Deoria Tal - Trek & Travelogue - 2

Chopta is the starting point for Tungnath & Chandrashila Trek. Deoria Tal trek starts from Sari Village. Chopta is located on Ukhimath-Gopeshwar road in Rudraprayag district. Sari village can also be reached from Ukhimath-Gopeshwar route via a 3 km connecting road. Please refer to the below map.

Rishikesh to Deoria Tal - Day 2

Rising Sun was peeking behind the lush hills when we left our hotel. The morning was chilly with a cold breeze. We just missed our 7 'o clock bus by a few minutes. We waited for the next bus while sipping hot tea and watched the sky change color. Finally, our Bus left for Rudraprayag at 8'o clock since there was no direct bus for Sari village or Chopta.

After leaving Rishikesh, the bus rode along the Ganga valley. There were few rafts in the river valley, slowly ending their adventure. The rapids looked weak from the top but the roaring sound made us realize otherwise. We shared our vivid river rafting experience with Manish. The bus passed through Shivpuri. The hills kept increasing vertically making the valley deeper.

The bus kept moving through winding roads.After a while, the bus started the long steep climb from one hill to another. Now, Emerald green Ganga was lazily flowing at the enormously deep gorge and distant faint peaks were visible. The bus halted at Teen Dhara with few dhaba on the roadside. We had Maggi and Paranthe in one of the dhaba. A faded snowy mountain was visible from the dhaba window. We were thrilled to see it and made failed attempts to identify the mountain using phone apps.

DevPrayag

Then the bus headed for Devprayag, the road was slightly downhill now. The valley was less deep and the river was silently flowing with us. This was when I informed Shaan and Manish, that we were about to see the birth of a river, The Great Ganges. I explained about the geographical phenomena of two mighty rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda confluence at DevPrayag.

Bhagirathi river rises at Gaumukh at the foot of Gangotri Glacier. In mythology and culture, it is considered the source stream of Ganga. Alaknanda river is formed at the foot of Satopanth and Bhagirathi Kharak glacier. In Hydrology, it is the main source stream of Ganga. The Panch Prayag are confluences of five different rivers with Alaknanda. Finally, Bhagirathi joins Alaknanda to form the Ganges at Devprayag. (I know I cannot help the Geek in me)

We reached Rudraprayag around 1:30 pm and looked for transport options towards Chopta. A bus was leaving soon for Ukhimath, we placed our luggage in it and went for lunch. After lunch, we considered going down to Rudraprayag Sangam but our bus was leaving. So, we boarded the bus and started the last lap towards Sari.

Rudraprayag to Ukhimath Shaan noticed that the river was darker, clear with a tinge of green now. I told him that it is the Mandakini river, which caused havoc in the entire Kedarnath valley in 2013. It flowed briskly, bouncing and splashing on the rocky river bed, making deafening noise in the process. Several villages and small towns were adjacent to or overlooking the river valley on the way.

About 45 minutes later, a gigantic white wall behind the hills caught my eyes. I looked at Shaan, he was already staring at it and I nudged Manish to watch the Grand view. We were actually looking right at Kedar range, 6990 meters of sheer rock and ice. This was it; this was exactly what we came here for. The imposing Mountain range, untouched nature of the valley and boisterous river engulfed us in its splendor.

We reached Kund, it was the juncture from where the road forked. The left fork had a bridge to cross the river and continued towards Kedarnath. The right fork was a steep climb, our bus turned right and kept climbing. We gained significant elevation in a few minutes. The valley now seemed bottomless and Kedarnath peak within the arm's reach. We reached Ukhimath at 4:30 pm and weighed our options. I suggested that we could try trekking up to Deoria Tal since we had quite a daylight left.

We hired a cab to Sari Village and left immediately. It was a pleasant 35 minutes drive to Sari, overlooking the deep scenic valley and distant hills. The hills on the other side kept the High Mountains out of the view, though.

Trek to Deoria Tal from Sari

Deoria Tal is located at the top of the hill overlooking Sari village. The trail starts on your right, just after entering the village. We found Mr. Mahendra right there, who had accommodation in the village as well as the hilltop. We chose to stay overnight at Deoria Tal since trekking down in dark was insensible. Mahendra went back to fetch a few things he needed. While we were waiting for Mahendra, a simple old man offered us Kinnu juice. We declined the offer politely but purchased bottled water from him. He had a tiny shop right in front of the small board indicating trek start point.

We started the trek at 5:15 pm along with Mahendra. The zigzagging trail was rocky with a steady climb. After hiking for 15 minutes, we saw a Shiva temple with Kedarnath style architecture. The sun was setting, leaving behind a golden glow to the mountains, including Chandrashila peak. Sky had rainbow hues from Blue to Purple. Sari was far below and the distant hamlets in the valley looked like miniatures. The view could make you sit there and watch the valley for hours.

There were few resting points with gazebos & benches on the trail. The hike had become steeper and we were now surrounded by thick forest. The light was fading making the path darker. We sped up to avoid trekking in dark. We made it to the top in almost dark surroundings. Manish fell ill during the trek so it took us around 50-60 minutes to reach the top (2.5 km trek).

The temperature was predicted to go sub-zero and Manish had a fever. So, we chose to spend the night in a hutment instead of tents. It was pitch dark and nobody else was on the mountain top apart from us. We freshened up, Manish took some pills and rested in the hutment. We had our dinner in the dhaba while chatting with Mahendra and his uncle (owner of the dhaba). The food was served hot; it was simple but tasty with pahadi flavors. I spent some time under the magnificently starry sky, locating different constellation within the million stars. We retired to the bed for an early morning start.