[SIDDAGNI]

Summers were here and we wanted to go out before it gets too hot everywhere. We started exploring the options nearby Delhi that we can cover in 3 days.
While searching the options we came across the “Tungnath Temple” which is also the highest Lord Shiva temple in the world and highest of the five Panch Kedar temples
We started exploring the options and feasibility to reach there, if some trekking group is required, equipment etc.
After certain research we concluded the following points:
• It's very well connected to the main road
• Road conditions are good (except for some harsh patches)
• No trek guide required
• No special trekking equipment required
• No major online booking available
• The place is visited by lots of visitors as it’s a Hindu shrine
So we decided to go to Tungnath.
While reading about Tungnath we found that there is another place near to Tungnath i.e. Deoria Taal. We studied about that as well and found that it can be covered as we were ready to take a day off for covering 2 places at once.
I own a Bajaj Dominar 400 and the first plan was to drive it to Tungnath. But time was constraint so we moved to our next plan i.e. taking the Bus halfway and then renting a motorcycle and covering the rest of the distance.
The itinerary is as below:
9th May 2019: Boarding Bus from Kashmiri Gate ISBT to Rishikesh
10th May 2019: Rishikesh to Deoria Taal
11th May 2019: Deoriatal to Tungnath
12th May 2019: Chadrashilla to Rishikesh to Delhi.

Day 0 (9th May 2019): After considering many options of covering Deoria Taal – Tungnath on the bike we concluded that it will be very hectic and tough for us to drive all the way from Delhi to Rishikesh and then to Deoria Taal & Tungnath. So we modified our plan and started exploring other option, One of my friend who is a localite from Rishikesh suggested renting a bike from Rishikesh only and cover the distance from Delhi-Rishikesh in a bus comfortably.
I liked the idea, as we were short of time and we cannot drive all the way from Delhi to Tungnath and then rest for the whole day!
We booked our ticket in “AC Shatabdi” bus UPSRTC. The ticket the cost was around INR 450/head and we selected the last bus boarding from Delhi at 11:30 p.m.
Website: http://www.upsrtc.com/
The temperature in Tungnath was around 10° C to -1°C, so we prepared our self as per that.
Packing was done and we took all our biking gears with us as we were not sure that what quality gears they will provide with. We reached Kashmiri Gate ISBT (Delhi), all buses for Rishikesh starts from Kashmiri Gate ISBT only. We boarded the bus, after a few hours it stopped for some refreshments. We walked out had tea and a bit of snack and then again came to our seats and slept.


Total Expense: 1000/-
Distance Covered: Delhi to Rishikesh by bus: 230 Km


Day 1 (10th May 2019): We reached Rishikesh 5:30 in the morning and the bike rental shop was anyways not going to open before 9:30 a.m. so we went to a hotel nearby to the Rishikesh bus stop rested there for some time.


Our stay

After getting freshen up we went for some breakfast at ‘Rajasthani Sweets Mishthan Bhandar’ and had Puri chole , Dhokle , Dosa , jalebi etc. and was full.



Then we started walking from there to the bike rental shop which is around 1 km from there as we were so full that we wanted to walk for a while to digest the things.

We hired a bike from ‘Ranjeet Motorcycles’ a renowned name in Rishikesh and nearby for bike rental, I was in contact with them from start and they assured me that they will provide a Bajaj Pulsar 220 motorcycle on a daily tariff of INR 700/- (usually they charge INR 800/-). When we reached the shop, they ask us to wait for some time, it took them 1.5 hours to arrange the bike as someone booked it and have not returned it on time. So, dealing with all that we finally got the bike at around 11 a.m., but ultimate relief was that the bike was in good condition and well maintained. The Shop address is

Ranjeet Motorcycles
Adjacent: Hemkund Sahib Trust Gurudwara
585 Laxman Jhoola Road,
Rishikesh 249201

Detail of Bike rental

After getting the bike we without wasting any further time started for our first destination i.e. ‘Saari Village’.


We decided to have a stay at Deoriataal and then next day move to Tungnath.
Rishikesh to Saari village is approx. 190km but on hills, it usually takes 1 hour to cover 35km- 40km with a decent speed. We got our tank full from Rishikesh and headed for Saari Village. The route was good but few patches were harsh as roads are expanding as a part of 4 Dhaam Marg project. Rishikesh was warm as it was May, but as soon we crossed the main city air becomes a bit soothing and relaxing. On our right side, Ganga River was accompanying us for the whole route. We saw many people rafting and many were getting ready for the thrill. Our first halt was “Devprayag” where rivers ‘Alakananda’ & ‘Bhagirathi’. The view was magnificent, one can clearly see the two rivers meeting to become one as their colours are different. It took us 2.5 hours to reach Devprayag from Rishikesh. We halted for some time, clicks some photograph and then headed ahead as we were already running late.





