BEST PLACE FOR TREKKING IN UTTARAKHAND: TUNGNATH

 TUNGNATH: Worlds Highest Temple of Lord Shiva

Tungnath is the highest Shiva temples in the world and is the highest of the five Panch Kedar temples located in the Rudraprayag district, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Also known as the best place for trekking in Uttarakhand. The Tungnath (literal meaning: Tung- peaks/mountains, Nath- Lord, Lord of Peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys. It is located at an altitude of 3,690 m (12,106 ft) from the sea level which is good hight to do trekking, and just below the peak of Chandrashila. Whoever goes to the Tungnath, also goes to the Chandrashila to gain best of the experience and this is also a good place for trekkers to trekking in Uttarakhand. And is the 2nd in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. It has a rich legend related to the Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata epic.

Now let me give you some deep information about the location:

• Geography: Tungnath is at the top ridge separating the water of  the Mandakini river (which is raising from Kedarnath) from those of the Alaknanda river (which is raising above Badrinath).Tungnath temple is about 2 km below the Chandrashila peak (3,690 m (12,106 ft)).
  

 

From the Chandrashila peak you can witness the Himalayan range comprising snow peaks of Nanda Devi, Panch Chuli, Banderpoonch, Kedarnath, Chaukhamba and Neelkanch on once side and on other side you can witness the Garhwal valley. The road to Chopta is just underneath this ridge and hence provides the shortest bridle approach path for trekking to the temple from Chopta, over a short distance of approximately 5 km.

• Climate: Climate is typically cool throughout the year. Summers are pleasant with average temperature hovering around 16 degrees celsius throughout the daytime. Winters are terribly chilly and temperature drops below the freezing point very often. The best period to go to the Tungnath temple for trekking is from April to September. Because of heavy snow, the Tungnath temple remains closed for around 6 months throughout winter but visitors also go on this closed period for trekking.
  
  
• Trekking & access: The nearest place on the NH 58 is Chopta and trek to Tungnath is starts from here which is about 5 km. Chopta is 63 km from Rudraprayag towards Kanrprayag  and you can reach Rudraprayag from Rishikesh via Devprayag, Srinagar. The route to Tungnath is the shortest of all the Panch Kedar trek routes, only 5 km from Chopta (On the Ukhimath - Gopeshwar road) that can covered in about 3 to 4 hours (depending on your physical ability).
  
  
  
  Trek is a steep climb (9,600–11,350 ft (2,926–3,459 m)), the trek pathway is stone cemented with benches provided on route at intervals which helps to make the trekking a bit easy. The pathway is surrounded by attractive views and captivating flora and fauna on both sides. Generally, the journey to Tunganath is assumed as part of the Panch Kedar trekking covering all five temples over a 170 km route (road cum trek length) starting from Rishikesh in the direction of: Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheswar and Kalpeshwar. The doors of Tungnath are open in summer months (end April or early May to October) and closes on winter as the temple remains snow covered and unapproachable. But it is said that few visitors also come during the winter avoiding the pilgrims. The steep climb to Chandarshila is for 2 km. The nearest airport is at Jolly Grant, Dehradun (258 km). The nearest railway station is at Rishikesh.

The priest at Tungnath temple is a local Brahmin from village Makkumath, distinct the other Kedarnath temples where the priests are South Indian, a tradition set by the eighth century Hindu seer Sankaracharya. It is also said that the Maithani Brahmins of Village Makkumath officiate as priests at this Tungnath temple. During the winter season, the temple is closed and the symbolic statue of the deity and the priests of the temple are moved to Markandeshwar Temple in Makkumath village, which is about 29km from Tungnath. It's near Duggalbitha 10 km before Chopta towards Ukhimath.