On our last leg Tungnath Temple was visible from more than a kilometer away. This last leg is straight. It took us about three hours in total to reach the complex. Holy chants and bells were ringing around the temple. Tungnath is the highest Shiva temple in the world and it attracts its due lot of worshippers.
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| Last leg of Tungnath trek, temple is visible now |
We reached Chopta before it went dark. Our hotel was far away from the entrance of Tungnath trek. Because Chopta area comes under military there was no electricity and no network. This was to discourage illegal construction around the base of trek.
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| Details at the entrance of Tungnath trek |
Next day we started afresh for Deoriatal. We had a hot water bath and a good breakfast in our hotel which also operated a well running restaurant. The entrance was right in front of our hotel so we were on the uphill trek quickly.
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| First leg of Deoriatal Trek |
We started early morning from Rishikesh for Sari village. Within an hour we were at Devprayag. I have been to this place couple of times but its beauty never ceases to amaze me. Two rivers, one muddy another pristine, meet here to create Ganges. We stopped and descended down to the point of merger and just stayed there for a while.
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| Devprayag, merging of Bhagirathi and Alakananda rivers |
Rishikesh - Deoriatal - Tungnath
I truly explored Rishikesh on my trip to Deoriatal - Tungnath. We were three of us. An early morning Shatabdi dropped us at Haridwar and then we took a connecting train to Rishikesh. The holy city of Rishikesh has become a base for multiple routes and has grown itself multifold without expanding geographically.
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| View from Beatles Cafe |