One thing I figured out in this trip is that it's better to carry a sleeping bag with you whenever you are going to places like these, where temperature might fall below zero.
I am a regular at Garhwals, though I have had a four years break in between because of studies, job and training. I felt so relieved to breathe in the unadulterated air once again.
I will remember this trip because at the height of Chandrashila I had slipped in the snow and I was scared to death by looking down. I am a confident climber but it shook me for a while. There was no one else apart from my mom and dad at a distance. I was finding the way up so that my mom do not face any trouble. It was fun for me to find the way at dawn, all alone!!I rang the bell at the Ganga temple on the summit, the days first. That was an empowering joy.
The view from the top is what I bore in my heart and the simplicity of the men who live in there, their uncontaminated hearts, their misty dreams, their subtle happiness and their wonderful grins. Garhwals, the green patures, the mountain goat loitering alone on the slopes of Chandrashila, Arvind, the boy who assisted us in Devria Tal and all the fellow mountain-lovers I met on the way, I bore all in my heart.
Chopta is known as "Switzerland of India", the localites boast a lot. This Switzerland was our first destination from Haridwar. Chopta is a small town in the lap of Garhwals. There are only a few hotels here which will definitely not offer ;uxury but the true essence of hill-life. The hotel charges here are about INR 600(2/3bed). We stayed here for a night, preparing for our venture to the summit.
The footfall at Chopta is considerable because it falls in the route to Badrinath, a popular pilgrims' destination. Less people stay here, mostly those who has Tunganath in their checklist. The night was cold, the sky was clear with numerous stars.
We started our trek from Chopta. Chopta- Tunganath: 3.2 kms
The road started through a forest, although the road is well-defined with large stones. Suddenly the road took bend and the sunrays enlightened the vast meadow with small yellow flowers decorating the entire view. The route is completely uphill till the end guided by rhododendron trees on the sides. As we moved up, we found patches of snow hither'n'thither. The mountains were in sight but it was cloudy. We could only see them peeking them through little gaps in them. We reached Tunganath in 2.5 hours. It was windy up there and chilly too;fogs covered the entire village now and then. There are about 5 to 6 hotels. We stayed at the temple's guest house. We chatted with the temple members and the cook, too. The conversation lasted for around an hour. In the evening, the priest at the temple performed the "sandhya-arati". This place does not have electricity and feeble network connectivity. Grab this opportunity and converse with the locals, trust me, you will know what true modesty is.
Tunganath-Chandrashils: 1.5 kms
Early at 4 a.m. we started our trek through the edge of the hill. It was dark but the moon lit up the road for us. Reminds me of "Silver" by Walter de la Mare. It was just my mom, dad and me. The road was not clear ahead of us because it diverged into two paths. One goes to Guptkashi which goes downhill while the road to Chandrashila is uphill. We had to literally climb to avoid the snow blocking the road. Please do not try walk over the snow. You might slip and fall. Remember the road is steeper. You might have to take the support of the alpine moss. They are really strong and helped me find shortcuts.
I was ahead of mom n dad, a complete new experience of understanding the way up to the summit where there was no one else to guide. Finally, after 1.5 hours we reached Chandrashila, the rising sun's rays fell on Chowkhamba and enlightened the entire valley alongside. The summit is a 360 degree view point flaunting the Himalayas on one 180 degrees side and their shadows on the hills on the other.
The only thing present at the summit is a Ganga Devi temple, a small one. Feels joyous to that the days first bell was rang by me, day's first visitor; the first witness to ethereal beauty and grandeur of the majestic Himalayas.
From here was trekked down to Tunganath, took our bags and trekked back to Chopta. We were lucky to experience a great sunny weather and hence the colours I saw while comming back was dynamic.
From Chopta we drove to Sari, another small town. Sari is the base for Devria Tal. The tal is situated on the opposite side of the hill. The trekking route is 2.3 kms(approx) only but is tedious. We started off around 11 a.m. and it was a bright day. We literally sweated our way to the lake. It took around 2 hours because of the scorching weather. In the evening, the clouds started setting in. There were few spells of rain too. The night sky was glistening and the Moon looked round and beautiful. We slept the nights away in our tent in sleeping bags. NOTE: there are no hotels here, only tents available for night stay. Negi is a famous name in this belt. They provide shelter here for INR 1000.
We came down to Sari early after sunrise. From Sari we drove back to Haridwar. Haridwar, the pristine water of the river Ganga, the banks of Har-ki-Pouri, the evening "Arati" and the pleasant weather have always allured me since my first visit. We stayed for relaxing after the trekking journey. We booked a hotel on the banks and the cool breeze flew in 24x7. From here, we went to Roorkee to visit an acquaintance and after staying there for 1 more day we left for Delhi and from Delhi all the way to Kolkata.
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