Chopta is a small village surrounded by the evergreen forest and the lush green landscaping in the lap of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It is located at a height of around 2700 m. It has a beautiful white and green covering wherever the vision is available with a little decorating sprinkle of the highlighting flora. Chopta is the starting point for two famous treks in India, namely Tungnath and Chandra Shila. Chandrashila (meaning: moon rock) is a mountain summit in the Garhwal Himalayas with an elevation of 3690 m. Chandrashila is famous for many holy tales and legends, captivating scenes, snowy hatch, temples, water bodies and mainly the trek route famous amongst the trekkers.

Detailed Guide of Chopta

An amusement for wildlife lovers, the Chopta Chandrashila trek is a part of the Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary. Chopta Chandrashila Trek is at an astonishing height of around 4000 m that starts from the Chopta village being a 5 km long trek with easy difficulty. The route follows – Chopta – Chandrashila peak – Chopta and a trek for everyone having an experience very soothing.

Food

Heavy eatables and oily food are never advisable when on a trek. Instead, having some light food before the start and not carrying any eatables together is recommended. After reaching the peak, as no restaurants or food stalls are available, one may not find any food items to purchase up there and will have to move down to the Tungnath temple to fill the tummy in the form of prasad and that too if the temple is not closed. Returning to the Chopta village, one may find good food to be nourished with.

Accommodation

Likewise, no hotels are found on the top of the Chandrashila peak in the food scene to keep the footfall moving and not stationary. Limited people’s accommodation can be found 1.5 km down the trek near the Tungnath temple. The main source for the stay while planning a trek to Chandrashila is in the village of Chopta. With hotels and restaurants, Chopta village is an important place for the trekkers, having found many of the facilities required.

Route

Starting from Chopta village, early morning is the best time to start the trek with the sun’s rise. Reaching the lord shiva temple Tungnath and spending the holy hour there is the best way to kickstart the trek. With an hour of trek left comes the summit of Chandrashila trek. The point from where the beauty of the Himalayas can be seen in a 360-degree view. the exact way to the pinnacle starting from the capital goes like Delhi to Haridwar (237 km), Haridwar to Ukhimath (204 km), Ukhimath to Deoria Tal (14 km) and finally from Deoria Tal to Chopta village covers 56 km. Chopta village is where the actual trek of 5 km starts.

Renowned for

A famous destination for trekking amongst all the age groups and even for the soft-hearted ones, Chopta Chandrashila trek, serves with beautiful grassland, snowy trail, waterfalls, temples and the wide-angle view of the Himalayas. A few famous legends are also spoken about a lot for Chandrashila. One of the legends is that Lord Rama, after defeating the demon king Ravana, came to Chandrashila and meditated and spent some serene time. Another one is related to the Mahabharata. The protagonist of the story, Pandavas, came searching for lord shiva and eventually met shiva in five different forms, which are now five temples. The Deoriatal is also a famous location which falls before arriving in the village of Chopta. It is said that the Hindu devas used to bathe in that lake. Many such other talks for the Chandrashila Chopta have been recited in the town.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit and experience the Chopta Chandrashila trek is between January and March. For the best view of the Himalayan range and the other nature’s gifts, Chopta is a good place to visit anytime in the year, but the prime winters are more preferable.

To all the trekkers and those who wish to have a vacation in the snow, Chopta Chandrashila is very advisable for everyone to spend a quality rejuvenating period and get a mental detox.