Tungnath is the highest temple (ie situated in highest altitude : just below the peak Chandrashila) in the world and is one of the five and the highest Panch Kedar temples located in the mountain range of Tunganath in Rudraprayag district of Tehri Garhwal, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Tunganath (Tunga : high , Nath : lord) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys.
Generally it is attempted after Kedarnath. Tunganath (3680 mtrs) is not hard because its only a 3Km trek from Chopta. But the altitude can take a toll on first timers and elderly,and the climb is steep and not to be take lightly.
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| Tunganath Temple |
As per the legends when the
Pandavas went to look for
Lord Shiva to atone for their sins in the
Kurukhetra war Shiva took the disguise of a bull. Bheema the strongest of the Pandavas caught hold of him after realizing the guise.The resulting tug of war torn the bull apart in six places. The "Bahu" or arms fell here at Tunganath. The temple is considered to be over thousands years old.
Season : It is off limits in winter because of snow accumulation,furthermore the embodiment of shiva is taken down to the village at the foothils named Makku .
So its good to go there in summer and pre-monsoon,but in post-monsoon the region roads becomes unstable and prone to landslides.
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| Chopta |
Details > Chopta (2680 mtrs) is situated at a distance of 31 Kms from
Mandal (see my
post on Rudranath ) and obviously 36 Kms from
Gopeswar. Its 450 Kms from
Delhi, you can consult the following
link for distance chart though I must say its not very accurate. It is a small settlement mainly on the map because of the
Tunganath trek. Though the trek is only 3.5 Kms the height gained is almost 1000mtrs and hence not as easy as it seems. For invalids they have pony and horses unlike
Rudranath.
Madmaheswar also can be reached by sitting on a saddle but its not regular.
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| Winding road |
From Chopta climbing starts. The entire journey is a easygoing f unfilled one. Do not forget to drink the juice of
Rhododendron ,which the locals call "
Bransh" . Though many sellers use artificial flavours, so make sure of authenticity. You will not get it every season.
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| Tailless mouse |
On the road you will encounter many amazing species of plants and animals. I have encountered this tail-less
mouse-like rodent . Isn't it cute?
If you walk in a relaxed mood the entire journey may take upto 2 to 3 hours. We took our time ,chatted with people . We went to Tunganath after Rudranath so our legs were a little bit fatigued and Tunganath was a relief.
After you reach the destination the first task is to get yourself a room,and order lunch ,because of the altitude the food takes more time to be prepared.And obviously you should be hungry . The temple closes for some time in the afternoon so make sure to "Darshan" the Lord before that.
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| Tunganath Temple |
You can also give puja and make offering through a priest or "Purohit". The offering thali costs from 51 Rs to 1001Rs. In the other Kedars you are allowed to bring your own offering of anything even biscuits provided they are new and untasted.
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| Offerings for Lord Shiva |
Do not forget to come in the evening for Arati, its a good sight. Take dinner early and get inside.
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| Arati at Tunganath |
The next morning is the most exciting of all. If the weather is clear you can witness one of the most beautiful sights in the whole world. Trek a further 1 Km from Tunganath to the top of
Chandrashilla peak.
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| sunrise from Chandrashila |
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| Morning view |
From
Chandrashilla you will get a 360 degree view of the entire region , mostly dominated with high spectacular snow clad peak.
The sunrise is absolutely amazing and the view inexpressible by words.
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| Choukhamba |
You will feel your optical nerves getting overflowed with data. we were lucky enough to see a herd of a local deer species .
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| View from tunganath |
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| deer |
The deers were bonus ,but as they were very far and I don't have a telephoto lens nor in my small compact camera nor in my slr so the above picture of a straying deer is the only comprehensible one.
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| View from Chandrashilla |
we could not stay at
Chnadrashilla for a very long time because we had to go to
Uniyana the same day and trek for 7.5 Kms upto
Gaunder for
Madmaheswar trek (
read blog) .
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| glorious mountains |
Here are some more photographs for viewing pleasure.
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| Chandrashilla |
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| Chandrashilla Temple |
This is the small temple on the top of
Chandrashilla.
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| top view :Tunganath Temple. |
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| descend |
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| pet or wild |
Frankly there is not much to write ,that is in my power I cannot describe the beauty and divinity of this place, so in this post I have taken help of photographs more than words to express myself. Hope you will be able to experience what I have experienced when you go there .
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| Back to Chopta |
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