Just half an hour into the trek from Chopta to Tungnath gets you right into this amazing winter wonderland.
Sunset from right above the Chopta town (seen while descending down from Tungnath to Chopta)
A trekker up the trail, hiding from the sun and losing.
Clouds playing hide and seek, with the rain clouds occasionally circling the Kedar and Chaukhamba mountain ranges.
Well laid out trekking trail to Tungnath, with the sun leading the path every now and then:)
An abandoned shelter, just ~500 meter from the Tungnath temple, a fair amount of people mistook it for the temple (snow mirage, if there's such a thing) ;)
View from the front edge of the Tungnath temple, these small shops remains closed in winters but bustle with locals and large no. of tourists during the peak season.
And we're here, The Tungnath Temple - Highest Shiv temple in the world at 12073 ft (5000 years old and highest among the Panch Kedar temples)
The deities in the temple are taken down to Makkumath (19 km from Chopta) during the snow season and are brought back here once the snow clears.
Tungnath literally means 'Lord of the peaks', to read more about this place's history go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungnath
A bird sitting outside the temple, looking up at Chandrashila peak and wondering these silly humans would do just about anything for selfies ;)
Chandrashila Top: The place where as per legend Lord Ram meditated and Ravan did penance to Lord Shiv when he resided here.
Its a sharp ~2km accent from the Tungnath temple to Chandrashila peak and it wouldn't take more than an hour to get here for an avg trekker.
There's a reason lord Ram came here to meditate...
Atop Chandrashila peak, speechless, just lo and behold..
Words will always fall short, the beauty of this place is just ineffable..
Another abandoned shelter enroute Tungnath, some windows deserve special appreciation..
A bird posing for me in the frame, a tad bit of human nature rubbed off onto the animals here:)
Enroute Tungnath, again.... just too many pictures to share:)
Tungnath Temple (from every nook and cranny)
On our way back to Chopta, sometime nearing sundown.
