"Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb" - Greg Child
Right at the heart of Uttrakhand, there lies a charismatic beauty of Garhwal Himalayas where the lofty terrains lead you to the jaw-dropping summit. It was one of the chilly December when one of my friend asked me to join Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila Trek, and to date, I haven't regretted my decision as it changed my travelling views.
We started the journey from Old Delhi railway station and boarded our train to Kotdwar as it was the nearest railway station.
Our tour route was:
Old Delhi Railway Station -> Kotdwar -> Srinagar -> Rudraprayag -> Chopta
The next morning, at 6 a.m we deboarded at Kotdwar station and from there on our long weary journey started, as our whole day revolved around bus and bus-stand. We came out of the station, and the first thing we did was..have a hot cup of tea as it was a chilly morning and which you expect to have in a mountain region.
Since we were not clear about the route, so after having the tea, we interacted with the locals, and they provided us with all the information that we lacked to head further. They asked us to take a local bus till Srinagar (Garhwal), which was a 3 to 4 hours journey from Kotdwar. And then from Srinagar, we can easily find a commute towards Rudraprayag. So we hopped to one of the local buses and headed towards our next point that was Srinagar.
We reached Srinagar somewhere around 1-2 p.m. We had snacks and then started to inquire about the bus, after inquiring we came to know that the last bus to Rudraprayag was about to leave the stand. We took the bus and left for Rudraprayag, which was another one and a half hour journey.
It's rightly said that-"the beauty of the journey is not found in the destination, but in the scenery along the way".
The journey from Srinagar to Rudraprayag has the beauty of its own kind as you will be travelling through the mountains by the side of the river.
Rudraprayag
Some of the interesting facts about Rudraprayag:
Rudraprayag is a small town in the Rudraprayag district in Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the Panch-Prayag(confluence of five rivers) in the Garhwal Himalayas. The other four prayags are Vishnuprayag, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag, and Devprayag.
We reached Rudraprayag at around 3 p.m, and the first thing we did was have some lunch as we were starving for food. Our initial plan was to stay at Rudraprayag and have some rest, but the only problem with that plan was the next morning we have to travel for like one or two hours to Chopta and then start our trek which I didn't liked.
So we again interacted with the locals, as they were the best source of information and came to know we either can go to Joshimath and then from there we can get our commute to Chopta or else we can directly book a traveller to Chopta.
So, we started to look out for a traveller or someone who could give us a lift till Chopta. Finally, after half an hour of the parade, we booked a traveller for 2400 bucks and started our journeys last phase "CHOPTA"(which will be covered in part 2).
Here are some of the shots that I took in Rudraprayag while returning.
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