Tungnath Temple is one of the tallest Shiva temples in the world and the highest of the Panchkedar temples located in Rudraprayag district in the Uttarakhand. Tungnath (literally meaning: Lord of Peaks), the Tungnath mountain forms the basins of the Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers. Tungnath Temple is located at an altitude of 3,680 metres (12,073 ft) and just below Chandrashila Peak. During the winter, the temple is closed and the symbolic image of the deity and the temple priests are shifted to the Markandeshwar Temple in Makkumath village, which is 29 km away. It is located near Duggalbitha, 10 km from Chopta to Ukhimath.
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| Tungnath Temple Peak - (PC - Amey Vipat) |
The valley between Chopta and Tungnath Temple consists of wooded hills with rich alpine meadows containing rhododendron copses and also agricultural fields. When the rhododendrons are in full bloom in March, they display brilliant colours ranging from crimson to pink. The Garhwal University's Centre for High-altitude Botany is located here. Near the top of the temple, just opposite the Kedarnath mountain ranges, there is a forest rest house at Dugalibitta. The Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as the Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary, was established in 1972 to conserve the endangered musk deer found in the region, and there is also a musk deer breeding centre at Kharchula Kharak near Chopta. (Ref - Wikipedia)
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| Alpine Research Center Board |
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| Chopta - Tungnath - Chandrashila Trek Map |
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| Flora and Fauna Information Board |
Important instructions
- For the Tungnath trek, keep the weight of the bag as low as possible. Essential medicines, raincoat, warm clothes (jacket), an extra pair of clothes (dry fit), extra socks, head torch, power bank, these items are enough.
- Important medicines such as (medicines for fever, cold, vomiting and diarrhea, and electrolyte/energy powder) should be kept with you.
- The palanquin arrangement at Tungnath is very limited.
- The Tungnath trek is 4 kilometers long and the terrain here is quite steep.
- Like Kedarnath, here too, to manage the crowd, cars are parked at Chopta, and and further travel is either by shuttle (jeep) or on foot.
Travelogue
Day five
The previous day, due to rainfall, landslides occurred in many places, causing traffic jams, which resulted in a delay in reaching the lodge. Additionally, considering the weather forecast, there was a prediction of rain in Chopta and Tungnath in the morning, so we decided to leave late for the trek to Tungnath. We woke up between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. on May 25, 2025. The first thing I did was check my toe blisters. Due to antifungal powder, they were slightly dry, so I hoped that walking for the Tungnath trek wouldn’t be troublesome. The past two or three hectic days had left us feeling relaxed today. Everyone got ready, and around 11:10 a.m. had breakfast and set out towards Chopta. This time, there were four vehicles instead of three; a Pednekar family was joined us. Due to the exhaustion of the previous two days, Ameya’s mother stayed back at the lodge to rest. Because of the rainy weather, I only took a poncho; I didn’t carry warm clothes to avoid extra weight in the bag. As the vehicle ascended to higher altitudes, the cold increased, and I began to regret for not bringing a jacket. Even here, police had designated parking spots 2 to 3 kilometers earlier for crowd management. Tourist vehicles heading to Tungnath are parked here, and further travel is either by shuttle (jeep) or on foot. Our driver managed to persuade the police, claiming we were headed to Badrinath, and dropped us off further ahead. Due to some traffic jam, we also got down 300 to 400 meters earlier and walked to the entrance of Tungnath. After approximately two hours of travel, we reached around 1:15 p.m.
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| Tungnath Trek Entry Arch |
Many members of the group had dispersed everywhere for shopping 😃. I, however, was shivering from the cold, so I drank tea to boost my energy. Ameya’s father, on the other hand, was not willing to go to the temple upstairs; he planned to stay in the car. Kaushal decided to go on mule this time, as he was feeling a bit unwell, so I did not insist him to walk. Several members, exhausted from the Kedarnath trek, had decided to go on mule this time. Vijay and Ameya stayed behind to arrange a mule for everyone. Due to the drizzle, I put on my poncho and started the trek around 1:30. Seeing the rain and cloudy weather, I felt disappointed; I began to fear that if the weather worsened further, the trek might have to be canceled. Shortly, I encountered Rahul, and while chatting with him, the trek continued. Since most of the group was behind, we were strolling, taking photos and time-lapses casually. While walking, we saw mule coming down from above, nearly falling along with some elderly women. His foot slipped, causing him to lose balance, and the women seated on it also almost toppled over. The person handling the mule caught her just in time and saved her from falling. Seeing this scene, my heart missed a beat; I was stunned. Luckily, the women weren’t injured, but they were frightened. I moved ahead, and as we ascended, the weather cleared up; the rain had stopped. Soon, all the group members were seen heading forward with the mule, and I bid everyone goodbye 😁.
