Uttarakhand - Chopta, Auli, Haridwar, Rishikesh visit

Why Uttarakhand?

Well, Uttarakhand is a mystical land of mountains and mythologies, exquisite landscapes and exhilarating adventure, and wellness and yoga, Uttarakhand has something to offer every traveller. Popularly known as Devbhoomi, or the land of gods, the state is framed by the Himalayas and divided into two main regions, Garhwal and Kumaon.

We wanted to enjoy the snow and thought why not go to Mini Switzerland(chopta) and Skiing capital of India (Auli) this time in Uttarakhand. Once you decide the destination, half the trip is done and our planning was made much easier by "India easy trip" who customised the complete trip as per our wishes.

Our flight was to Dehradun via Delhi from Bangalore. We started our trip from Dehradun at around 9 30am. We visited sacred river confluences enroute before reaching our beautiful eco friendly resort in our first destination Chopta, known as mini Switzerland of India.

Prayag in Hindu tradition signifies confluence of two or more rivers.

Devprayag is the final one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River where Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi river and both sacred rivers thereafter flow on as the sacred Ganges river or Ganga.

We offered our prayers to sacred Ganga here and enjoyed the flowing river and nature around. Since the crowd was very less, we felt peaceful and could enjoy the place to fullest.

Dhari Devi a Hindu temple located on the banks of the Alaknanda between Srinagar and Rudraprayag in the Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand. The temple is home to the upper half of the idol of the goddess Dhari, while the lower half of the idol is located in Kalimath, where she is worshipped as a manifestation of the Goddess Kali.

Dhari devi face is very beautifully decorated as if alive and we can feel the powerful energy in this place. Temple is scenically located in water and we can enjoy the energy of God and nature together.

Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. We saw the temple from road only and continued our journey to our resort which was booked in verdant valley.

We reached the resort around 7pm. Located in the lush green Mandakini valley, Himalayan Eco Lodges Kund in Kund is one of the most spectacular location for fun-filled holiday. Clean rooms, excellent hospitality of the staff and yummy food. Even though there is electricity problem in the region, resort has generator back up which is good for tourists.

Today is the day to check the fitness level and mind will power with Tungnath and Chandrashila trek.

Tungnath is the highest Shiva temple in the world and is the highest of the five Panch Kedar temples. The Tungnath (literal meaning: Lord of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys. It is located at an altitude of 3,470 m (11,385 ft), and just below the peak of Chandrashila.

Though it is easy to moderate trek in summers, it can be rated as hard trek in winter due to slippery terrain and snow. We had decided that we will trek how much ever possible and enjoy the snow and surroundings.

We hired 2 guides from resort which I would say was wise decision. When we almost gave up, the guides will power and commitment was what made us reach even the Chandrashila peak top. The mountain peak was filled with more and more snow as we climbed up and this also kept us going further and further up.

We enjoyed the snow, amazing landscape and divine surrounding in this trek. I feel trekking is a very good activity not only to test our physical fitness but also our will power. Do you want to reach the top?

Chandrashila is the summit above Tungnath temple. It literally means "Moon Rock". It is located at a height of about 3,690 metres (12,110 ft) above sea level. This peak provides views of the Himalayas, including Nanda Devi, Trishul, Kedar peak and others. There are various legends associated with this place. According to one such legend, this is the place where Lord Rama meditated after defeating the demon-king Ravana. Another legend says that moon-god Chandra spent time here in penance.

I'm thankful to the guide and my husband who dint gave up on me and helped me to reach this peak. I faced slight breathing difficulty here but as soon as you see 360 degree view of Himalayas, all the struggle to reach here is forgotten and I literally cried with joy here enjoying this beauty.

It was almost sunset when we reached back Tungnath and witnessed most amazing sunset in the lap of Himalayas. We reached back to the base of trek with the help of mobile torch. It was quite slippery on the way back but again due to guide we were able to reach back safely.

This day's plan was to reach our hotel in Joshimath which is a town chosen to stay to explore Auli, the skiing capital of India. There are also accommodations in Auli but if whether goes bad, there are chances of getting stuck at top and hence we chose to stay at Joshimath itself.

We seeked blessings from Omkareshwar enroute in Ukhimath.

Ukhimath is a pilgrimage site in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, India. This temple popularly known as Omkareshwar Pith is one of the oldest in the country and houses the dieties of Kedarnath and Madmaheswar during the winter months (November to April). During this time the temple of Kedarnath and Madhmaheshwar remains closed. The dieties are brought here from Kedarnath after Diwali and from Madmaheswar in December and worshipped here for six months. These dieties are taken back in a procession to their original temples in mid May. Ukhimath can be used as center destination for visiting different places located nearby, i.e. Madhmaheshwar (Second kedar), Tungnath ji (Third kedar) and Deoria Tal(natural fresh water lake).

It is believed that the wedding of Usha (Daughter of Vanasur) and Anirudh (Grandson of Lord Krishna) was solemnized here. This place was named as Ushamath after the name of Usha and is now known as Ukhimath.

