Chandrashila-Tungnath Trek

On one fine winter afternoon, I found myself driving across the valley of Chopta in Uttarakhand, India! Chopta is also known as the mini Switzerland of India. My friend told me - random places are more often than not declared as Switzerland of India. So, don’t get too excited! Excited, I was. Travel, New place, Mountains - how could I not be excited! As I started getting closer to the destination, the roads got prettier. We drove through winding roads, climbing up to the top with alpine forest forming a cozy canopy around us. And through that canopy, the snow capped jewel peaks of Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi and Trishul played a peek-a-boo enticing us the entire way. 

All smiles at the Peak!

In Chopta, I stayed at a campsite about 4km away from the main assembly point in Chopta i.e. the gateway to the Tungnath Temple aka the start of the Chandrashila Trek route. The campsite was more of a glamp site. I had a big Swiss tent to myself with an attached toilet. It had patchy clothes of different shapes and colors hanging along the walls of this tent. It was a pretty décor and the layers made it very warm and cozy inside the tent. When I arrived at the tent, a hot black tea with some hot veggie fritters right out of the pan were ready to greet me! I obliged. After the initial refreshment, I got myself cozy in the warm bed. Glamping is a luxury! You have a bed, an attached toilet, duvets, carpet on the floor! It’s royal! To add to this grandeur, when hot dinner gets served right before 8 in the night, you have no complaints at all! Content and happy, I went to bed after slurping up some Roti and hot daal in that shivering cold evening.

The following morning, I woke up with a tremendous tummy pain in the middle of the wee hour of a freaking cold morning! Oh God! It's Trek Day and I can’t even make it off the bed! I crouched in the bed in a vain attempt to sleep, reminding myself to be strong. After an hour of laying in limbo, I dragged myself out of the bed and put my gear on. Will trek only till I can. No pressure. And I set off.

En route..

This trek route in Chopta takes you to the Tungnath temple first and then from the temple, you can climb another kilometer to reach the top of the Chandrashila. Tungnath is known for being the highest Shiva temple in the world. And Chandrashila (also known as the Moon Rock) is the summit point, at an altitude of about 4000m above the sea level. At the very start of this trek route, there is a gate marking the trail head. 

First view of the snowy peak right at the very beginning of the trail.

Just a few meters into the trail, I could see a few steps in front. My tummy screamed. It’s okay, let's go till that top and then will go back. I told myself, seeing the first steep part on my way. I put my entire body weight on the walking poles (poor them!) and kept walking.

Walk along...

As I gradually climbed the steep part and stopped to look around, I stood enthralled. The four huge peaks of Chaukhamba shone right back at me in the morning light. Powered by this amazing view of the snow white peaks, I trudged along.

The Majestic Chaukhamba !

The view of the majestic Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi and Mount Trishul stayed with me the entire way as I kept climbing up the altitude. About one Kilometer into the way, there was a little food shack. It sold tea, maggie, frooties, chips, etc. This was the only place where you could get something to eat or drink on this path. After this food stall, the next place to get any fodder was Tungnath. But since the temple is closed during winter months, my hunger could only count on the stash of chocolates and dry fruits I had in my backpack.

Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Trishul shining in its own glory!

On one side of the trail, the valley opened an unhindered view of the beautiful peaks. On the other side, the mountain slopes filled with patchy snow and vegetation kept it interesting. Many people climbed through these slopes instead of taking the laid out path. 

Trail View

In some areas, the slopes on the sides were filled with thick, fluffy snow. But there were a few places where it was so slippery, I had no grip on my shoe. Any moment now, I would fall flat on my bum! And as I was thinking this in my head, a teenager slipped in the snow right beside me. He, however, laughed and carried on scooting around on his bottom!

Slippery snow leading to Tungnath

After about 3-4 hours, we reached the Tungnath temple. The simplicity and modesty of the temple and its surrounding made me fall in love with it. The lack of crowd (luckily) might also be another important reason. 

