping to take us to Sari village for our night stay as scheduled. “Man proposes and God disposes”. After crossing about 10 km from Srinagar, we found there was a big traffic jam on the road. I walked to see the situation and found that there was a huge landslide ahead. Fall was still going on. Pradeep also enquired and found that it was not possible to clear the road even by next day. He contacted the Travel organizer, Mr. Sandeep of e-Uttaranchal and he was kind enough to manage two rooms in IVY hill top resort in Srinagar where we stayed in our last trip to Valley of Flowers. While thanking God for this arrangement, I was remembering that I wanted to avoid staying here once again in this trip since I wanted to reach Sari village early. Hence decided to stay in Rudraprayag. Man can plan but not necessary that planning will be always right. God knows what is right and therefore He/She brings changes in our planning which we may not like at that point of time but at the end we find it that it is good for us. With this understanding we checked in the resort by 4:30 pm. We ordered for some sandwich and mixed vegetable pakoda with tea. We were hungry and enjoyed the food they served. We had our dinner by 8:30 pm and slept with a hope that we shall be in a position to reach Chopta by the next day.
19-Oct-2021 (Tuesday)
I got up at 5:00 am and found that sky was clear. We went out and took some photographs. We decided to leave early by 9:00 am. Before that we finished our breakfast and checked out by 9:30 am. Pradeep (Driver) enquired and found that road had not yet been cleared. He took an alternate route via Kharshu which was about 35 km longer. We left our every burden on Tunganathji and started enjoying the scenic view on our road side. After about 15 km we encountered a muddy patch of about 10 m where vehicles were struggling to cross. We got down from the car and Pradeep somehow crossed the patch with the help of other drivers who pushed the vehicle from the rare side. At about 11:15 am we touched the Rudraprayag high way near Daridevi temple. As per the convention, we went to Dhari mata for taking permission to visit Deva Bhumi and left the place by 11:40 am. We reached Tilwara at 12:30 pm and took diversion to Chopta at 1:10 pm. We took a road to Mukku math and enjoyed the route which was full of flora and fauna. We stopped over in Mukku math where Tunganathji stays during winter months. We offered our puja and then proceeded to Duggal Bhitta for our night stay in Mayadeep resort. Road journey was very scenic and took lot of photographs. We reached Mayadeep resort at about 5:00 pm. The resort was surrounded by dense forest of Deodar trees and lush green meadows.
At about 5:30 pm Pradeep came running to take us to show beautiful unobstructed view of Himalayas peaks just few meters away from our cottage. We went out and photographed the snow peaks till it was dark. Our guide, Dinesh came to meet us and told that we should leave tomorrow by 8:00 am in the morning. The place was very cold and we had our dinner in the room. We retired by 8:30 pm since there was no electricity except limited solar power supply. We got all our camera batteries and mobiles charged through the caretaker since there was no provision for charging in the cottage.
Zingiber chrysanthum Roscoe is a traditional medicinal plant species extensively occurring in Mukhi math path way, Uttarakhand. Sparkling red coloured flower mesmerized the viewer.
Kalij pheasant
Description
The kalij pheasant is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have an at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage, while females are overall brownish.
Scientific name: Lophura leucomelanos
20-Oct-2021 (Wednesday)
I got up by 6:00 am, got ready to have early breakfast and departed the resort by 8:00 am. While travelling in car, we went on taking photographs.
We reached Chopta by 8:30 am from where trekking starts. Slowly we started to climb up. It was about 2.5 km trek to Tunganath temple. I reached the temple by 11:00 am and light was not good for taking photographs. I spent about two hours in the temple complex and we had lunch together outside the temple. At 1:00 pm we started trekking to Chandrashila summit although it was not having photo worthy clear sky to capture the peaks. I reached the summit at about 2:00pm. We waited there hoping against hope for at least some clear view of the peaks. But it was not possible. Gradually the light was falling low due to heavy clouds and fog. We left the summit at 4:00 pm and reached Tunganath at 4:30 pm and stopped there for a while. We met many travellers (95% of the visitors were from Bengal) and had chat with them. We reached back to the base by 5:40 pm. In between there was drizzling and it was foggy. We spent some time in a tea stall run by a local women and her son from Mukhi Matth area. They run the stall for six months and return to their village when winter sets. We finally reached our resort by 6:00 pm. I was too tired and slept until food was served. After taking dinner I slept like a dead wood.
21-Oct-2021 (Thursday)
I got up at 5:00 am and got ready to leave the place by 6:00 am as per the advice of the guide so that we could see some birds and animals on our way. However, our car gave trouble in getting started and we lost some time. In the mean time we went out and took some photographs. We could also watch birds activity in the forest. Driver arranged a battery from other driver and got it started. We could leave the place by 6:40 am and reached the base of the trekking site to Deoriatal at about 7:00 am. Slowly we reached the Deoriatal by 9:40 am which was about 2.5 km trek . I took lot of photographs of birds and trees. The lake was amazing in which Himalayan peaks were reflected like a mirror. My temptation of taking photographs went on increasing one shot after another. We spent time till 12:40 pm and then had some noodles and tea. We slowly returned and on the way we went to Harihar temple which was about 500 m above the base. It was also an ancient temple. The Pujari explained us the details of idol and also told that the temple was from Pandava’s time We reached back to the base at 3:40 pm and Maydeep by 4:00 pm. I took rest in the cottage.
22-Oct-2021 (Friday)
I got up early, went around and took very good photographs of birds. After breakfast at 8:00 am we left the resort by 8:30 am for going down to Rishikesh. We crossed Vijaynagar Agastyamuni at 10:20 am, Tilwara at 10:35 am, Rudraprayagsngam at 10:50 am and Srinagar at 12:10 pm. We had lunch at Dhanveer hotel, Moolayagaon at 1:00 pm where we took the lunch in our last trip also. The lady owner recognised us and served us with love and care. We reached Rishikesh in Tapovan area at 3:45 pm and hotel Laxmi Yellow at 4:00 pm. Preedep dropped us and left by 4:30 pm. After taking some rest for about 15-20 min, we went out to Laxaman Jhula and roamed around till evening. We enjoyed wonderful sunset standing on the Laxaman Jhula. We returned back to the hotel. Since there was no food arrangement, we had to go out for dinner.
23-Oct-2021 (Saturday)
We got up by 5:00 am and went to the Ghat for taking photographs. We spent about 2 hrs and then returned back to hotel. WE had our breakfast outside with puri sabji. We left the hotel at 10:30 am and reached the airport at 11:00 am. Flight was before time and reached Ahmedabad by 3:30 pm. Reached Anand by 5:30 pm. Mind was full with the experience of the journey which was moving like a kaleidoscope. New spirit for the next visit was raising its head in the subconscious mind. “May God gives us the strength and support for our next trip” with this prayer I slept early.
Acknowledgement:
- Dr. G. B. Raturi for his timely advise and mental support with experienced wisdom.
- My Co-trekker, for her cooperation and cool support in changing scenario of adverse climatic change.
- Mr. Sandeep, e-Uttranchal for the support in arranging alternate stay arrangements in our nature disrupted itinerary.
- Mr. Pradeep, Driver for his support in partially completing the trip.
- Mr. Dinesh, Guide for being with us in the trip.
- On line resources were used for the write up.