Ukhimath is dotted with several artistic ancient temples dedicated to Usha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Aniruddha and Mandhata. Ukhimath is mainly inhabited by the Rawals who are the head priests (pundits) of Kedarnath. Snow capped peaks of the splendid Himalayan range are distinctly visible from Ukhimath. From Ukhimath on a clear day one can see the beautiful view of Kedarnath peak, Chaukhamba & other green beautiful valley. Ukhimath is connected by direct bus service with Rudraprayag Gaurikund, Guptkashi & Srinagar.

At the temple, there is one stone statue of Mandhata. According to the legend, this emperor, during his last years gave up everything including his empire and came to Ukimath and did penance for 12 years by standing on one leg. At the end Lord Shiva appeared in the form of 'sound' , 'Omkar', and blessed him. From that day onwards this place came to be known as Omkareshwar.

After long journey, we reached Joshimath in the evening. Weather was quite cold here itself and we just explored some local markets before calling the day off.

The days plan was to explore the peak of Auli and do Gorson Bugyal trek.

The ropeway to reach Auli is at around 1km from where we stayed. People stand in queues for getting this ticket at 2am itself in peak seasons but since crowd was less we easily got the ticket at 8am for 9:15 am slot.

The system here is that, they give 25 tickets for every half an hour slot of ropeway and you must be on time for your booked slot or else you have to wait until you get free slot again.

We did not know this and reached a bit late. But somehow again due to less crowd we were given the immediate next slot in the ropeway.

As soon as you reach the top, we were surrounded by group of horse riders offering us to take to Gorson Bugyal on horse back. Because we were very tired after Tungnath trek, we decided to take the horse.

We reached the top within 30mins on horse back and enjoyed skiing, tube sliding activities and of course snow ❄ at the top :) one has to trek further to get the views of Nanda Devi and other peaks but the guides gave us only 2hrs here and we couldn't go further. These horse owners try to do 2-3 trips per day and don't agree to stay for more time.

One tip here would be to hire horse only one way, to get more time on the top if you are interested and walk back down if your fitness allows you to.

Anyways we enjoyed fully the time we got and reached back Joshimath by 12 30pm.

We tried local Garhwal dish for lunch which is Mandhuwa roti with local ghee and Gahat Dal. It's very tasty and nutritious food.

After lunch, we explored local temples in Joshimath which are Lord Narasimha temple and Joshimath mutt with 2500 yrs old Kalpa Vruksha.

The energy here is very divine and peaceful.

The days plan is just to reach Rishikesh which is around 7hrs drive from Joshimath and experience the divine Ganga Aarti at 5 30pm. So we started early at 7 30am itself from Joshimath and stopping only for eating and bio-breaks in between.

The holy Ganges river is worshipped at various ghats in Rishikesh among which the Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan and Triveni Ghat are distinctively famous.

We had a surprise from our driver as we reached Rishikesh at 3 30pm where he had booked a local guide for just rs 100 to show us around Rishikesh and drop us for ganga aarti at 5pm.

We explored local markets, Ram Jhula, Laksman Jhula, and various temples on foot with this guide before he dropped us to Bolero stand driver who took us to Parmarth Niketan ghat for ganga aarti. Local guide gave more time on local shops and marketed for buying different rings and malas than giving time inside temples which we dint like. Probably the tip here is not to fall for such marketing and just move on and spend more time in temples itself.

Due to winter, ganga aarti starts at 5pm itself. We reached around 5 15pm and experienced the divine ganga aarti.

Rishikesh is the yoga capital of the world. Here you get all yoga accessories. I wanted to buy khadi and pure cotton yoga clothes and singing bowl but due to lack of time, I could shop for some yoga clothes only.

Since we covered most of the Rishikesh sightseeing previous day itself, today on the fly we decided to go to Haridwar since we had time till evening before boarding our flight back to Namma Bengaluru. Haridwar and Rishikesh are just 50mins away.

Haridwar is situated on the right bank of the Ganga river, at the foothills of the Shivalik ranges. Haridwar is regarded as a holy place for Hindus, hosting important religious events and serving as a gateway to several prominent places of worship. Most significant of the events is the Kumbh Mela, which is celebrated every 12 years in Haridwar. During this, millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate in Haridwar to perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Salvation.

We visited Mansi devi, Chandi Devi temples which are accessible via ropeway and spent sometime at Ganga ghat. Both ropeways can hold 4 people and its very exciting to slowly ascend and descend to these temples in ropeway enjoying the panoramic views.

Mansa Devi Temple is one of the most revered temple of Goddess Mansa Devi located at Bilwa Parvat near Haridwar. This temple is a holy place to worship Goddess Mansa, who is believed to be a form of Shakti, emerged from the mind of great Sage Kashyap. Mansa Devi temple is a famous Siddhpeeth and offers panoramic views of Haridwar city.

Chandi Devi is one of the three Shakti peetha in Haridwar. The other two being Mansa Devi and Maya Devi. These three temple together make a triangle. It is believed that both Chandi devi amd Mansa Devi are two forms of Goddess Parvati and are always very close to each other.

I would say both Haridwar and Rishikesh are very commercialised which must be kept in mind.

We had both divine experience and enjoyment in nature in this trip and taking back lot of memories which would remain with us forever.