Tungnath - Third and highest temple of Lord Shiva.

Contants - Deoria Tal / Tungnath 

                         On the way to Deoria tal

                         Deoria  Tal

                         Tungnath

In continuation to my last post on Deoria tal ……..

Next day morning we woke up at 5.30 AM in the hope of watching the reflection of Chaukhamba Range in the Devaria Taal but got disappointed to see that it was cloudy and we could manage to see only the orange tip of the peaks of Chaukhamba Range in the lake. We waited there till 7.00 AM in this hope that weather would be clearer and at least we would get to watch the reflection of the entire range in the lake but I think we were not destined to see it this time. 

 

After tea, we started back for Sari village to continue our journey to Chopta / Tungnath.

Around 8.00 we reached village Sari where our car was parked. We loaded our bags in car and moved ahead for chopta. 

On the way to Chopta

On the way to Chopta

On the way to Chopta

Chopta is around 22 kms from village Sari and we took around one hour to reach Chopta.

Chopta  is situated at 2680 meters above sea level and is a base point for  trek to Tungnath and Chandersheila Peak. Chopta is known as Mini Switzerland of India because of its natural beauty .When we reached Chopta we all got stunned to see its marvellous beauty which we tried to capture in our cameras.

The place is extremely rich in Flora and Fauna and you can find lots of species of birds around Chopta and Tungnath region.

After having our breakfast we started our trekking for Tungnath. It is situated at a height of 3680 meters.The trek of 3.5 kms is tough and steep as 1000 meters altitude changes within 3.5 kms trek in between Chopta and Tungnath. 

Entrance - Tungnath

 

The trek path is stone paved with benches provided on route at intervals to rest and enjoy the beautiful views of the Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi, Neelkanth and Kedarnath peaks.On the way we took frequent breaks to catch our breath and passed through the beautiful meadows (Bugyals).

Tungnath  Temple is believed  to be 1000 years old and  considered to be the third and  highest temple of Lord Shiva.It is small in size and can barely accommodate ten people in the sanctum. Surrounding this temple, there are a number of small shrine. At the entrance to the temple there is a Nandi stone image facing towards the sanctum. 

 

Legend has it that, after the battle of Kurukshetra, Pandavas searched for Lord Shiva to seek his blessings and atone for their sins. But Lord Shiva eluded them and while fleeing from Kedarnath in the form of a bull  and disappeared into the ground later reappear in parts, with the hump raising in Kedarnath , the arms appearing in Tungnath , the naval (nabhi) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar , the face showing up at Rudarpnath and the hair and the head appearing in Kalpeshwar.

 

After offering prayer we were planning to go to chandersheila peak but dropped the idea as climate was cloudy and shop keepers outside temple informed that no peaks will be visible as climate was too cloudy. 

There are few basic lodges and Dharmshalas there for overnight stay which cost hardly Rs.300- 500/-  

Trekking down to chopta was easy and we took around one hour to reach Chopta. We had our lunch and proceeded further & reached Rudarpryag via Ukhimath, Agustmuni which is around 60 kms from Chopta. 

Next day morning we woke up at 4.00 AM and left Rudarprayg around 5.00 AM & had our breakfast at byasi and lunch at  Muzaffarnagar Highway.We continued our journey and  reached Modinagar around 4.00 pm where we got stuck in traffic jam for around 4 hours as Ganesh Visarjan was going on. Finally reached home at 10.00 PM.