Chopta - Heavenly Destination
Just Returned From Heaven
Imagine, just for a moment an image of a landscape so stunning, forests so dense, meadows so green, multitudes of birds and animals, innumerable river ettes, mosses hanging from the trees, a night sky where one could easily see the "Akash Ganga" or Milky Way and people so nice. Imagine this place is nothing short of Haven both literally and metamorphically. Situated near about 3000 meters above the sea level, it is uniquely placed geographically to make this area wonderful.
Welcome to Chopta
Chopta had been on our wish list for a long time. With stories of being
rich in natural beauty and having vast variety of bird life, the urge to
visit this place grew every year. After checking on the route and the
hotels we started from Gurgaon very early in the morning with sole purpose
to cover as much distance as possible to beat the heat and reached
Rishikeshby noon. Originally we had planned to visit
Rajaji National Park. As luck would have it the Park closed for monsoon on
15th June.. This gave us an opportunity to do birding on the forest road
which passes through the periphery of the park, the road starts from
Ganga River Barrage and goes towards Neelkanth Temple on the opposite side of the river.
The Hornbill Country*
The area is a hornbill country. We would have seen at least six grey hornbills. While passing on this road, we saw shadow of large bird going towards a tree. Brakes slammed, car veered toward the edge of the road and neck immediately angling toward the sky and out of the window, saw a male Oriental Pied Hornbill settling on a nest which was about 30 feet above the road. The tree, this bird choose was located on the edge of hair pin bend of the road, which climbed steeply to almost 15 feet on the other side. Effectively the nest was just 15 feet making it earlier to observe and photograph. After checking into our hotel, I returned back to the nest site to view the bird in details. The evening and the next day morning, spent about 2 hours and observed the bird was relentlessly flying regularly at an interval of about 30 minutes and bringing food for the female and maybe chicks in the tree. The fruit which it gave appeared to be jamun berries as there were lots of jamun trees in the area. Once I also observed the next cleaning by the birds. After empting the stomach to the female, the male took blackish material from inside and just threw down. On close examination it was the waste from the nest.
Of Prayags and Man Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag
With Rishkesh no better than Delhi in temperatures and Rajaji NP closed for the season, we decided to leave the next day itself for Chopta. Due to road construction on the highway the journey was slow till Kaudiyala, after that the road was very good till Dev Prayag. At this confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Rives meet to form the mighty Ganga. Leaving Dev Prayag behind we steadily climbed towards along the Alaknanda River, Srinagar the ancient capital of Garhwal. From Srinagar I eagerly wanted to spend some time at Rudraprayag. For just one reason, to search for the Mango tree on which Jim Corbett had shot the Man eating leopard of Rudraprayag. The leopard had claimed 126 lives of villager before Jim Corbett got better of him. The story still fresh in mind as it was when I first read in my school days. It was my way paying homage to the hunter turned conservationist. Now a bypass has been constructed and one has to enter the town if one has to visit the tree. There is a motel called Leopard Inn next to the tree. Now the whole area is urbanized. If I had time machine at that moment, I would have transferred myself to that moment when Carpet Sahib silenced the beast from this tree.
From here there are two ways, one going toward Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib and Joshimath and the other towards Kedarnath. Leaving Rudraprayag we took the Kedarnath road with our next destination being Siyasore and Augustmuni. On reaching Gori Kund we took the road toward Ukhimath and Chopta.
High on the Himalayas
Reached Chopta around 4 pm and was greeted by nice pleasant weather.
Chopta is located on the bugyal (meadow) of the mountain where Tunganath and Chandrashila are, and faces west. The mighty, magnificent and mesmerizing Chaukhamba stands tall and over looks at everything and everyone. Every nook and corner, Chaukhamba tells you that I am there so do not worry.
The sun set from here an experience that the words cannot describe. For
accommodation the motels are basic but easily available. We stayed at NandaDevi
Prayatak Niwas motel, which is best located in term of view of the valley
down below. There are no lights as this place is part of Kedarnath Musk Deer
Sanctuary. Solar Lanterns provide some light during the evening and hours
before retiring to bed. Quite frankly it was a nice experience and worth the
experience. On reaching here we were greeted by broadbill crows as if
saying, a very warm welcome to their home. The evening sun casted a magical
spell and warm luxuriant crimson rays cajoled us to play is light wind.
