Chopta - Deoria Taal - Tunganath - Chandrashila Camping among Himalayas

Preface (to develop the Mood!😉) :

We are all connected by our love for travel.

There are several ways to stay fit, & Hiking is one interesting way to burn your calories.

With Himachal Pradesh attracting more and more crowd with passing day towards Kasol, Kheerganga, Bhrigu Lake, Manali etc, tranquility in nature is hard to find, and lengthy traffic jams are not uncommon.

Hence, Chopta-Chandrashila trek has started gaining a lot of popularity lately.

As a backpacker, with a lot of time during Diwali, I decided to ditch polluting the country and check out the hype I have been hearing about the Chopta-Chandrashila Trek. Believe me, it is not overhyped a bit!

At Chandrashila Peak

Info About Cellphone/Mobile Networks :
If you are a freeloader like me, & a fan of Jio, I’d like to warn you not to rely on it after Haridwar. I lost my network somewhere between Haridwar and Rishikesh, and it only returned when I was back in Delhi. Although mine was the worst case, similar was the story of almost everyone except my friend, whose network was on and off, sufficient to upload stories on WhatsApp and Facebook, but insufficient to help me get a recharge done for my Vodafone number. Bloody Troll network, I tell you! The best network in the area is Idea, followed closely by CellOne, and then Vodafone. Also carry a good Power Bank. The chances of finding a charging point post Srinagar are bleak.

Trip – If you are already exploding with Inspiration, start here. No Curses!😆

I traveled from Bhopal to Delhi, and started my 4-nights-3 days journey, of which 2 nights were spent in traveling.
(You reduce one more night if you skip Deoriya Taal, and stay at Chopta instead of Tunganath.)

There are 2 routes to reach Chopta, via Haridwar or Rishikesh, and via Dehradun.

I chose the Haridwar one since Rishikesh already attracts a lot of backpacking crowd, and it isn’t hard to find fellow backpackers along the route.

I started at 11 PM on a Thursday (Diwali) night, and took the Nanda Devi Express. This one is a superfast train, and takes mere 4 hours to reach Haridwar. There are frequent buses from Kashmere Gate, Delhi to Haridwar/Rishikesh too. I took this bus option on my way back.

From Haridwar, you get private buses to almost everywhere. If you are lucky, you can board one early morning after 4:30 to Kund. Kund is hardly 7 km from Ukhimath.  Otherwise it is not that easy the reach the highest Temple of Lord Shiva located along the Chopta Chndrashila trek.

Unfortunately, my friend’s train, coming from Chandigarh, got late, and he got stuck at Roorkie for another 30 mintues, and the Kund bus took off. There was one another at 10:30 AM, but we didn’t wait for it, nor is it advisable, and started our journey with several breaks. A longer route in a single bus will always be more economical though.

The bus stand is quite close by to the railway station. In such places, albeit the prospective of a future bus may look very bright, don’t wait for a specific bus to arrive. We took a mini bus, with very comfortable reclining bus seats, charging us Rs. 150 each, to Rudraprayag, 164 km from Haridwar. Rudraprayag is the place where rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini merge in river Ganga, and is one of the 5 confluences of Ganga. However, our luck went for a toll one more time, and the driver encountered some issue with the bus and returned our money after charging us Rs. 70 for two. A major bus stand was close by from where several buses to Srinagar (Uttarakhand), 136 km from Haridwar, were available. They may tell you Rudraprayag. Don’t believe everything they say! Confirm!

En-route to RudraPrayag

The buses here won’t move until they have got the desired head count, and if you are someone like me, making constant taunts on the driver won’t really help! :P These guys again charged us Rs. 150 each (for a shorter distance!)

The good thing about traveling via buses is that you get to talk to the locals who may give you some very useful information/advice.

Srinagar is a major town here. It's unwise to wait for ATMs beyond this point. You may or may not find a working one. Clean Sulabh restrooms are also available until this point.  We had a very simple lunch here, and got in another bus for Kund. This guy again charged us bloody Rs. 150 each to our astonishment, and wouldn’t reduce despite the protest. However, this Saint in disguise later returned us Rs. 50 each and broke our Rs. 150 spell.  He stopped for us near a wine and beer shop, where you can find Royal Stag and local brands. We finally landed in Kund from where we took a shared cab for Rs. 20 each and arrived at Ukhimath.  Now guys! This is a costlier option because we missed the direct bus. Find one if you can early in the morning!

