My Upward Journey to Heaven - Trip to Deoria Taal, Tugnath and Chandershila

This was my first adventure trip and after which my lust for adventure is increasing. I experience everything in Uttarakhand – Religion – Rafting – Homestays – Lake – Mountains. The trip was full of adventure and experience. You can’t experience so many things in just short span of time. I would love to give you day to day account for our trip.

Day 1 (Delhi to Rishikesh): We started our journey from Delhi early morning at 4:00 PM. Our first stoppage was Haridwar, where we planned to take the dip in holy Ganges. This was my first visit to Haridwar so with each dip in Ganges, if felt the power of this holy river. It was divine. After taking the bath, we had a quick breakfast and got ready to leave for our next destination.

The Holy waters of Ganga in Rishikesh provide some with a kind of adventure that’s unimaginable. The rapids of Ganga make it one of the best places to do white water river rafting in India. We straight away went to Shiv Puri for the rafting.

had a amazing rafting trip dfs

We had an amazing rafting trip from Shiv Puri to NIM Beach. After the trip one thing is must at Rishikesh – Maggi…no trip is complete without it. We spent our first night at a beautiful homestays in Rishikesh – Triprti. The place is simple but the clean and the hosts are really good…

Day 2 (Rishikesh to Sari): After taking the heavy breakfast, we started our journey for next destination – Sari. It is a small village and having very low inhabitation. Accommodation in Sari is pretty cheap since the inflow of tourists is low and there are quite a few options available.

Day 3 (Sari to Deoria Taal): The 2 km trek to Deoria Tal from Sari could just take around 1 and half hours depending on your speed. Forest rest house is not available as there are only 2 rooms constructed by local authorities and we used to keep our stuff and kitchen items. It is best to stay in tents when at this mesmerizing Tal. Deoria Tal also has a mythological connection with the Mahabharat. This was the place where Yaksha asked Pandavas to give an answer to his question before drinking the water from the Holy Lake.

We camped near the lake site…with a clear view of mountain ranges. There were two small shops from where you can get the food and other items. We were lucky that we were only group which was

camping on that night. The place is so calm that you will get time to talk to yourself….sky was full of stars and it was heavenly experience..

Day 4 (Deoria Taal to Tugnath): When we woke up next morning…it is difficult to tell what we saw…Golden peak and Tranquil lake water…. We all were speechless and just experiencing the best moments of nature…I thought that it was the best sunshine I had seen…

We had a very good breakfast – Aloo pranthas with pickles…the best part in mountains is that you can never keep count of how many pranthas you ate….after our breakfast, we packed our bags and tents and started the next journey to our Destination – Tugnath…you need to come back to Sari village and reach Chopta by Car. We parked our car near to small restaurants and started our trek after the lunch.

Trek from Chopta to Tugnath is easy one..the only problem is that at certain places it is steep…you gained 1,000 meters height in just 3-4 kms.. We reached the holy temple of Tugnath by evening. When we reached it just started raining. We quickly put our bags in Kali Kamali Wale Sarai. There are no commercial properties at this point. After the rain, the sky was so clear and I experienced the best rainbow of my life…so clear and vivid…

After that we quickly get a glimpse of Holy Temple – Tugnath. The temple is one of the five and the highest Panch Kedar temples – Kedarnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar and Kalpeshwar. The temple building and complex is very old. It is really marvels to see the ancient Indian architecture…these temple are bravely standing against the harsh weather. In winter, the whole area is covered under snow .

Day 5 (Tugnath to Chandershila): It was the submit day and we decided to leave early in the morning. The mission was to see the sunshine from Chandershila peak. Temperature was really low and no one dare to touch the water. We had a hot cup of tea and some breakfast. We took very small stuff with us, mainly food items. It was amazing to see clouds below your feets. The whole valley was covered by thick cloud and it was looking like a blankets.

I was wrong earlier, when I said that I saw the best sun rise…what we saw on that morning is very difficult to put in words. Our guide told us that we are very lucky to get such a clear weather. He confirmed that he could not able to see anything in last 5 trips because of rains. So I guessed that God was on our side. We get the view of golden tips..

The climate in mountains is very unpredictable. Soon after sometime, the clouds started collecting…we spent good time at that place. We decided to come back to Tugnath. After heavy breakfast, we started our journey back to Chopta. We reached the place by evening.

We spent one night in Chopta. There are rooms available for the guest in the area. It is not advisable to drive in the night from Chopta to Rishikesh.

Day 6 (Chopta to Delhi): We started our journey early morning and planned to reach back Delhi on the same day. The journey is little long (around 450 kms). Everyone was with full of energy after spending wonderful times in hills.

(Author: Jaspal Singh, is a travel enthusiast and is working at The Other Home)