At the Tungnath Temple

I went outside the temple area and sat on a big rock by the edge of the mountain. I took out my bag of dry fruits and sat there munching on them whilst looking around, amused as always! Halfway on the climb, I had told myself, I will go up to Tungnath and then return to help my tummy pain. But as I sat there at Tungnath and looked at the narrow unkempt path in front of me, winding up into the sky, my heart leaped.

Will I make it or not?

After some snacking, I set off on foot again. This bit of the climb was slightly tougher than the trail till now. But the award that you get when you summit is incomparable! When I made it to the summit, it opened up an entire 360 degree view of the huge Himalayan range - all snow capped, all majestic, all serene, almost peeking from above the floating cloud. It blew my mind!

Garhwali Himalayas

On one side, was the Garhwali range of the Himalayas and on the other side, the Kumaon range stretched with equal pride. Standing on this Chandrashila peak, you could see Nandadevi, Trisul, Kedar Peak, Bandarpunch, Chaukhamba and so many other peaks that I can’t recall or know the names of! 

Kumaon Himalayas

The top of Chandrashila had a lot of cairns which made the area look prettier, if that’s possible! I sat beside a particular one I chose. I felt so lucky and so proud, having made it to the top! 

Cairns at the top of the Chandrashila Peak !

After spending a few hours, I started the descent. You just follow the same path that you take going up. I however took a few short cuts through the slopes that our guide showed us. It took only about 2hours to climb down to the base.

A little temple at the top of Chandrashila Peak

This trek - Tungnath-Chandrashila is a jackpot, I feel! It’s only a single day trek. But the summit view you get with so little effort is simply amazing! Many people prefer to halt at Tungnath for the night, so that they can catch the sunrise from the top of the Chandrashila peak the next morning. This is possible during the Summer months when the temple and a few basic homestays around the temple are open for business. But for the winter months when I visited, everything was shut. So, it's all in one day. For all of us who sometimes look for a quick win, this is definitely the trek to go for! 

Trail head & End of the Trek!

Brahmatal Trek

A cold shiver ran through my spine as I sensed some chilly air making its way into my sleeping bag. That's weird, I thought. I am inside the tent and completely wrapped up! Where this stupid air is coming from!. Somewhere somehow a cold wave of air seemed to find its way down my ears and spine. It was still pitch dark. I checked my phone, 6am! Woh! Doesn't look like a 6am morning! 2 hours till we start for the summit.

Overlooking the majestic Mount. Trishul

We were at the Brahmatal. Brahmatal is a lake that sits pretty at an altitude of 10,000 ft, nestled in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, India. Our tent was pitched just a few yards away from the lake. There were only three tents in that area. The rest of the campsites were a little far away. Perfect solitude!

A little stony temple in the middle of nowhere.

Listening to my shuffle and rustle inside the sleeping bag as I woke up, our guide, ‘Nari’ gave a shout, ‘Madam, Chay!’ (Madam, tea). Ah, bless him! Nari was always on his toes, taking care of everything we might need. This is my favourite tea in the whole world - Kadha - black tea with whole spices boiled in it. It’s perfect for a chilly winter morning like this. 

Approaching Brahmatal

It was the month of December, so Winter was at its peak. We had trekked up to the Brahmatal and camped by the lake the day before. Having had the only snowfall of the season, It wasn’t yet completely carpeted with thick snow. Rather, the slopes of the mountains were half snowy with patchy browns here and there. The lake was frozen. A couple of people kept throwing snowballs on the hard surface of the lake in a relentless manner to see if they could put a crack on it. The icing on the lake seemed to be stubborn though. It would only melt for the sun. 😇

The Brahmatal

Our journey started 3 days back. We had our pickup from Rishikesh (another lazy hippie place of my liking!) at 6:30am in the morning. ‘Be ready by 4am, I will be there’ said our pickup driver. Woh that’s some serious pickup time! We called him at 4am - ‘Yes ma’am I am right on my way.’ The morning at Rishikesh was extremely windy and cold. ‘Who knows what’s going up there!’ - we chuckled to ourselves anticipating a harsher cold in the higher altitude. Our pickup car finally arrived at 6:30AM! But boy did he make up for those lost hours! I have never been driven so fast on the tricky mountain roads! He overtook every other vehicle that came in our way and we arrived at our destination an hour earlier than usual! Thankfully we were alive! 😵