Indeed a moment permanently etched in our minds. But like every place in
India, plastic waste is too conspicuous to be missed. With darkness falling
we all huddled around a bon fire to keep us warm and cozy.
Devariya taal and Sari village
Acclimatizing in these areas as tough task and fatigue sets in very easily especially if you are from the plains. Next day we decided to explore the famous Devariya Taal and tried to rest for the remaining part of the day. Devariya tall is a high altitude lake and is surround by meadows and fine forest of pines and rhododendrons. One can reach this place by road to Sari Village and from there a steep walk or a ride on a mule of about 2.5 kms. On reaching Devariya Taal we were greeted by Black headed Jays and Yellow billed Magpie. While driving to this village, in the thermals we saw Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) and Lammergeier ( Gypaetus barbatus) . The track is forested and very good for birding. Common Stonechat, Ultramarine Flycatcher were in healthy numbers.
Tunganath and The Moon Mountain.
Tunagath is one of the five Kedars and also happens to be the highest of them. Located at a dizzy height of almost 3600 meters above the sea level is a must of people visiting this place. A lot had been said about the sunrise from Chandrashila or the Moon Mountain, the legend has it that Lord Ram had meditated on its peak. Another interesting aspect is that there is another peak close by which is associated with demon King Ravana. There is a cave which one can explore. Being near the summer Solicitude the sun rise was take place around 05.30 am. The sun rise from the Chandrashilla is one most beautiful and dramatic moment. From the peak one can have 360 degree view of the snow clad mountains and deep valleys below. It is a kind of surreal feeling of being surrounded by Himalayan peaks from all sides. Each peak has a name and a history. For those interested in mountaineering and mountains, the peaks easily visible from here are Chaukhamba, Kedar Dome, Kedar Peak, Meru Samaru, Neelkanth, Gangotari peak. Chaukhamba is visible from Duggalbitta itself and is a very imposing peak. The peak of Chandrashilla is at height of 4000 meters above the sea level, practically at the same height of Gaumuk or the origin of Bhagirathi River, which becomes Ganga at Devprayag. Chandrashila is full of Monal birds, highly endangered and the state bird of Uttarakhand. These high altitudes endangered birds are very shy and photographing them a huge challenge. If one reached early then the chances of seeing Ghoral or Himalayan Goat are good. Located above the tree line, the bird life is less but with patience and some scanning the slopes one can sight Monals.
Dugalbitta and Mayadeep Herbal Resort
Dugalbitta is famous of the inspection bungalow build by the British. The old building still stands and another new one is made next to this structure. The rhododendrons forests behind the inspection bungalow are must for those interested in birds. We stayed at Mayadeep Herbal resort, just 6 km short of Chopta and is beautifully located. The Mayadeep Herbal Resort is build on an edge of the forest and “Bugyals” or high altitude meadows. A small riverette is very rich for birding, one can easily find Himalayan Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos himalayensis), Ultramarine Flycatcher (Ficedula superciliaris), White-Winged Redstart (Phoenicurus erythrogaster), Black-Throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus, ) Eurasian Black bird (Turdus rubrocanus), Black headed Jay (Garulus lancelatus). There are many places where one can camp here. We camped at the camping site near Mayadeep Herbal Resort. The experience was nothing short of divine.
There is a Kedernath Musk Deer Wildlife Sanctuary about 6 km from Chopta and permission to visit can be taken from DFO, Ukhimath. Being located at high altitude acclimatizing is required.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit this place in the summer months and in October. October is good for photography as peaks are very clear and the tourist traffic is very less. For adventure sports lovers there are many treks and the most sorts out is the one from Davariya Taal to Chopta. This 6 days treks passes through many passes and high altitude alpine forests.
How To Reach Chopta
The travel time between New Delhi and Rishikesh is about 6 hours and from Rishikesh to Chopta is about 7 hours. The route is New Delhi , Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzzarfar Nagar, Roorkee, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Siyasole, Ukhimath, Duggal Bitta and Chopta.
