The picturesque hamlet, Chopta, is an unexplored, untouched masterpiece of Uttarakhand. And it was a lifetime of honor and opportunity for me to visit the sacred land of India. The small region of meadows and the evergreen forest comes under the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. Trekking such a beautiful snow-clad mountain was a marvelous experience. The base for Tungnath and Chandrashila trek, Chopta is a trekker’s paradise. Famously called Mini Switzerland of Uttarakhand, Chopta is a base camp to reach the third temple of Panch Kedar. With the cool salubrious breeze, chirping of birds, vibrant sunrise, all these away from the blaring horns of your city, Chopta is enlivened. The dense woods of pines, deodars, rhododendrons, and other conifers all our way was an appealing part of our trek.
How to reach Chopta?
Reach Chopta via air or train, depending on your convenience. We, as a squad of 20, found Air travel convenient and less time-consuming. But anyone with ample time and proximity to the railway station can reach Chopta via train.
By Air:
We took the daily flight from Delhi to Dehradun to reach Haridwar. The Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is located 48 km away from Haridwar. And we saved one a day to stay to explore Chopta before moving on with the trek.
By Train:
From Delhi, the DDN NZM AC express (2205) and few more trains are available which connect Haridwar and major cities like Delhi, Mussoorie, Mumbai, Varanasi, Lucknow, and Kolkata.
Chopta Tungnath Chandrashila trek
Chopta is 36 km from Gopeshwar and 254 km from Rishikesh and 450 km from the Capital, Delhi. The trek to Tungnath is 3 km and from there, one km trek further ends at Chandrashila peak. So from Delhi, the travel itinerary would be Haridwar >Devprayag > Rudraprayag > Ukhimath > Chopta > Tungnath and the last stop Chandrashila.
Tungnath temple
One of the world’s highest Shiva temples, Tungnath, is at an altitude of 3,470m. The temple has a gripping legend linked to the Pandavas, the heroes of the epic Mahabharata.
Chopta Chandrashila Deoriatal trek
Now Chopta gives you multiple trekking opportunities. You can either trek to Chandrashila and Tungnath temple and reach the way back home or have a big stop at Deoria Tal. In that case, the duration of the trek would be 5 days. Given that each one of us was tired of the thronged city, we chose the best and the wild one. So 5 days into the wild amidst the snow-clad mountains and rolling meadows was highly rewarding and rejuvenating. The maximum altitude of 13,100 ft could be graded as easy to moderate. Anyone with good endurance and physique could trek on the pile of snow at ease.
Chopta Chandrashila Deoria Tal trek – A Short Itinerary
Day 1:Drive from Haridwar to Sari village ( 190 km)
Day 2: Trek to Deoriatal (3 km)
Day 3: Deoriatal to Baniyakund through Rohini Bugyal (16 km)
Day 4: Baniya Kund to Tungnath and Chandrashila Summit.
Back to Baniya kund (11 km)
Day 5: Drive from Baniyakund to Haridwar (210 km)
Chopta Trek – The Highlights
Explorers who have a long break could explore the sacred temples of Haridwar as well! Mansa Devi Temple, Chandi Devi Temple, Maya Devi Temple, Bilkeshwar Mahadev Temple, Bhimgoda Temple, Bharat Mata Temple, and whatnot in Haridwar. The precious 5 days trek feasted our eyes with beautiful sites of many majestic Himalayan mountains like Nanda Devi (7,817 m) Trishul (7,120 m), Kedarnath (6,831 m), Bandar Punch (6,316 m), and Chaukhamba (7,138 m). We loved the Crystal Clear Lake: Deoriatal for its tranquility and pleasant environment at a whopping height of 7,800 feet. The lake reflects the glistening Chaukhamba massif.
Best Time to do Chopta Chandrashila Trek
April to June (summer) and October to December (winter) is the ideal time. In winter, the land becomes a snow land and trek would be considerably difficult (Apparently we did the trek in winter!). In summer, the Himalayas is visible, and it is salubrious. Whatever time you choose to trek the beautiful mountain, it is worth all of it!