The first view of Nanda Ghunti from our base - Lohajung

Destination was Lohajung. This is where our trek started from. It is a small Himalayan village at about 7600 ft from the sea level. It was a bustling village where being a trek guide appeared to be the main occupation. The entire settlement worked towards it - someone worked towards getting the accommodation ready, someone worked with the mules to carry stuff, someone worked to get the food supply in. There was farming being done which supplied food for the trek. Lots of jeeps were around to drive in and drive out trek enthusiasts. The shops had trekking gears hanging from them and a few low hanging tea shops sold simple hilly food,like - maggie, soup, omelette, paratha and my favorite black tea (Kadha). This village served as the base for two treks - the Brahmatal Trek (which we were going to start from the next day) and the Roopkund Trek.

And we set off...

Where trekking is a primal source of income for many of the locals, you could imagine what a loss they might have suffered during the peak of the Covid pandemic. With everything shut down and no trekkers around, they had a tough time and they were eager to make it up now. We talk about our lockdown inconvenience and then I look at these local mountain people. It makes me reflect. One of our trek guides, Ranjeeth lost his job and worked on his house, started farming and put more thoughts into trekking. The local shop owner who made us omelette and tea told us how he returned from the city life to take care of his own people. The local woman I met on one remote mountain path stopped and made pleasant conversation with me whilst carrying a huge load of forest wood on her back. Their actions spoke of grit and survival but they never failed to smile. They weren't looking for sympathy. What amazes me is even after all the hardships they go through (climatic, political, natural, economical, etc.), they still remain the warmest people I have ever met! To an IT professional doing a desk job like me who loses her temper and peace of mind having attended some pointless chaotic meetings, I can only but salute the people of the mountains. My heart goes out to them every day, every time.

I scribbled this sketch thinking of the woman I met on the way. She inspired me. But I don't have a picture of her.

We stuffed ourselves with 'aloo paratha' and started the trek the next morning. The initial few steps are always the toughest. And funny enough, the initial path always starts steep. Weird, isn't it? Few meters into the steep start, I stopped. ‘Don’t tell me it’s only 500meters and I am already huffing and sweating!’.I took off the puffy jacket I had on me and started again. It gets easier as you go along.

On the way to Bekaltal from Lohajung

Another few meters and we crossed the initial steep bit and suddenly there it was! A big proud snowy peak! Our guide, Nari told us, ‘that’s Nanda Ghunti’. This peak played hide and seek with us all along our way. A little further into the way, another snowy tip started peeping. ‘That’s the tip of Mount Trishul’ - we were told. We walked through ridges and open valleys and tricky rocky bits with big bold tree roots jamming the way. The dry December winter made the path dusty and full of loose soil in places. 

A sudden ice sculpture. Courtesy - Mother Nature.

As we started approaching our stop for the night, some white fluffy snow started appearing. They led our way into our first campsite. The first look of the snow is always fresh and brings out the weird funny child in you! ‘Oooh snow! Pictures please!’ To us city people, living life in a concrete jungle, this is a rare pleasure indeed! How I hate cities, ughh! 😓

Approaching Bekaltal - our first campsite.

I put my jacket back on as it started getting a bit colder now and continued the walk with a foolish childish grin on my face. After about 7KMs of easy to moderate walk that took around 4-5hours, we reached our first campsite at an altitude of about 9200 ft.- the Bekaltal.

As the name goes, 'tal' means lake and Bekaltal also had a pretty lake, surrounded by dense trees and lots of snow.

Bekaltal

It was one hilarious, slippery walk down the icy, frosty slope to the lake. Our guide helped us through these bits, showing us how to have a grip on your foot and place it at an angle as you step forward.

Struggling with the slippery snow!

