Sunday, July 19, 2009

Tungnath Chandershila

I was planning Tungnath and Chandershila for quite some time. A casual mention with a friend ultimately finalized the program. We were four, me, Dh, Bb, Sk and everybody had this or that to do. We had only 2-3 days but still we decided to touch our destination and reach up to Chandershila for sunrise. We started around 9-30 from Kurukshetra on Thursday night, 18 June in my M-800. Sky was clear and no chances of rain. They do not allow tourist vehicles beyond Rishikesh after 7-30 PM. We reached ‘Muni Ki Reti’ around 2-00AM and decided to sleep here. At 5-30 in the morning the view of Ganga and the hills on Swargashram side was wonderful. After freshening up we rushed towards Chopta via Rudraprayag. The road from Rishikesh was being recarpeted and some patches were in a very bad shape. We had our breakfast in Srinagar around 10-00 AM and around 3-00 PM we were in Chopta. Had our lunch here.


The sky was almost clear, there are good staying options in Chopta in the form of independent huts with 2-3 beds. 8-10 eateries also cater to the needs of the pilgrims and commuters. Some hotel wallahs started telling us that we were late and it will be better to stay in Chopta for the night start for Tungnath next day to come back in the evening but after a few more FAQs we started our climb of 3 ½ or 4 kms exactly at 04-20 PM. After warming up you start feeling that the climb is although steep but doable at a steady pace as the track is well laid and cemented. It is smooth climb all along no descents at all. We reached Tungnath at 7-00 PM the setting sun was presenting a beautiful sight.

Tungnath does not have many staying options but still, as per information, the local Dhaba-wallahs can provide beds to as many as 150-200 tourists. We stayed in the Kali Kamli Dharamshala and paid 150/- for a room with quilts (just workable). Hot water is provided in buckets @ 10/-, No electricity they use kerosene lamps and solar lights. You wake up with pure carbon in your nostrils. The temple is at a very peaceful location at around 3700 meters. Oxygen is low here and quick ascent prompted AMS. I was uncomfortable with acute headache but an anti-gas pill helped me as the head-ache is mainly caused due to gas trouble and undigested food in the upper stomach. We started for Chandershila at 4-00 in the morning as suggested by the locals. Walk up to Chandershila around 1.5 kms is through rocky terrain and can take 1 to 1 ¼ hrs. The first rays of the Sun fall on Choukhamba and the Sun rises 25 minutes later from this.

One can very easily return by 7-00 AM. Chandershila is at a height of 4000 meters from MSL. Those who do not want to walk can hire ponies (one way around 200/-). If you are staying in Chopta, ponies can be hired up to Chandershila for Sunrise even. There are so many meadows around and all along the route, I wonder what it will be like in the clouds flying past you. The beauty of the area is heavenly.

Chandershila can be done from Delhi also in the same time, Chopta is 210 kms from Rishikesh.

Some more photos.

14 comments:

Mridula said...

The pictures around sunrise/sunset are so beautiful. I have passed via Rudrapryag but th destination was Auli and then trekking.

Anonymous said...

simply beautifully captured shots....lovely reading about this place!

Namita Chandra said...

were you walking or driving till Tungnath. This place looks good and not very touristy.

Wanderer said...

Thanx Mridula and Flyongstars.
Namita, from Chopta you walk or ride a pony up to Tungnath.

Anonymous said...

Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!

Anonymous said...

Get female viagra 25mg endep Without prescription atrovent No prescription symmetrel Online alesse 10mg trimox

Anonymous said...

loved las vegas? try the all unusual [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com]casino[/url] las vegas at www.casinolasvegass.com with beyond 75 stylish gratuitous [url=http://www.casinolasvegass.com]online casino[/url] games like slots, roulette, baccarat, craps and more and win true coins with our $400 uncontrolled bonus.
we have even better games then the old online [url=http://www.place-a-bet.net/]casino[/url] www.place-a-bet.net!

Anonymous said...

Infatuation casinos? digging this sprouts [url=http://www.realcazinoz.com]casino[/url] exemplar and origination online casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and more at www.realcazinoz.com .
you can also into our untrained [url=http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com]casino[/url] manage at http://freecasinogames2010.webs.com and flourish in message incredibly touched in the prime churchman !
another contrasting [url=http://www.ttittancasino.com]casino spiele[/url] plight is www.ttittancasino.com , in compensation german gamblers, submit c be communicated done well-wishing online casino bonus.

Anonymous said...

It isn't hard at all to start making money online in the undercover world of [URL=http://www.www.blackhatmoneymaker.com]blackhat downloads[/URL], It's not a big surprise if you don't know what blackhat is. Blackhat marketing uses alternative or not-so-known avenues to generate an income online.

Savaari said...

Good post and informative too. The pictures you have taken is very clear.

Anonymous said...

Watching the first shows this week, we given a sharper look at emerging talents Rick Owens, Bouchra Jarrar, Carven, Dries Van Noten, and Anthony Vaccarello for instance. ghd australia We lit up The Summer of Darkness with Michael's patented water housing flash units. ugg sale While I try to walk to work every morning, I sometimes have to catch a train which means taking the escalators from Wickham St up to Valley Metro and am constantly appalled by the state of things in such a small space. http://www.downuggboots.com I sure it isn every day that Band of Outsiders creates cookie cutters ($29.99 for a set of 5). ghd hair straighteners At night we have a small fire in the garden under the twinkling embers of the galaxies.

Unknown said...

Excellent pictures as well, Some of the snaps managed to bring the place alive for the readers. Thanks for sharing it. Keep travelling and share your experiences with us. It will help for us when we plan to that place. See more information about Travel To ur next trip.

Unknown said...

you are traveling Washington DC to New York and Union City To DC you have to travel through Bus as i got Cheap Bus Tickets.

prisha travels said...

its niceplace i went also there once its nice blog i wish more people read your blog nd go there