Tour of Uttarakhand – Chopta Tunganath

We hit the road at 0445 hrs with the chief aim of sighting some bird/animal life predawn on the drive to Chopta. No disappointment there… just after we drive out of Kanchula, we see a pair of Collared Blackbirds foraging at a grassy patch near the road but the light is impossibly low and the pictures are poor.

White collared Blackbird (f)

All the same, the excitement is now up with everybody keeping their eyes peeled for any movement in the shadows of the early morning. The Himalayan Monal also decides to give us ring-side views but scampers up the hillside as the traffic and blaring of horns on the road grows. High up on the inaccessible slopes are the Tahrs nimbly jumping from one craggy foothold to another in search of nutritious grasses at these remote places.

For breakfast at Chopta the options are very limited. Maggi or Parathas. So, parathas it is. After ordering 2 per head, we are shocked to discover the size. They are absolutely gigantic! Though delectable, there is no way on earth we can manage more than one each. The owner is very sweet and offers to cancel the second one without us having asked. Back home in the swish urban centres of so-called ‘modern’ India, this excess would have been wasted. Here, the local folk are more obliging and food is freshly cooked and served; therefore it is easy to cancel the remaining order. We make it a point to patronize this dhaba for the rest of our stay here.

In the cool morning air, the mist hangs so low that there is no visibility to speak of. We cannot even see the other side of the valley. . Of all the Panch Kedar trek routes, Tunganath is the shortest at 3.5 Kms from Chopta. The trek is a moderate climb from 9600 ft to about 12000 ft. In these conditions, we start our walk up the mountain. The first couple of hundred metres make us pant both due to the steep nature of the trail initially as well as the fact that it is a cold start. As the trail wears on and our bodies get warmed up, it is much easier going! Very soon, we come upon the most beautiful bugyal (grassy meadow) and the sun god also decides to smile down on us. Akin to the picture postcard images of Switzerland, one can only behold and admire that glorious panorama…. no wonder Chopta area is called the ‘Switzerland of the East’!

Entrance archway for the Tunganath Temple

Chopta area – Switzerland of the East!!

Chopta area – Switzerland of the East!! 2

Blooming hillsides…

Tiny flowers all over the bugyals (meadows)…

Tiny flowers all over the bugyals (meadows)… (2)

We stop and gaze in wonder at the unfolding scenery when two Himalayan Monals smoothly glide into the meadow and start foraging around. Spellbound, we soak up the splendour of the multihued Monals as they catch the golden sunlight.

Himalayan Monal

Monal

Just then our attention is caught by a big bird which has just alighted on the top of one of the trees. The angle is perfect. The sun is shining on the bird and the height is right. Only thing is that the distance is slightly more than ideal. Even then, we are happy to click the Griffon basking in the morning sun!

Himalayan Griffon

Himalayan Griffon

The Chaukhamba is now visible as a very faint outline of silvery white in the north. To the left of Chaukhamba, we can hazily see the Kedarnath peak. We are hoping that the rising sun will illuminate the northern peaks better as it climbs higher in the sky. Unfortunately, that is not to be…even upon further ascent, the clouds and the perpetual mist hanging in the air puts paid to any chances of good views and thus good pictures of the famed northern peaks. This record shot of the Chaukhamba is all I manage…

The clouds make it impossible to discern the next mountan!

Chaukhamba, after much enhancement… extremely hazy atmosphere

A little ahead we see the first shop on the track which is basically a place to have some tea, Buran juice (rhododendron juice) which is said to be good for the heart and some bottled water, biscuits and the like. Serves as a little place to catch your breath and soak up the picture perfect surroundings. Henceforth, these small shops pop up at regular intervals. We maintain a steady though slow pace and take very short breathers as we climb so as not to break the rhythm of the climb. Roughly half-way up, we take a longish break of 10 mins where we are treated to another lifer! We see a pair of Collared Grosbeak. The very bright yellow and black male is very conspicuous and the female is discovered only accidently when we notice movement close to the male. The long tailed Minivets, Flycatchers and Laughingthrushes are all around.

Collared Grosbeak (F)

Collared Grosbeak (M)

The treeline is just about here and hereafter, it’ll just be stunted rhododendron bushes or grassy meadows further up. The rhododendron is in full bloom and the sight is breathtaking!

A bunch of Rhododendron flowers

Stunted rhododendron in the higher reaches in full bloom

Soon, Devdarshini is reached from where one gets the first glimpse of the Tunganath temple.

Devdarshini

View from Devdarshini

Just ahead is the Ganesh temple from where we veer off the path to see the beautiful views on the right flank of the mountain. It is a sheer cliff and the gorge down below is really very deep and slightly unsettling when one stands on the edge as we were! Admiring the rugged beauty of the sheep cliff, we are amazed to see a few Tahrs perched on a little ledge, unmindful of the precipitous drop below or the absolutely vertical character of the precipice above!

Ganesh Temple on the way

Himalayan Tahrs

The Himalayan Tahrs are in the centre of the photo… on a vertical cliff!