En-route to Rudraprayag

By this time, it was already 4-5 PM, and the locals advised that it was pointless to start trekking to Tunganath that day, and, we did not want to stay in Chopta. You will have to start trekking at 2:30 in the night and miss the fun and ease of staying (at a cheaper price) at Tunganath!

We decided we will trek to Deoriya Taal (Devariya Taal), another destination here, and camp there. Taal means Pond in Hindi. We got another shared cab for Rs. 20 bucks each till Sari Band. This place has other names too. This is a place enroute to Tala district and 2km short of it, from where the route changes from that of Chopta.

As a Backpacking Hiker, I am always prepared to hike more than expected. From Sari Band, it wasn’t possible to get a shared cab to the starting point of Deoria Taal Trek, and there was no passing vehicle to ask for a lift. Turned out, we actually enjoyed hiking the 2 km stretch to the starting point. It’s got a couple of waterfalls on the way and an awesome panoramic view. As my favorite pastime on hikes, I smoked up and kept on treading the path in a happy mood. We reached the Taal at 7 PM, and got the tented accommodation for Rs. 500. It is always better to carry your own tents.

Our tent guy had cooked amazing Egg Curry which we ate under the starry night sky (though he had a covered area to eat too, in case you are cold), and headed to set up our tent. Here you can find many more people like yourselves, and maybe line yourselves up them for sharing for further journey.

The night was cold and amazing. We drank our beer and lit up our Bong. If you are an amateur photographer, you will find fellow people trying the capture the beautiful night sky, and trust me on this, if the sky is clear, it WILL be Beautiful.

Mesmerized by the night sky, and tired about drinking and smoking out in the open, we took leave from other people out there, and continued our trip (to another world) within our tent. I kept the tent zipper open, and used my backpack as my pillow. The Night sky looked so amazing even from within the coziness of the tent and the sleeping bag, that we slept gazing at the stars in our fascination, where few constellations were easily distinguishable.
If you are a fan of identifying the constellations, download Indian Sky Map (free) from Google Play beforehand. It will be helpful for you.

The following day, we started back to Sari Band towards Tala on foot. On the way found this generous waterfall, where we washed ourselves up, and started back on our path. Once back on the road towards Chopta, we booked a passing car with one more traveler for Rs. 300 and reached the base, Chopta.

As you reach close to this place, you will feel the temperature go down. Once there, we first inquired the shopkeeper about the route to Tunganath, & thereafter bargained with the shopkeeper to give each item for a lesser amount, and to our surprise he did. He sold each item Rs. 10 lesser than the actual price. Great! My friend then again went ahead to confirm the route to Tunganath. Once we were done with our brunch, he again went forward to enquire about the route, to which the frustrated shopkeeper couldn’t help blurt out, “Don’t screw with my mind, get lost.”

We laughed to ourselves and went ahead, just to realize that we had forgotten our Bottle at the eating joint. As I went back, to fetch the bottle, my friend continued to shout from behind, ‘Dude, Ask where Tunganath is’! As I started to comment on the shopkeeper as to how frustrated he feels about his life, We him shout from behind, “Bhench*do, dono ko pakar k maruga” (“Sister-f*ckers, I will catch both of you, & thrash you up”).

Well, we got one more thing to laugh about for the rest of our journey.

Thus, with a refreshed mind, and happy stomach, we started our journey towards Tunganath. This is the highest Shiva Temple in the world. And for stoners like me, Shiva is more of a Celebrity/Brand Ambassador than God. ;’)

This is a route which you can easily cover within less than 3 hours if you are young, fit, and without a backpack.

For a seasonal trekker like me, who takes Legs Day exercise quite seriously, I was easily able to cover the distance till Tunganath Temple in much less than 2 hours with an 8 kg rucksack, and a walking stick (made out of the fallen tree branches en route), while happily being able to make use of my selfie stick :P , and still have enough time to wait for 45 minutes for my friend to arrive having his own backpack. I personally don’t like taking long rests, as it screws the warmth and rhythm your walk has created.