Rahul and I were having a chat while the trek was in progress when Pradeep came up to meet us from behind. As we were walking, a beautiful view caught our eye, and Pradeep exclaimed, "Such a beautiful sight is in Uttarakhand, so why go to Pahalgam?" And it's truly true—Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh offer scenery as stunning as Kashmir! A little further ahead, Rahul and the other members took a shortcut and went ahead of us. Seeing them, Pradeep and I, both of us, also took two shortcuts. While taking a break and resting, I saw Ameya’s father approaching from the mule, and I was surprised. Uncle wasn’t supposed to come—he was supposed to stay in the car. When I called Ameyla and asked, he was also surprised to see his father. He said he was convinced when Padhnekar uncle insisted. (We are not lesser than anyone! A surprise from the father to the son!) 🫡. We were proceeding along the easier shortcuts. Out of the 4 kilometers of the trek, 2 kilometers had been completed. The mule was resting, and after eating the Theplas and almonds brought by Padhnekar Kaki and Ameya’s father, Pradeep and I moved ahead. At this time, Rahul had gone quite a bit ahead.
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| Lush green forests and Himalayan mountain ranges |
I Continued trek with Pradeep, but Pradeep was quite exhausted. He advised me not to wait for him, so I shifted into fifth gear and moved ahead. As we progressed, the beauty of nature became even more pronounced; I started to see the white, pristine mountain ranges of the Himalayas, along with the spire of the temple coming into view. It was estimated that I would reach near the temple within the next hour, and with that, we hoped to have enough time to ascend the Chandrasila peak. Trusting this, I called Organizer Vijay to inform him. Due to network issues, Vijay couldn't be reached on any of his phones, but I knew Amey was with him. When I called Ameya and he handed over phone to Vijay and requested permission to go to Chandrasila peak, he refused, saying the weather could deteriorate at any moment. I had arranged many treks before, so I knew that the safety of the members accompanying us was the organizer's responsibility. Respecting Vijay’s decision, I dismissed the idea of going to Chandrasila peak from my mind. Deciding to reach the temple as soon as possible, I increased my walking speed. A little further ahead, I met Rahul Nair again, and he also expressed his desire to go to Chandrasila peak. I told him Vijay had forbidden us, but he didn’t listen (Vijay has forbidden you, no to me, and you didn’t tell me anything 😂). Saying "Alright," we continued walking and took a large shortcut that went close to the temple. It took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach from below the temple; it was already 4 in the evening.