Devprayag” where rivers ‘Alakananda’ & ‘Bhagirathi’.


We headed towards ‘Badrinath Road’, there are clear signboards, we crossed one of the biggest town ‘Srinagar’ and then reached ‘Rudraprayag’ where two rivers ‘ Alakananda’ & ‘Mandakini’ meet. The view was great. We left the Badrinath road and followed the Kedarnath road.



Rudraprayag to Saari village is approx 60Km and it was already 4 in the evening, we kept on moving and took only small water breaks. We got our tank full as we were not sure that we will be getting the fuel on our way or not, the fuel station is 22km from Rudraprayag.

Fuel Station before Deoriataal

We finally left the Kedarnath road at ‘Kund’ and headed towards Ukhimath road

The temperature was dropping and we can actually feel the cold waves. It took us next 30mins to reach Saari village.
We reached Saari village at 6:15 p.m. which was quite late but as we have started late and had no choice rather than sticking on the plan. So we enquired about the stay at Deoriataal. Someone suggested that ‘Negi ji’ will manage. So we reached Negi ji and he asked INR 700/person for tent+Dinner+Breakfast, it sounded a good deal for us and we agreed to it. There are many homestays and Holiday homes. So, we put down all our luggage and safety gears at his shop only, ohh by the way Negi ji has one small restaurant as well. The hike for Deoriataal from Saari village is 2.3 km and it takes about 1 hour to 1.15 hour. He Said that you will meet one guy at the lake and he will arrange for a tent and food. We started walking with just bare minimum luggage. It was fun but the sunlight was dimming so we decided to proceed fast. We reached the lake by 7:15 but it was dark then so we just used our mobile flashlight and stayed inside the tent. The guy who arranged our tents went down to Saari Village and brought us the food from Negi ji restaurant. We had our dinner and preferred to stay inside the tent and rest as we planned to wake up early and enjoy the sunset and we were a bit tired due to the travel.







Total Distance covered: 210Km
Contact detail of Negi Ji: Raghuveer Negi – 9690090515

[SIDDAGNI]

Day 2 (11th May 2019): We woke up early in the morning and just relaxed and made our self-comfortable, Deoriataal is famous for its lake and you can see the reflection of sun, trees and clouds on it. We watched the sun rising in front of us and it was very beautiful. We carried some snacks with us from Saari Village and enjoyed that sitting silently near the lake. You can take a round around the lake that is covered with lush green trees. There is also a watchtower near the lake on which you can climb and can see the view of mountain ranges visible from there. There were many tourist groups which were also doing yoga there. We had our tour around the lake explored each part clicked a lot of photos and then started moving down towards the Saari Village. There are washroom facility available at Deoriatal facilitated by forest department but don’t forget to carry your own sanitizer and water bottle. There was a little shop only at Deoriataal which closes by evening so advise you to carry all snacks and water bottles on your own.















It took us 45 minutes to reach Saari Village from Deoriataal. We crashed at Negi Ji’s restaurant and asked him if we can fresh up there, he is the owner of the homestay as well so he opened one room for us and we quickly fresh up and got ready for our further journey. We had our breakfast at Negi Ji’s restaurant only and had Paratha and Maggie. We gave him 1600/- total for stay and food in total. He was very genuine and asked our plan further. We informed that we are going to Tungnath so he called one of his friends owning a tea stall near the Tungnath main temple and asked them to vacate one of the rooms in their homestay for us. We thanked him and Started for Tungnath. It was around 10:30 in the morning. The rote from Saari Village to the base of Tungnath is almost 24km and the route is very scenic, roads covered with shadowed with dense forest and lots of birds visible throughout the journey.


After leaving from Saari village search for ‘Chopta - Himalaya's Pure, Ukhimath - Chopta - Gopeshwar Rd, Chopta, Uttarakhand 246419’ instead of Tungnath. As the trail starts from here only.


The trail which is ‘Ticked right’ is the main train going for Tungnath temple and the other one is shown is going towards Chandrashilla.

One can easily see the starting point for the trek.
We randomly stop at many points just to enjoy the beauty of nature.



We reached the base of Tungnath at around 12:30 and there are many bike parking facilities available. After parking the bike the next target was to take care of our luggage so we asked one restaurant guy if he can keep all the safety gears for us. He agreed (People in hilly areas are very honest and sweet) and we put all our extra luggage in their storeroom. So we were finally ready to start for the Tungnath trek. The trek was tough as compared to Deoriataal and it took us 3 hours to reach the Homestay which was adjacent to the main temple. The path is well maintained and well fabricated. The view during the trek is awesome, there were many tourists going up and down as it’s one of the major Hindu shrines and many devotees come to pray there. There are few shops on the route, we stopped on the halfway shop and enjoyed some milk badam. People motivate you by saying go on..you have just reached!!