Now, since we had reached the Temple between 1-2 PM, we had ample time to set up our tent hired beforehand, which we did on an edge for an amazing view from our tent. There is also a Dharamshala here costing Rs. 400-500 per room, and if you are early, you may easily get it, or you will have to look around for alternate stays, which aren’t many, due to which many people stay down at Chopta, which I won’t suggest unless you are out of heavy woolens to enjoy the chilly night away from the tourist hustle. Plus, if you are staying at Chopta, you will have to start your climb at 2:30 AM for the sunrise, as opposed to 5 AM from Tunganath.

We met more people here. With so much time remaining I insisted on climbing the Chandrashila Peak, known mostly for the Sunrise, in the evening, and unlike your family, most backpackers will enthusiastically agree to such ideas. We started the climb (without the backpack), and it wasn’t as difficult as we had heard from the returning tourists. This may be because we had been carrying 8kg backpacks till Tunganath unlike others, and didn’t have load for the Chandrashila  Trek.

Once at top, We saw another small Shiva Temple with an Indian Flag hoisting on top of it, giving a very Proud Feeling of Achievement, and a very Patriotic feeling.

We found another group from Delhi busy rolling Joints, getting stoned at the peak before the beautiful sunset, & that’s how we became friends

The Sun was so beautifully covered by the clouds that my friend mistook took it as Moon, until some of the clouds moved to allow more light to pass. Every now and then, we would see the Kedarnath, Chaukhamba and Nanda Devi peaks standing tall faaar above the clouds. The entire place was covered in clouds, and with passing time and onset of dusk, the fog spread like wildfire. We were not only lost in the panoramic beauty, but also had lost track of time. We were the last ones left.

This was the time when we started to head back before we froze to ice. The weather forecast showed the minimum temperature as -2°C, and we could feel the effects sharply by 7 o’clock.

Diwali is considered to be a CheckPoint, post which the locals go down from Tunganath, and the only people visible thereafter are the very rare Ice Trekkers. These are the last few days, during which, they don’t serve proper lunch, just the dinner, to avoid accumulation of their stuff over the mountain. Post Diwali, it is said that even the first weather may bring Snowfall, and thereafter it snows cats and dogs.

As we headed down, lost in awe for the beauty, we witnessed something we wished we hadn’t!

Just a quarter way through, there was a guy who lay flat on the ground crowded by 2 others.

As we closed in on them, it turned out, that the guy, while taking a shortcut had fallen, and it was impossible for him to get up. He had broken his leg. And although we tried to lift him up, he would scream in pain and plea not to proceed further. Apparently, he was with a trekking group, the organizers of which were no were to be seen, and had no first aid equipment. We knew that in this chilly nerve-cracking cold, he won’t survive the night, with temperature falling steeply with each passing moment, and the fog creeping faster than a hungry snake. It was a crunch moment. The guys who had already gone downstairs had been gone for long and still not returned. Not that they were not trying, the cold was too much even for the locals who were already packing their stuff to move down from the mountain, and were not easily willing to risk their own lives. Leaving 5-6 guy with the injured, 3 of us rushed down to get a local help. Somehow, one did agree to venture the unforgiving mountain peak. I offered him a mattress to help with the injured, but local of course knew more. He went on without it, saved a life. He should be proud of himself.

When alone, and especially when the weather isn’t forgiving or going harsh, it is always wise to observe caution, and have some kind of support system, say company or medical aid. You never know when you might be in need.

Once back, all we needed was food and heat. We found both! 😊

You will notice that these people cook food on firewood, and hardly ever will have a gas/gas cylinder, yet the food is delicious, far exceeding the expectations. Here you will only find Vegetarian Diet, not even eggs, due to the proximity to the Shiva temple.

And these people are mostly friendly. We sat at the place they were cooking and started discussing our stories, and hearing their local stories. It was much like a Bon fire party, YaY!

The nights here, especially around Diwali are so  chilly that even a single leather jacket is not enough. And it’s hard to find many people out at night, unlike Deoria Taal. However, the star gazers, and the intelligent, are prepared with an extra jacket to wear below the main one,  or an ultra woolen jacket which I am yet to find. The sky here was even clearer than at Deoria Taal (we were lucky not to find clouds at either place) – Check weather forecast beforehand.

It was so cold, that even after wearing 2 jackets (one was a sweatshirt with a zipper) and  heavy quilt, I could  still feel the cold.

In the morning, we got up at 5AM and started our second journey towards the Peak. This time it was an even easier one, not that it was any difficult the previous day. We reach the peak within half an hour, and waited for a sunrise we never got to witness because there wasn’t enough improvement in the weather from last night. We still enjoyed the beauty for 3 hours. We saw deer running among the mountains.