Imagine, just for a moment an image of a landscape so stunning, forests so dense, meadows so green, multitudes of birds and animals, innumerable river ettes, mosses hanging from the trees, a night sky where one could easily see the "Akash Ganga" or Milky Way and people so nice. Imagine this place is nothing short of Haven both literally and metamorphically. Situated near about 3000 meters above the sea level, it is uniquely placed geographically to make this area wonderful.
Welcome to Chopta
Chopta had been on our wish list for a long time. With stories of being
rich in natural beauty and having vast variety of bird life, the urge to
visit this place grew every year. After checking on the route and the
hotels we started from Gurgaon very early in the morning with sole purpose
to cover as much distance as possible to beat the heat and reached
Rishikeshby noon. Originally we had planned to visit
Rajaji National Park. As luck would have it the Park closed for monsoon on
15th June.. This gave us an opportunity to do birding on the forest road
which passes through the periphery of the park, the road starts from
Ganga River Barrage and goes towards Neelkanth Temple on the opposite side of the river.
The Hornbill Country*
The area is a hornbill country. We would have seen at least six grey hornbills. While passing on this road, we saw shadow of large bird going towards a tree. Brakes slammed, car veered toward the edge of the road and neck immediately angling toward the sky and out of the window, saw a male Oriental Pied Hornbill settling on a nest which was about 30 feet above the road. The tree, this bird choose was located on the edge of hair pin bend of the road, which climbed steeply to almost 15 feet on the other side. Effectively the nest was just 15 feet making it earlier to observe and photograph. After checking into our hotel, I returned back to the nest site to view the bird in details. The evening and the next day morning, spent about 2 hours and observed the bird was relentlessly flying regularly at an interval of about 30 minutes and bringing food for the female and maybe chicks in the tree. The fruit which it gave appeared to be jamun berries as there were lots of jamun trees in the area. Once I also observed the next cleaning by the birds. After empting the stomach to the female, the male took blackish material from inside and just threw down. On close examination it was the waste from the nest.
Of Prayags and Man Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag
With Rishkesh no better than Delhi in temperatures and Rajaji NP closed for the season, we decided to leave the next day itself for Chopta. Due to road construction on the highway the journey was slow till Kaudiyala, after that the road was very good till Dev Prayag. At this confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Rives meet to form the mighty Ganga. Leaving Dev Prayag behind we steadily climbed towards along the Alaknanda River, Srinagar the ancient capital of Garhwal. From Srinagar I eagerly wanted to spend some time at Rudraprayag. For just one reason, to search for the Mango tree on which Jim Corbett had shot the Man eating leopard of Rudraprayag. The leopard had claimed 126 lives of villager before Jim Corbett got better of him. The story still fresh in mind as it was when I first read in my school days. It was my way paying homage to the hunter turned conservationist. Now a bypass has been constructed and one has to enter the town if one has to visit the tree. There is a motel called Leopard Inn next to the tree. Now the whole area is urbanized. If I had time machine at that moment, I would have transferred myself to that moment when Carpet Sahib silenced the beast from this tree.
From here there are two ways, one going toward Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib and Joshimath and the other towards Kedarnath. Leaving Rudraprayag we took the Kedarnath road with our next destination being Siyasore and Augustmuni. On reaching Gori Kund we took the road toward Ukhimath and Chopta.
High on the Himalayas
Reached Chopta around 4 pm and was greeted by nice pleasant weather.
Chopta is located on the bugyal (meadow) of the mountain where Tunganath and Chandrashila are, and faces west. The mighty, magnificent and mesmerizing Chaukhamba stands tall and over looks at everything and everyone. Every nook and corner, Chaukhamba tells you that I am there so do not worry.
The sun set from here an experience that the words cannot describe. For
accommodation the motels are basic but easily available. We stayed at NandaDevi
Prayatak Niwas motel, which is best located in term of view of the valley
down below. There are no lights as this place is part of Kedarnath Musk Deer
Sanctuary. Solar Lanterns provide some light during the evening and hours
before retiring to bed. Quite frankly it was a nice experience and worth the
experience. On reaching here we were greeted by broadbill crows as if
saying, a very warm welcome to their home. The evening sun casted a magical
spell and warm luxuriant crimson rays cajoled us to play is light wind.