Starting Point for Tungnath Trek








The first look of Tungnath Temple.

We reached the Homestay told us by Negi Ji. He asked for 500/person for stay and food separate. We agreed. There are many homestays now near the temple and they all range in between INR 400-900. It is advisable to book your stay before you start the trek. There are many shops down there which have their subunit near the temple and they will arrange for food and accommodation as some times in tourist season its hard to find the accommodation out there.
We just parked our luggage in the room and went to the temple and it was very relaxing and we were happy to be there.




We did some rituals and came back to the stay, we confirmed the Arti timing with the priest and they told us you should be here by 5:45. We again went to the temple to attend the evening prayer ceremony and it was nice as there were many tourist and shopkeepers who were present there. After that, we sat down for some time and came back to our stay and enjoyed the fresh Aloo Partha as our dinner. We decided to sleep early as next morning we were hiking to Chandrashila.
The Tungnath temple is at a height of 3680m. The temperature started dropping suddenly just after the sunset. We quickly ran into our room.
Next morning we were going to cover the Chandrashila peak which is called the summit for Tungnath trek it's at a height of 4000m and is famous for its sunrise as one can see the Himalayas, including Nandadevi, Trisul, Kedar Peak, Bandarpunch and Chaukhamba peaks. It is said that Lord Rama meditated here after defeating the demon king Ravana.

There are many trek agencies which organise trek that starts from Saari village and they trek all the way from Deoriataal- Tungnath- Chandrashila it usually takes 7-8 days of total time and a bit more money since we were short of time and wanted to cover all in a quick go we choose this plan. The trek is basically organised post-winter season when there is a lot of snow which make it a perfect winter trek.

Trek route from Deoritaal to Tungnath-Chandrashila

We slept early as next day we planned to wake up at 3:45 a.m. as we were supposed to leave for Chandrashila by 4:15 a.m. to enjoy the sunrise.




Total distance covered: 25Km

[SIDDAGNI]

Day 3 (12th May 2019): The day started early and we woke up at 3:45 a.m. and outside it was biting cold and we just somehow manage to do all morning rituals (nature calls!!) and at 4:20 a.m. we left for Chandrashila peak. There were many people going there and all were carrying flashlights. The trail is well marked and we followed it. The hike is good and vert steep. It took us 45 minutes to reach there, a day before we procured some snacks and water bottle and carried the same with us as there is no shop after Tungnath temple. We reached the summit and by that time there was some light and the mountains were visible and there were many people waiting and watching the sun. We settled down at a place and quietly waited for the sun. It looks like silently it was coming out some hidden habitat and the sky was all orange and mountain ranges were reflecting it very well. We were lucky that the sky was very clear and we could see the sunrise properly. We sat there for some time and enjoyed the view, there is a small temple there which is locked. You can see from outside only.
















We came back to our stay at Tungnath and while coming back we visited the temple again for the final time and then took our luggage and started for the base. It took us around 2 hours to get down as we were moving slow and steady. After reaching the base we went to the restaurant at which we kept our luggage and safety gears, we had our meal there and then we started for Rishikesh. We followed the same route back. It was a hot day but the air was a bit cold. We covered the distance in 7 hours and reached Rishikesh at around 6 in the evening. We didn’t return our bike and straight away went to ‘Parmarth Niketan’ to attend Ganga Arti, but we were late and it was already started. We then for a dip in the holy Ganga river and after that we were feeling fresh.
One can directly go to another side of the Ganga river (parmarth Niketan ashram) without going into the main Rishikesh city if you are coming from Badrinath road.





After attending the Ganga Arti we went back to return the bike and they inspected the bike for any damage or scratches and returned our adhar card copy which he submitted at the time of bike delivery.

We have a booking in Volvo this time as we were aware that we will be requiring proper rest to attend office’s next day. The Volvo is booked from the same UPSRTC website and it drops at Kashmiri gate only.
We had time before we board the bus so we went to ‘Rajasthani Sweets Mishthan Bhandar’ again and had Dal Batti Churma which was awesome. After that, we went to the bus stop and boarded the bus at 11 p.m. next morning the bus dropped us at Kashmiri Gate ISBT by 5:30 a.m. We boarded the metro and back to our daily life.
This is a perfect 3-day gateway from Delhi.

Total Distance Covered: Bike 220 Km, Bus 230 Km
Bus ticket: 830/head

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[HooghlyBoy]

Wow Sid ! I liked the way you planned the entire trekking.It's a lovely escape from the stress of city life and work pressure. Hats Off to you for taking such weekend getaways and sharing the same with Team BHPians with All Details.
Your Bhutan Travelogue was great and this one is good too.
A BIG THANK YOU !!!

[nvldvr]

Very nice travelogue. Thanks for sharing.