A Hippie Baba from Rishikesh had brought 3 foreigners to the peak. He pulled out a beedi, emptied it and filled it with weed and hash. As we all smoked it, he told the foreigners, who were enjoying it, that one Beedi costed Rs. 2000 bucks. The foreigners were convinced that it was made from Herbs found in the depths of Himalayas and cure each of their diseases.

Sometimes, it’s wise to use the brain instead of the heart.

We came down, had our breakfast and headed back. This was quick, it was day time, and we used nothing but the shortcuts, and the journey was complete in half an hour, other than the meadows where we stopped to enjoy the grass, the view, and the grazing horses.

Again, the policy was, find a group interested in sharing and book a cab to get out of Chopta. If you need to reach Delhi/Chandigarh the same night, it’s wise to start as early as possible, and at most before 12. Luckily, by the time we got down, there was another group waiting for us. We 7 people booked a cab for Rs. 800.

However, as soon as we got in, the driver suddenly became too paranoid, like he had a vision from Lord Tunganath. He requested us to get down, as he feared that the local drivers would take offence and take away his keys. To calm him down, we spoke to the local drivers if they had any issue, to which they denied, but still our driver won’t move! He was a healthy guy, and no matter how much we taunted him, he remained a coward. Eventually, we booked another cab for Rs. 900 who dropped us at Ukhimath, even though we wanted to till Kund for an easier access to public transportation.

At Ukhimath, we waited for half an hour and found a sharing cab at Rs. 80 per head till Rudraprayag.

He dropped us outside Rudraprayag where we could get buses and cabs for Srinagar and Rishikesh.

However, since there was a crunch of cabs and buses around Diwali, we took one to Rishikesh at Rs. 300 per head. It was 3:30 PM, and we wanted to reach Rishikesh by 7 o clock, so that we can eat something and be on our way to home so as reach by 1-2 AM at most. Others also had to attend their office in the morning.

Buuuut, Here’s the twist! The guy, from Uttarakhand itself, his daily business, drove like a bull cart (only a slight Exaggeration!). An Uttarakhand car would come from behind, wait behind probably to show some respect for the same state car, & then overtake us. A Delhi/Haryana Car would should any respect. It would come honking from a far of distance, and shoo past us. Every bike would also overtake us, and so would every bus. We never overtook a single vehicle, and there wasn’t a single vehicle that didn’t overtake us. I was the first to be annoyed, and started hurling taunts from the backseat of the Sumo. He didn’t hear me, or at least acted like he didn’t, because when he stopped for a while, my friend asked how longer would it take to reach, he replied, ‘You guys are in a Hurry! Wait!’. We got in, and by that time everyone was annoyed at him, and my taunts obviously won’t stop. :P

When he stopped again, another guy shouted how long would it take. And he, of course, thought I was the one lighting the sparks, and came straight at me ranting about how hard it is for him to drive back and forth, which obviously I won’t understand. I smiled and asked what he wanted, and he had nothing to answer.

We started again, and howsoever much I tried, my tongue had developed a taste for the default taunts on the driver, which at least kept others entertained during that irritating ride. We reached Rishikesh Bus stand before 9 PM, had dinner, and started looking for buses.

People going to Chandigarh/Bareilly(Uttar Pradesh) had to go to Haridwar to take a ride, while for the Delhi fellas, buses were easily available till Kashmere Gate. Now there were 3 kinds of buses: 1 with Online Booking, 1 with on-spot booking with fixed seats, and the last were the general roadways. Since the first option was no longer available, and the second option only seats at the end, I ventured on with the third option, which I soon regretted after buying the ticket. The seats did not  have any arm rest, due to which I, sitting away from the window, found it hard to sleep without falling down on the other side. Also, the bloody driver won’t turn his 1950 songs playlist off. Sleep was not an option. I asked around, Initially, before boarding the bus, I was told that we will reach by 5 AM. Later, within the bus, I was told that we will reach by 4. However, the driver was such a good driver, he drove very safely, and yet with lightning speed. We reached Kashmere gate shortly after 2:30 AM, and I was home by 3:30AM.

I slept like a baby! The adventure might have come to an end, but it left amazing memories to cherish for a lifetime.