Indeed a moment permanently etched in our minds. But like every place in
India, plastic waste is too conspicuous to be missed. With darkness falling
we all huddled around a bon fire to keep us warm and cozy.
Devariya taal and Sari village
Acclimatizing in these areas as tough task and fatigue sets in very easily especially if you are from the plains. Next day we decided to explore the famous Devariya Taal and tried to rest for the remaining part of the day. Devariya tall is a high altitude lake and is surround by meadows and fine forest of pines and rhododendrons. One can reach this place by road to Sari Village and from there a steep walk or a ride on a mule of about 2.5 kms. On reaching Devariya Taal we were greeted by Black headed Jays and Yellow billed Magpie. While driving to this village, in the thermals we saw Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) and Lammergeier ( Gypaetus barbatus) . The track is forested and very good for birding. Common Stonechat, Ultramarine Flycatcher were in healthy numbers.
Tunganath and The Moon Mountain.
Tunagath is one of the five Kedars and also happens to be the highest of them. Located at a dizzy height of almost 3600 meters above the sea level is a must of people visiting this place. A lot had been said about the sunrise from Chandrashila or the Moon Mountain, the legend has it that Lord Ram had meditated on its peak. Another interesting aspect is that there is another peak close by which is associated with demon King Ravana. There is a cave which one can explore. Being near the summer Solicitude the sun rise was take place around 05.30 am. The sun rise from the Chandrashilla is one most beautiful and dramatic moment. From the peak one can have 360 degree view of the snow clad mountains and deep valleys below. It is a kind of surreal feeling of being surrounded by Himalayan peaks from all sides. Each peak has a name and a history. For those interested in mountaineering and mountains, the peaks easily visible from here are Chaukhamba, Kedar Dome, Kedar Peak, Meru Samaru, Neelkanth, Gangotari peak. Chaukhamba is visible from Duggalbitta itself and is a very imposing peak. The peak of Chandrashilla is at height of 4000 meters above the sea level, practically at the same height of Gaumuk or the origin of Bhagirathi River, which becomes Ganga at Devprayag. Chandrashila is full of Monal birds, highly endangered and the state bird of Uttarakhand. These high altitudes endangered birds are very shy and photographing them a huge challenge. If one reached early then the chances of seeing Ghoral or Himalayan Goat are good. Located above the tree line, the bird life is less but with patience and some scanning the slopes one can sight Monals.
Dugalbitta and Mayadeep Herbal Resort
Dugalbitta is famous of the inspection bungalow build by the British. The old building still stands and another new one is made next to this structure. The rhododendrons forests behind the inspection bungalow are must for those interested in birds. We stayed at Mayadeep Herbal resort, just 6 km short of Chopta and is beautifully located. The Mayadeep Herbal Resort is build on an edge of the forest and “Bugyals” or high altitude meadows. A small riverette is very rich for birding, one can easily find Himalayan Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos himalayensis), Ultramarine Flycatcher (Ficedula superciliaris), White-Winged Redstart (Phoenicurus erythrogaster), Black-Throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus, ) Eurasian Black bird (Turdus rubrocanus), Black headed Jay (Garulus lancelatus). There are many places where one can camp here. We camped at the camping site near Mayadeep Herbal Resort. The experience was nothing short of divine.
There is a Kedernath Musk Deer Wildlife Sanctuary about 6 km from Chopta and permission to visit can be taken from DFO, Ukhimath. Being located at high altitude acclimatizing is required.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit this place in the summer months and in October. October is good for photography as peaks are very clear and the tourist traffic is very less. For adventure sports lovers there are many treks and the most sorts out is the one from Davariya Taal to Chopta. This 6 days treks passes through many passes and high altitude alpine forests.
How To Reach Chopta
The travel time between New Delhi and Rishikesh is about 6 hours and from Rishikesh to Chopta is about 7 hours. The route is New Delhi , Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzzarfar Nagar, Roorkee, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Siyasole, Ukhimath, Duggal Bitta and Chopta.