Ravan Shila is hypothetically the place where Ravan, the King of Lanka prayed to Lord Shiva. The peak of this mountain, Chandrashila is where Lord Ram also is supposed to have prayed to Lord Shiva. Legends abound in this ‘Abode of the Gods’!

Ravan Shila

The entrance arch to the Tunganath trek

We reach the temple complex and the small cluster of hotels and guesthouses around with a sense of achievement. The next thing to do is to find a place to stay at for the night which we haven’t booked in advance. The Kali Kambli Dharamshala is full. A couple of others are also booked. The last one up towards the temple, Ganesh Hotel is where we get a room. He also has just the one room left with 6 beds. It is a medium sized room with the beds all set out together so that one has to crawl onto the outer bed to get to the inner ones. A very rudimentary toilet is attached. No running water, just the Indian style toilet which is quite clean and a small window which allows light in to see by. No electricity anywhere in these parts anyway. Suits us. As long as the toilet is clean, we are not finicky.

I perch myself on the flat rock outside the Ganesh Hotel to warm up in the meagre sunlight and watch the devotees go by with puja thalis up to the temple to offer prayers. It is an enchanting old temple. Painted brightly on the outside it is without the customary intricate carvings adorning the exteriors as seen in most temples that I have seen. The peace that surrounds the entire area is palpable. It is said to be the highest Shiva shrine in the world and the highest of the Panch Kedars. The temple is believed to be 1000 years old and is second in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars.

Devotees going for the darshan

There is a nice tale attached to this. Mythology states that Maharishi Vyas advised the Pandavas that since they were culpable of slaying their own relatives (Kauravas, their cousins) during the Mahabharata war, their act could be pardoned only by Lord Shiva. Consequently, the Pandavas went in search of Lord Shiva who was avoiding them since he was convinced of the guilt of the Pandavas. In order to keep away from them, Shiva took the form of a bull and went into hiding in an underground safe haven at Guptakashi where the Pandavas chased him. But later Shiva’s body in the form of bull’s body parts rematerialized at five different locations that represent the “Panch Kedar” where Pandavas built temples of Lord Shiva at each location, to worship and venerate, seeking his pardon and blessings. Each one is identified with a part of his body; Tungnath is identified as the place where the bahu (hands) were seen; the hump was seen at Kedarnath; the head appeared at Rudranath; his navel and stomach surfaced at Madhyamaheshwar; and his jata (hair or locks) at Kalpeshwar.

The handful of shops cum hotels there sell puja thalis also among other basics. We proceed to buy a puja thali and go for the darshan. The pujari, Pandit Maithani, a local Brahmin from the village of Makku close by does the pujan for us. A refreshing change from most temples is the complete lack of any pressure to make any donations either to the pujari or in the box kept at the site. The nagging overt and/or implied pressure to make monetary donations taken out of the equation enriches the experience and makes me feel genuinely blessed!

Tunganath Temple with the pujari Pandit Maithani

We place a lunch order as we check into the hotel so lunch is ready as we come down after the pujan. Freshly prepared dal, roti, subji and chawal are delicious! Some of us elect to take rest, two others decide to go back down to Chopta and climb up again… just for fun and for lack of something to do! I am loathe to waste my time indoors so I take a turn around the meadow carpeted with beautiful wild flowers and a few tourists enjoying the views. The southern face has the sheer cliffs we have seen on the way up… a large flat stone on the edge of the cliff beckons and I settle myself on it. This is pure bliss! I spend a pleasurable couple of hours there in solitude.

The chill wind gusting up from the valley coupled with the hide and seek of the sun (more hide than seek!) makes the air unpleasantly cold. I walk around to keep warm watching the numerous jungle crows waiting for opportunities to grab a few morsels from a few picnicking folks. The two members of our group have already arrived from their second ascent.

Now and again, a Griffon or a Lammergeier is visible riding the wind currents keeping a sharp eye out for a careless Pika or any other prey. The little birds are out for a last forage around before it turns dark. We watch the redstarts hopping around when we spot the Lammergeier perched on the distant rock facing the hotel. The crows chase it off but not before we manage a few shots…

The Bearded Vulture or the Lammergeier

The Bearded Vulture

White capped water Redstart

White capped water redstart (2)

The sky darkens and within minutes it is raining hailstones. The few of us who are out rush indoors to the safety and warmth of the cooking fires. The conditions are positively frigid by now and for the rest of the evening, I am obsessed with trying to keep warm.

Cooking dinner by candlelight

The almost frozen dewdrops on the flowers and leaves in the morning are a sight to behold! Like little pearls shining in the grasses… The Pikas are out nibbling at this banquet laid out as if just for them!

Morning dewdrops on the flower petals

Morning dewdrops on the leaves

Royle’s Pica

Royle’s Pica (2)

The views are veiled by the persistent mist therefore we do not tarry there but decide to head back straight after breakfast. The walk downhill is easier though a little hard on the knees. We reach Chopta without incident, have lunch at the dhaba there and retire to Kanchula for the day.

Tomorrow is another big day as we go to Devariyatal covered in the next post.