Regular Office work can lead to a boredom in long run. It was a sunny winter day when I was having a discussion with one of the office colleagues to do something different as we were feeling bored due to the repetitive nature of the work in a government system. It was at this point that a thought came up to do a High Altitude trek in the Himalayas. The major reason for selecting this option was to see the ice covered mountains for the first time in our lifetime. Having decided to do a trek in Himalayas the search for the suitable trek begun. At first we decided to do a winter trek but the harsh winter in the Himalayas scared us and we decide to do a spring trek instead. Since spring is the rhododendron blooming season we started searching for a trek which has the maximum bloom of rhododendrons. The search ended at the not so famous but extremely beautiful trek known as Deorital-Chandrashila trek.
Deorital-Chandrashila trek is a trek which is mostly known for the blooming Rhododendrons and the sighting of beautiful birds. It is also known for Tungnath Temple which is one of the five Kedars in the Himalayas. The trek is a four day Journey into the beautiful landscapes of Kedarnath Bird sanctuary and ends with the summit climb of Chandrashila peak at the final day.
The Journey to Base Village
Sari is the base village to the Deorital Trek. Sari is a beautiful ancient village nestled in the lap of Himalayas at around 6000 feet. The Village is located at a distance of around 240 KM from Dehradun. Since my wife was also going for the trek with me, we took a taxi to drive us to Sari Village. The drive was scenic and we stopped at the famous Devprayag-the meeting point of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers. It took us around 8 hrs to reach the base village.
Getting Settled up at Base Village
I had booked the trek through IndiaHikes. The hiking agency has a camp office at Sari Village. We reached the base camp at Sari at around 5:00 PM and got settled up in the tents at the IndiaHikes campus. Once we came out of our tents for the evening tea our guide showed us the first glimpse of the Chandrashila Peak. While looking at the peak it looked both beautiful and Challenging. In fact Deorital-Chandrashila is one of the few treks where the peak is visible from the base camp itself.
One Good thing about the IndiaHikes is that they have a detailed plan laid out for all of their treks. The Trek leader and the support staff are well trained and supportive of any of the needs. This makes the trekking experience very pleasant and memorable.
Day-1: Sari Village to Deoriatal Lake
As the famous saying goes- Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We started the 35 km long trek from the Sari village to reach Chandrashila peak four days later. The journey of the next four days was going to be transforming and memorable. The trek starts with steep ascent for the first 1 hour with many of the houses in the vicinity. However After about and hour the slope becomes gentle and easy on the legs. When we started our journey from the base village few of us were really beginning to think that they were not going to make it to the peak. But when you start doing any such thing you really get to know your body capabilities. After about 1 hr out bodies were quiet comfortable with the hike and we all has achieved our natural pace.
The first campsite of this trek is truly a memorable experience. The campsite is located in the vicinity of the Deoraital Lake. This lake is popularly famous in Indian mythology because this is the place where the Yaksha Prashna episode unfolded between Yudhishthira and Yaksha (a divine nature spirit). Naturally also this alpine lake is famous for its mirror-like reflections of the Chaukhamba massif and its calm, meditative atmosphere.
During the winter this lake gets frozen and the entire area gets covered by snow which adds to the experience of the trekker. However the most beautiful part of this place is the magical evening alongside bonfire and birdwatching. During my camping at this place I could spot many birds. If you are a bird watcher then this is the trek to do in Himalayas. The bird activity is especially high during the morning and in the month of spring.
Day-2 Deoriatal to Syalmi via Rohini Bugyal
This is the first long day of the trek with roughly 9 Kms to cover. We started the trek early in the morning to reach Rohini Bugyal during the lunch hour. This day is exclusively for the rhododendron lovers. The rhododendrons are found all over the trek on this day with their colours changing with the change in altitude. When you start early in the morning you can spot plenty of birds perched on the tree top sunbathing. This entire day you are trekking in Kedarnath Wildlife sanctuary and if you are lucky you can spot some wildlife too. We were lucky that we were able to spot a Himalayan Jackal just ahead of the Rohini Bugyal although I could not film it. The major highlight of this day was the rhododendrons and the lunch at the Rohini Bugyal.
In the above pictures look for the fading colours of the rhododendrons as the height increases. This was my first encounter with these trees and it was just an amazing experience.
Having Lunch overlooking the majestic mountains was an all together a different experience.
The sunset at the Shyalmi campsite was just amazing. Watching sunset high up in the mountains far away from the civilisation is just a different experience all together.
However my most unique experience of the day was the Shepherd houses. I was seeing them for the first time. These houses are simple lacking any kind of amenities. Shepherds live here when they come to stay here during the dummers. If you are lucky and the sky in cloud less you can do stargazing in the night. This campsite is an excellent place for stargazing. However we were little unlucky, it was cloudy that day.
Day-3 Syalmi to Baniyakund
The distance of this day is approximately 6.5 km and it takes 4 to 5 hour to cover this distance by walk. This day is fully dedicated to forest walk and feeling the nature around us. The day is not very difficult neither it is very easy. We started our trek at 9 AM in the morning to reach the Baniya-Kund Campsite around 3 PM. The forest section on this day is thick and majestic. If you are trekking peacefully you can hear the sound of the forest. We could hear the sound of many of the birds during the morning time of our trek.
A beautiful experience of this day is that you trek along the river stream. The sound of water is with you throughout the day of your trek which is a different experience all together. The Baniyakund campsite is located at location which is quite touristy. If you are a snow lover it quite definite that you will find snow at this campsite even in March and April as well.
Day-4 Summit Day
This was the longest, hardest and most rewarding day of the trek. The summit push starts at 3 am in the morning. However in my opinion it starts way before that in your mind. The summit of Deorital Trek is one of the most beautiful summit. You get to see 360 degree view of the Himalayan peaks from the Chandrashila peak which itself is a 4200 meter peak. At the start of the this day trek we started from the campsite to reach the starting point of Tungnath Temple trek at about 5 am. From here the actual trek starts. If you trekking in winter and spring you will encounter huge snow in this area. The snowcapped meadows are one of the most beautiful landscape which you will encounter on this trek.
Since I started early in the morning the view of sunrise from this meadow was a mesmerizing experience. The sunrise looks so good that it takes away all the discomfort of waking up at 3 am in the morning.
This day holds another treasure for wildlife lovers. The colourful state bird of Uttarakhand Monal is especially found in this area. I was lucky enough to spot a pair of Monal on this route in the morning although I could not film it.
Darshan of Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple in the world was a divine experience. Although the temple was closed and filled with snow we did the Darshan from outside. This temple is one of the Panch Kedars and thousands of devotees visit this temple every year.
The Chandrashila Peak is located at a distance of 1 km from Tungnath and it takes around 1 hrs to reach the Chandrashila peak from Tungnath.
During my trek due to turn around time I could not reach the Chandrashila peak however everyone who reached the peak was mesmerized by the beauty of the Himalayas.
The concept of trekking in modern terms is new in India. However during the ancient period this was very much prevalent in our country. Monks used to go in the Jungles to do ‘Tapasya’.
Deoriatal was my first multi day trek and it was really memorable. The harsh conditions of the mountains made me appreciate whatever I have in my life and the much needed disconnect from the modern world gave me some time to think about myself. Overall it was truly a transforming experience.