But once that phase is over, it's like a perfect christmas wonderland. What better way there could be to spend a Christmas - away from the city, away from the Santa craze, right in the lap of snowy Nature where the real merry lies! 😊

Bekaltal surrounded by Pine and Oak (Kharsu)

In addition to the Bekaltal, there was another little lake, right in front of which our tent was pitched. Bekaltal campsite was pretty. Many tents of different size and shapes and colours were pitched all around the slopes circling this not-so-popular lake in the middle.

From inside the tent!

An array of long oak and pine trees surrounded the campsite. Oak is also called 'Kharsu' in the local 'Garhwal' language. That’s one addition to my lean vocabulary! 😁

Bekaltal Campsite

As soon as we reached the site, I dropped my bag and sat on the grass with a content sigh. Our guide who was always at our service, brought us a simple, hot and 'oh so yummy' meal of rice, daal and some veggies. This was the staple food for all the five days of the trek. I gulped the whole lot and asked for some more. I loved it. Sitting at the higher edge of the campsite and gulping down some warm rice & dal, I sat observing everything and everyone in the valley below. This is what life should be like. Walk amidst nature in the morning and relax with some good food in the afternoon. Happiness!

Peek-a-boo!

Being in the mountains is funny. It's all hard work during the day and the laziest of time the moment the sun goes down. People start hustling around from the first light of the dawn - running, cooking, getting the mules ready, fetching water, etc. and then the sun goes down and everything comes to a sudden silent stop. With no light pollution around, the stars started popping up in the night sky, creating yet another magic. I had my 'sky view' app on my phone. I took it out to figure out a few constellations on the sky and the star names. The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn 2020 happened when we were up there. With the app, I could see them aligned right beside each other! We could spot Orion and Aries and beetlejuice and Mars but then my hands started freezing soon. So, I quickly went back inside the tent and straight into my sleeping bag. Goodnight Bekaltal! 😀

Sunset at Bekaltal

Next morning, we started from Bekaltal to Brahmatal. It was another 7KM trek but the views were now even more mesmerizing now. From Bekaltal, we climbed up to this top called the 'Telangi top'. This climb was steep. My tummy roared a couple of times to my anxiety but it was okay in the end. I made it to our first rest stop.

At Telangi Top

From here onwards, the rolling valleys of white, brown and green spread across as far as our eyes could see. It was extremely windy at this top.

Jhandi Top at the distance

We rested for a bit and then continued again. Having already done the steepest bit of the day, the rest felt like a cake walk. Walking over the rolling slopes of the mountains, we could see the very famous 'Jhandi top' in the distance. 

Approaching Jhandi Top!

Jhandi top opens up a panorama of beautiful snow peaks before you. You can see the huge, white wall of the Mount Trishul massif. It's a jaw dropping beauty. Just to the left of the Mount Trishul, stood the proud Nanda Ghunti who had been enticing us the whole way. And between Trishul and Nanda Ghunti, a series of three peaks peaked from behind them. This was called Ronti Saddle. The names are quirky and the sight mind blowing. It felt like - just one big leap from the Jhandi top and you can touch the Trishul. 😃

Nanda Ghunti, Ronti Saddle and Mt. Trishul from Jhandi Top

Jhandi top gave us the first mind-blowing view of the peaks, giving us a trailer of what to expect at the summit! Our campsite at Brahmatal was a few kilometers from the afore-mentioned Jhandi top. Our tent was pitched by a little crack in the mountain that got repurposed as a drinking water fountain.

Just a Sunny Snowy Walk

A few yards from our tent was the famous Brahmatal. If you ask me what was the best bit about this amazing 'tal', I would say, the single tree that perched from the top and had its shadow on the lake all day long! 😇

Brahmatal with its very own tree!

