Chopta Tungnath Chandrashilla - Gateway to the Photographer's heaven.!

WOW ! I would like to make my house here! 

That was the first thing I whispered having reached the summit. 

I sat there on the edge of the cliff in peace, mesmerized by the beauty. For couple of minutes I froze myself to stare at the unending layers of blue hills. I was High, High by 4000M. I looked as as far as i could with my eyes wide open and tried to grasp as much of the landscape as i could without blinking. Its 2 year since then, still feels like yesterday. In these 2 years I have visited this place thrice, witnessing a different picture each time.

 I have seen this place transforming from a snow beauty to green Meadow. I have seen a clear blue sky showering snow and ice balls and Milky Way dancing over mountains, after moon set. The moon set as seen from the peak of the chandrashilla truly signifies its name. Out of all, standing at an elevation of 3600 m on a cliff and experiencing the drift of wind mixed with snowflakes was my favorite experience.

Chandrashilla peak, literally translating to the moon rock, is summit of the chandranath parbat on which tunganath temple of panch kedar is located. The shiva temple is known to be the highest temple in the world, at a height of 12074 ft. India is a land full of legends and mythology. And a Shiva temple at a mountain top has to be surrounded by legends. It is said that the lord Ram meditated at the chandrashilla peak after defeating the demon-king Ravan. 

Another legend goes on to say that the moon-god, lord Chadra spent time there in penance. Besides these interesting legends, Chopta and its unexplored surrounding have a high potential for providing you the soul connecting feeling with nature. It will drown you in peace while gazing at the spectacular view of Himalayas. 

Chopta-tungnath-chandrashilla is a 5 km trek with chopta serving as the base camp. From 2600m altitude, the trek leads to 4000m altitude above sea level.  The trek is covered with thick snow layer 4-5ft during December-February which may extend up to March depending on the snowfall. For rest of the year, it is well paved path between lush green meadows leading to the tungnath temple. In snow it may take around 6-7 hours to reach the summit whereas 5 hours would be enough during normal days.

The season of snow marks the isolation of this place; no food stalls are available during the trek except for the one at the base camp chopta.  While during summers, refreshment shops could be seen after every half km, ready           with tea, Maggie and energy boost of buransh juice.
Although the trek was paved in the start but snow took over as we gradually ascended towards the peak. With every step i felt dizzier and weaker because of the thick layer of snow. But in this case the pain was worth the gain

Even before cresting this summit, I had a three hundred and sixty degree vista of the forever unfolding peaks. Many are topped with snow, some are pocketed with dense alpine forest and all rise majestically from lush meadows and valleys below. 

"This is absolutely breathtaking,"

I gasp, implying both literally and figuratively.

"Without a doubt, it's another heaven on earth." 

During my visit in January 15, we didn't carried water along with us on the trek. we ate snow whenever thirsty. By the end of the day, lips became dry and were bleeding due to frost bite. And then i realized why one should not take water in the solid form. It was 3to 4 degree in day and -7 degree at night. As the day slowly approached dusk, the prominent peaks of the Garhwal Himalayan like Nanda Devi (7817 Mtrs-the highest peak of Indian Himalayas), Kedarkanth , Trishul, Baderpoonch, turned into a painting drawn by the setting sun. Doesn't matter if you are a photographer or not, one just cannot resist himself from recording himself the orangish hue of the mountains in their camera.

One thing that is fascinating about this place is the silence. When the wind is down and you wake in the middle of the night, there is no sound at all. If you walk out on the ice you can hear your own heartbeats. You can hear the ice cracks and it sounds like somebody is walking behind you, but it’s just the ice and its crack. 

And last but not the least, this place is adobe for stargazers and Astro-photographers. Sunset, Landscape under the moonlight or milkyway over the mountains, this place has given me so much.When the moon is about 10-15 degree above the horizon, the illumination from moon is warm just like sun during sunset. The sight of mountains on the east was captivating. As the moon angle progressively decreased , the reddish hue over the eastern mountain kept on changing its colors. 

Over these years I have enjoyed myself at this place. After each visit, I sit silently and let the flashback run over my neurological system. And when I return to my consciousness, I realize there could be some more frame and some more peace.

 It's because one trip is never enough to capture the true essence of a place and is the reason why I keep revisiting this place.