CHANDRASHILA TREK WITH CHOPTA AND TUNGNATH

Well, not all stories start with “once upon a time” and end with “happily-ever-after”. There are some which start with the random thought and never end. They keep going on like flowing water. My story is an epitome of that exact thing. I never imagined that I would write it with pen and paper but I see, that aimless journey has become my salvation and I want to share it with you all, so it can be yours too.

This story starts when I got fed up from my pointless job and monotonous routine. Everyday used to be same as I got stuck somewhere. I wanted to change it somehow , then this bright idea came into my mind and without giving a second thought I opted for it. I asked my friends to join me  in my adventure and being the true buddies, they joined me. we started our journey from Gurgaon and our destination was Chopta, Uttarakhand.

As soon as we started the journey my heart said,” yes, this is it.” Actually I was always being fascinated by the Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor's character from yeh Jawaani hai deewani) and his travelling. I remember when I saw that movie my inside traveller woke up and he wanted to travel around. On this journey I experienced that traveller in me who loves to sit on the window seats, having headphone on ears with soothing music & admiring the beauty of nature passing by.

“Chopta”, this is a small region of meadows and evergreen forest, a part of Kedarnath National sanctuary Uttarakhand. It is also a base for ‘Chandrashila Trek’. On this trek highest temple of lord Shiva among the Panch Kedarnath “Tungnath ji” is situated. Which is also known as tratiya ( third) Kedarnath.

There are two ways to go , either by bus or by car. As I don’t know how to drive, we opted for bus. We left for Chopta around 8:30 pm from ISBT Kashmiri gate. Next morning we reached initial point of our journey Shrinagar garhwal. It is a small hilly village and we enjoyed tea with rusk there. From Shrinagar we caught bus for Rudraprayag which is famous for the sangam of Mandakini and Alakhnanada river. After reaching rudraprayag we continued our journey by a local taxi, because in the winters buses don’t go till Chopta.

I can’t explain with mere words that how ecstatic I were feeling. Moving car, soft music , chill breezes, green mountains and flowing river beside. These are the things I wanted. When I was looking around from the window, only one word struck into my mind “Paradise”. As we were reaching near to our destination, snowy mountains were visible. Even snowy landscapes were also there. I was excited to experience snow fall because I never had. Finally after 4 hours journey we reached there. I was feeling triumphed already. But challenge was going to start next day when we had to start the trek. And trust me it wasn’t easy.

So next day we were all set to go on trek with all our equipments like water bottles, torches and food. In winters the temple remains closed and so as all shops there. We took the permission from the forest department and started the trek. After some time we felt weariness but we didn’t give up and step by step we kept moving. After 5 hours long trekking on snowy path, we arrived at Tungnath temple. We took break over there. We clicked pictures for the memories but I kept on looking that scenic beauty as I wanted to capture it in my eyes forever. I felt the fragrant cool breezes striking my face , shaking my soul. I thanked god that I got the opportunity to come here.

After some time we again started the trekking to the last point “ Chandrashila”. The path was little dangerous due to small passages covered with snow. But we were determined to go there so we didn’t stop. When we reached there on the top we got our prize. All the hard work we did , had been repaid. On that peak as far as we could see we found snowy mountains and clouds only. We got a 360 degree view which is very rare. It was an unforgettable moment for us. We waited for sun set. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever saw in my life till now. Sun was going down among the clouds and sky became crimson as somebody lit up the lantern.

It had become dark and we started to come back . Returning towards Chopta became a little more jeopardized due to absence of light and cold. But after watching that phenomenal scene we were energetic and enthusiastic.

Finally at midnight we reached down in Chopta and as we were so much tired we went to sleep. Next morning we had to do the checkout. I was constantly thinking on the return journey about that extreme joy, peace and solace I got from this place. I saved those in my heart and I was taking back new hopes, new energy , new life even new me. I decided not to limit my  inside traveller again.

Hopefully you all enjoyed with me.

Things to Carry:-
✓trekking boots
✓A pair of thick woolen socks.
✓A thick winter jacket
✓Trekking Pants
✓woolen cap
✓ A pair of sunglasses
✓water bottle
✓ Trekking pole
✓A first aid box

Things to remember:-

Before starting tungnath trek eat heavy breakfast or carry some eatables with u as all the dhabas would be closed during december to april.

Route from Delhi to Chopta:-

Delhi - (250kms) Haridwar – (24kms) Rishikesh – (70kms) Devprayag – (34kms) Srinagar – (33kms) Rudraprayag – (19kms) Agastyamuni – (10kms) Kund – (6kms) Ukhimath – (22kms) Duggalbitta – (7kms) Chopta.

#lockdown