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| Tungnath Temple Entrance |
Seeing the queue for darshan, it was certain that an hour would be wasted. I took off my shoes and stood in the queue. Rahul left the queue saying that he would come and see if there was any shortcut and came running in 2 to 3 minutes and called me. Saying that the Rahul must have done something, I also ran after him and joined the queue with the members who came forward on mules 😂 (After a little cheating, I entered the middle of the queue). The other devotees in the queue objected and said, "Excuse me, where are you going? Do you have a special pass?" When asked, I also said to them, "Yes i have special pass" and went ahead 😂. I had darshan of Mahadev in just 10 to 15 minutes. I went to see other temples in the temple area. After seeing the temples in the area, Rahul Nair left saying that he was going to Chandrashila peak. We did a photoshoot in the temple area with Kaushal and Prajwal and while leaving for the return journey, I met Amey and Vijay. After giving an important message to Vijay that Rahul had gone to Chandrashila Peak, we left the temple premises and waited for Amey, accompanied by Kaushal and Prajwal. 👉 Go to the beginning of the page
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| Tungnath temple peak and five Pandava temples |
Everyone in the group had darshan of Lord Tunganath Mahadev. After completing the darshan, I began my journey back to base. Vijay and Pedankar Uncle were waiting near the temple, while Kaushal and Prajwal were heading via mule. Once again, I took a shortcut and reached the main trekking trail, where I waited for Ameya and Jotsna. I met both of them, and the three of us started descending while chatting. After some distance, Ameya mentioned that there was also a Konkankada here. Curious, I asked him where it was, and he pointed to a small Ganesh temple and said, "Go to the rock right next to it and look down." I eagerly moved forward, had darshan of Lord Ganesha, and lying on the adjacent rock, looked down. I saw a deep pit, and my heart skipped a beat. I quickly stepped back—who knows if the rock was loose gravel and the stone might have broken, sending me straight to heaven 😅. I took a photo on the rock and then descended. Chatting along the way, we started our descent further down. Jotsna was taking many photos with the help of Ameya, and I couldn’t resist I also asked Ameya (Boss the artist) to take my photos from different angles as well. 😂. When you go for a trip, you should definitely have a photographer friend with you!
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| There is bright spot in every dark cloud. (Photo credit - Amey Vipat) |
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| Sunset and red hues in the sky |
We spent so much time taking photos that Vijay and the other members who left late had reached ahead of us by taking shortcuts. We had already descended quite a bit, about one and a half kilometers, and captured a beautiful view of the sunset in the camera. By around 7:15 PM, we had reached the bottom, completing our Tungnath trek. All members except Rahul Nair had arrived at the base. When Vijay called Rahul and asked, Rahul said he would arrive in 15 minutes, and indeed, he reached within that time. Everyone saluted him and congratulated him. Rahul Nair had essentially achieved a feat of endurance—his own weight was over 100 kilograms, and he was carrying an additional 10 to 12 kilograms in his bag, yet he successfully reached the Chandrashila peak! We all took a group photo together. I, along with Amey, Rahul, and Nishikant, each had a cup of tea, after which we went and sat in the car. I was hungry, but after seeing all the oily snacks at the shop, I decided to go to the lodge to eat.
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| Mr. Rahul Nair - From Chandrashila Peak |
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Group photo - After completing the Tungnath trek.
Sitting below - Pranali and Prasad. Standing behind, left to right -
Jyotsna, Pradeep, Ameya, Rahul, Nishikant, Prathamesh (me), Vijay, Ameya's father. |
Around 10:00 p.m., we reached Shikhar Lodge in Chandrapuri. All of us arrived on time, so we reached the lodge early. After everyone freshened up and had dinner, we started playing Uno at 11:30 p.m. and continued until 1:30 a.m. If we didn't have to wake up early the next morning, we would have played all night. Thus, by the fifth day, the trip to Uttarakhand had pretty much come to an end. 😒 👉 Go to the beginning of the page
Day Six
On the morning of May 26th at 8:00 AM, Vijay arrived in our room and, upon seeing us (me, Kaushal, and Prajwal) sleeping, exclaimed in surprise. "Are you still sleeping? Hurry up and get ready; we need to leave," he said, then went to his room. We had decided to leave late at night, but we didn’t know exactly when that decision had changed. We quickly got ready, packed all our belongings, filled our bags, and had breakfast. After finishing breakfast, we held a feedback session. Whether it was a trip, trek, or religious journey, it was so enjoyable that everyone's feedback was primarily positive. we received a call, and we brought our bags downstairs. After loading all the bags into the vehicle, everyone was busy taking group photos. Once the photos were taken, we bid a final farewell to Shikhar Lodge and set off towards Rishikesh.
