Jul 11, 2011 12:52 PM
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24th June – TREK TO TUNGNATH & CHANDERSHILLA - after breakfast of Cholle Puri, we all proceeded for Tungnath trek. We drove for 3 km to Chopta and started the ascend. The Tunganath(literal meaning is lord of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys.
Located at an altitude of 3, 680 m(12, 073 ft), the Tungnath temple is the highest Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is believed to be 1000 years old and is the second in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. One has to cover a distance of 4 km. Mostly it is a steep climb. There is a well maintained bridle path but our team members were making their own ways to reach top. There was a sense of competition to be ahead of others. Four active members who always remained ahead of others were Ankush, Nikhil, Vijay Sharma and Isha.
On the way we just had one tea break and there we met a family of four from Delhi who had done some other treks in this region. It was a nice exchange of information. Though morning was clear but it started getting cloudy during our ascend to Tungnath. On reaching Tungnath we all were happy with our achievement. It was quite cold over there. We performed group pujas and had a Maggie break.
As I told that there were clouds all around and hence no visibility of snow peaks. Trek to Chandershilla had to be cancelled as from there one can have 270 degree view of Great Himalayas. Chandershilla peak is at height of 4, 000 mts.(13, 123 ft.). Every one of us bit disturbed but we thought of it as an opportunity to come back again. If one wants to have view of Great Himalayas, he has to start ascend at 3-4 am from Chopta so as to reach early and avoid clouds during month of July and August.
On way down to Chopta, we were trapped in heavy rains and hailstorm. We ran to look for a shelter but were completely soaked. It was ice cold and shelter of a tea shop was the desperately needed one. After cup of tea we had Krishna Bhajans as rain did not stop. It was a different experience. At tea shop our members found a cute little puppy and named it Nano.
We returned to our camp in evening. Some of members went for sleep as they were exhausted while others preferred to wait for a cup of tea with tasty bread pakoras. We played volley ball and cricket. It was really nice to see people playing after hectic trek of Tungnath.
25th June – TREK TO DEORIA TAL ==– some of us used to wake up early and was first ones to order tea. Magpie’s standard time for first tea is 6 am but we changed it to 5.30 am. We were gossiping over there and then at 6.30 we started playing volleyball. Within no time there was rain, but we continued to play. Soon after it started raining heavily and our play also become more aggressive. There were people slipping around and no one got hurt. Magpie resorts staff was surprised at our will and advised us not to play in rain. Game went on and volley ball became rugby. There was a small pond near dining area and the ball went into that. Gaurav was trying to take it out by using stick. Suddenly Vijay from Delhi came and pushed Gaurav into pond.
Now this was a new game and victims teamed up to push others into pond. One of our members ran into forest and remained there for an hour to escape from this act, whereas other one went into bed without clothes on pretext of wet clothes. 4-5 members locked themselves up in tent and were waiting for this mad game to be over. It was one of rare and pure experience in lap of nature. Ultimately our guide warned us that if we keep on playing, then it won’t be possible to do Deoria Tal trek. Everyone went for quick shower and was back in no time.
We drove around 12 kms for Sari village from where trek of Deoria Tal starts. It was another difficult and steep trek but was enjoyed by all of us. Deoria Tal is at height of 3, 200 meters and around 2-3 kms. From Sari village.
After spending 2 hrs on top we had lunch of local dal(Chausa), Chawal and vegetables at a tea shop over there. It was arranged by our camp and was an unforgettable experience.
Deoria Tal is said to have dept till patal lok and for those who are not aware of its association with Pandavas, there is a little story. During exile when Pandavas were roaming here, they stopped for rest. Since everyone was thirsty, Yudhishtra sent Nakul for bringing water from this pond. This pond was guarded by a Yaksha who warned Nakul that before taking water he must answer his question. But Nakul ignored it and as a result he died. Other brothers Sehdev, Bhima and Arjuna met with same fate. At last Yudhistra went in search of his brothers and was asked same questions by Yaksha. Yudhishtra replied all questions and Yaksha was happy. Yudhishtra requested Yaksha to give life to his brothes and his wish was fulfilled.
While returning from top we again encountered rains like previous day. As we were taking short cuts to reach early. Some of our team members slipped down including me, but fortunately there was no injury to anyone. One definitely needs good trekking shoes and a stick to keep balance while descending.
It was little late when we reached our camp. Both the treks are considered easy by experienced trekkers but these were hard treks for all of us as it is not in our life style to go for long strenuous walks.
26th June – RETURN TO DELHI== –
We started our journey at 9 am and got late because of landslides and traffic jams at Rishikesh and Haridwar. On the way we saw an Indica which had a break down and was helped by a truck driver. We could see the oil leak there and followed it 2-3 km or may be more. We could see the reason as that patch had fallen stones from mountain and one particular stone had punctured the oil tank of the car.
We reached Delhi at 4 am on 27th June. It was end of exciting trip with lots of promise made for physical fitness.
Some essential information –
Distance(Delhi to Duggalbeeta) – Around 425 km.
Driving time – 14 hrs.
Route – Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut – Roorkee – Haridwar – Rishikesh – Dev Prayag – Rudra Prayag – Kund – Duggalbeeta
WORD OF CAUTION – I prefer to avoid night driving and travel by road. But because of limitations of days we had to undertake night travel both ways. We had a miraculous escape at new road which connects NH 58 to Delhi Ghaziabad road through Raj Nagar extension. This road is along Hindon River and we were waylaid by robbers who threw stones at our cars to make forced stop but by grace of God both cars escaped their plans. This happened at 2.30 am on 27th June morning. I strongly request the travelers to avoid this road during night even if you have to spend extra time on main road.