We were at a height of about 10,440 ft. now. As it started getting darker, the cold started creeping in. Our guide and his companion were so sweet, they would bring our dinner to the tent so that we wouldn't have to step out in the cold. Here is a golden tip for all the winter camping enthusiasts - If you stop drinking water (or any liquid) by 5PM in the evening, there is a high statistical chance that you wouldn't have to visit the toilet tent (which is, by practice, always a few meters away - feels like miles away in those dreaded cold nights though!) in the freaking cold nights. So that’s what I did, anyway and it worked! I slipped inside the sleeping bag by about 8PM in the night and stayed there until the morning! It was about -6,-7 degrees in the night. I was wearing six layers and double socks and could still feel the occasional chills with my fingers and toes getting numb! 😬

The Himalayan Folds spread

We started for the summit at 8AM in the morning. This summit was the Brahmatal top at an altitude of 12,200ft. There is an array of peaks at the top which put you on a higher pedestal from where you get an even more magnificent view of a range of famous, snow capped Himalayan peaks. Generally, many people would start for this summit at about 3 or 4 in the morning and watch the sunrise from the top. This is a must if you have lots of snow because the moment the sun rises, the snow starts melting and it becomes difficult to walk the slopes. But when we were there, the snow was manageable. So, our guide advised us to start about 8 in the morning and spend a quality day up at the top. It was amazing. 

From the Brahmatal Top!

We climbed two top peaks that day, one of them being a narrow ridge. The first one with only a tiny bit of space at the top to stand on, is a lesser visited peak. Since, we had a sunny day to ourselves and our guide deemed us fit ( 😉 ), we climbed this peak first. There were a series of huge boulders and precarious rocks at some of the bits. Our guide was smoothly gliding through those rocks as if he was walking on air! Meanwhile, I had to do a lot of circus moves to cross these tricky bits. With a very serious face and holding my breath and gritting my teeth, I, however, made it to the top of the ridge. ‘Pahari ban gaye aap toh’ (You have become one of us, mountain people, now) - Nari joked as we crossed this difficult terrain. Once I made it to the top and looked around, my foolish grin was back again! 😁

Made it to the Top!

We didn't see anyone at this ridge top. Not that there was much space to stand either. Only three of us could stand on this ridge at a time and take in the view. The same three peaks with many others unfolded before our eyes. Mount Trishul, Ronti Saddle and Nanda Ghunti glistened at us, bathed in the morning light. Along with them, others showed up - Hathi, Pangarchulla, Shivling, Chaukhamba. We could also see the Bagchi Bugyal (Valley) and Bedni Bugyal and the Roopkund Trek route from up there. 

From the second peak at the Brahmatal Top!

We got off the ridge and made our way to the next peak. This was the more popular one. Quite a few people climbed to the top here, everyone thrilled at the massive snowy peak-show performed by the Himalayas in the front. It was a treat to the eyes and to the heart. With fresh, cold wind blowing and the sun showering us with photons, there stood a neat 180 degree view of a range of Himalayan peaks, so close, so huge, so fascinating!

We spent a good few hours there, sitting idly, nibbling on chocolates and apples and sipping water and soaking ourselves in this Himalayan magic.

At the Brahmatal Top again!

Being there at the top, nestled amongst these majestic peaks, I realize there is so much more than just petty human problems, how lucky I am to be a part of this cosmic evolution and how spiritual Nature can make you! I sat there brushing my funny philosophical mind and suddenly my phone chimed! My Airtel phone network had been off since I started the trek from Lohajung. But here at the top of Brahmatal, the signal was back and the phone started beeping! A foreign, unpleasant sound - it felt! 😂

While climbing down from the top to the Brahmatal

We climbed down from the top in due course and spent the rest of the day sitting by the divine Brahmatal. If I must brag, I think we found the perfect seat - a flat rock (the only flat rock) just by the edge of the lake. As it started getting darker, we climbed up a little hilly mound beside our tent and experienced the sunset hues. The sun went down and the stars and moon were back again. ‘Need more layers now’ I tiptoed back to the tent to shiver through the night! 

Sunset at Brahmatal

Next day, we started to trace our way back. We climbed back up to the Jhandi top and from there descended through a forest path back to Lohajung. It took us about 5,6hours and we were back at the base. Lohajung with a temperature of about 3,4 degrees felt tropical now! The locals helped us with two buckets full of hot water and we freshened up before going out again for some hilly fodder and an amble. 

The view that stays with you - View from Jhandi top

The following morning, we bid goodbye to Lohajung. Our Brahmatal trek came to an end. It is time to look forward to the next one now!

Until the next one...