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At around 10:30 AM, we departed towards Hrishikesh. Just outside Srinagar, we stucked in traffic because, the landslide had blocked the road, and work was underway to remove the debris. Nearly 35-40 minutes were lost. Once the road was cleared, our journey resumed. Approximately at 12:00 PM, we reached near Dhari Devi Temple. We stopped the vehicle to seek the goddess's blessing. 👉 Go to the beginning of the page Let's return to the travel narrative. Out of the four vehicles, two got stuck in traffic at the back. We (myself, Kausal, Vijay, and Prajwal) went to see the goddess Dhari. To reach the temple, one must descend approximately one kilometer downhill. Facilities are available for removing footwear; we took off our shoes and washed our hands and feet under a faucet nearby. Since the temple is located in the middle of the Alaknanda River, we crossed the bridge to enter the temple complex and stood in line for the darshan. While waiting in line for the darshan, a security guard suddenly called us forward and created a new queue, allowing us direct entry into the temple. The goddess's idol (face) is intricately carved and beautiful, made of black stone. The roof of the temple is arranged in such a way that the sunlight's rays continuously fall on the goddess's face. After viewing the goddess, we sat in the temple for a while.
Coming out of the temple, I picked up the shoes I had left near the stand and went to the nearby bridge to take a photo. Two cars stuck in traffic had just arrived near the temple, and Vijay had received this update. Since the line for darshan was large, it was going to take some time for them, so we decided to have lunch at a small restaurant nearby. After having a lunch, we trek about a kilometer and reached at the vehicle, by the time everyone had darshan of the goddess. Ameya’s father came near the cars searching for something, and when asked, he said he was looking for his hand bag. Despite searching all the vehicles, the hand bag was not found, which
confirmed that bag was left at the lodge. Uncle had given the bag to Ameya, but in the process of taking photos, he forgot to keep it in the car. When organizer Gaurav Negi was informed, he assured us to remain calm. He also promised to send the hand bag to any tourists from Mumbai who might arrive. After resting, we all headed toward Rishikesh. Since some members had not not lunch, we stopped near a restaurant in Srinagar for a meal. After having lunch, the journey resumed toward Rishikesh with the plan to witness the Ganga Aarti at 7:00 PM. All three vehicles sped up to ensure we could witness the Aarti. The driver’s focus and steering control were excellent. In many places, there was traffic jam. The Haridwar Road in Rishikesh was heavily crowded, but the driver managed the impossible, and we were dropped near Triveni Ghat precisely at 6:50.
Triveni Ghat is about 500 to 600 meters from Haridwar Road. We reached there running.
👉 Go to the beginning of the page Everyone had finished dip in the river Ganga, our conversation with our friend was over, we bid farewell to him and left for Haridwar Road because our cars were going to arrive there. On the way, we met Marathi film actor Amol Kolhe, shook his hand, greeted him, and then left. The cars arrived; Rahul and Pradeep's vacations weren't over—they were still traveling, so they stayed there. We said goodbye to them and started our journey towards Saharanpur. We had to catch the Golden Temple train to Mumbai at 12:15 pm from Saharanpur. Due to traffic, we expected to reach Saharanpur late; the driver speed up again and dropped us off at Saharanpur at 11:40. Note: Personally, I did not find Saharanpur junction safe; I felt it was unsafe for a newcomer and for women. It is advisable not to walk alone in the area outside the station. Even on the return journey, our seats were not confirmed; all the seats were RAC. The train was supposed to arrive on platform number 3. Instead of carrying heavy bags and walking, Amey's father decided to hand over everyone's luggage to the porter. At first, this decision seemed unnecessary, but since the train stopped for only five minutes, not everyone could manage to carry their luggage quickly and board before the train left. The train arrived at 12:15 at night, and we all boarded the train in different compartments. The porter quickly loaded the bags onto the train, and the decision to give the luggage to him started to seem appropriate.
The last day of the journey, May 27, I woke up at 8 am. I freshened up and had tea. I was sitting on my seat watching the outside view, when Abhishek came, I realized that his sleep was not complete. I let him sleep on the seat and I went to the nearest seat and sat chatting with Jyotsna. After a while, Amey also came and our chat got lively. After some time, the other members also woke up and the UNO playing session started 😄. Lunch was ordered online. At 2:15 pm, the train stopped at Ratlam and Vijay went and brought the food. After having lunch, we started playing UNO again until we reached Nalasopara. At 10:45 pm, the train reached Borivali station and I, Prasad and Pranali got off, while all the other members got off at Mumbai Central. At approximately 11:15 pm, I reached home in Goregaon.
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