Tungnath and Chandrashila - Communion with the Gods

As the rising sun illuminates the clouds, on Chandrashila Top I definitely received far more than I sought, it was an ethereal trek, far transcending the corporeal  reality of just being there. I was destined to reach here, for I had no plans to climb this moderate Top, but  one thing led to another and here I was; as close to the edge of the world as I thought I would be.

To begin at the beginning...
Having come down from Ghangariya and the Valley of Flowers, I thought I would spend a day or two at Chopta nearby. Reaching Chopta at about 1500 hours, a local told me about Tungnath, one of the oldest Shiva Temples, which was about two hours climb away. So I hired a pony to take my baggage and began walking up the well laid out but zig-zag path.

On the way it rained... heavily
So I got out my poncho but quickly discovered that it would not keep me dry in a torrential downpour while climbing.  The rain water from the outside and sweat from the inside both serve to drench me.  In fact I realise that it is more important to keep warm when wet, and for that synthetic fabrics are the best.

Two hours and 4 km from Chopta I reached Tungnath Temple. I found a rudimentary place to stay (The place was Prerna Lodge being the most posh!!!)  I was now at 3680 metres. Most people make this a day trip, whereas I stayed the night, therefore  the aarti that evening had very few, about 15 people attending, making it a very tranquil and deep experience.

Dinner that night was by the side of the cooking fire,
it was very cold after dark and this was the only place where I had to clad with as many layers as I could.  Dinner was a basic but delicious thali of  daal, chapatti, vegetable and rice. Most of the cooking is on a wood fire as gas apparently does not develop the required pressure at this altitude and so takes very long. 

The walls of the eatery  had beautiful charcoal drawings of deities.  These had been lovingly done by the owners or by passing devotees. 

All my equipment was wet , including my bag on the pony, the clothes I had worn, the socks I wore to the temple ( I had to remove my shoes at the gate and walk across a wet courtyard.)  Rummaging through my bag I found clothes towards the centre relatively dry and wore them.

It was cold at 4 am, 0 degrees celsius,
the time I  start for Chandrashila Top so as to reach by sunrise at 5.30 am. It is a 1.5k m walk that takes about an hour and fifteen minutes and got me to 4030 metres.  The walk is in pitch darkness and I use my head-torch to find the faint trail.  Though it is marked, the track is not well defined and in the darkness I took the wrong path twice.

There is a small shrine at the Top,
Many people have been here as is evident from the small cairns and rock-piles.  There are religious flags waving in the strong wind. We are about 15 of us in various groups waiting for the sun to rise.  Signs of worship are fresh and seldom seldom do I feel so close to God.
  

A humbling panorama from the top
The sun rises and so do the clouds, both at the same pace, so there is no sunrise  in the conventional sense.  The view is awe-inspiring as a complete snow-capped range of mountains is arrayed in front of me.  No photograph can do justice to the ever-changing scene being played out.

This graffiti on a rock atop Chandrashila says it all.
As I found, it is not about the sunrise, it is about simply being there.  Truly a communion with the Gods.