Tungnath Trek from Chopta: Our Early Start, Parking and Darshan

“Neeche gaadiyan dekh ke lag raha tha bahut zyada bheed milegi.” I said that outside Tungnath after darshan. Looking at the cars below, I’d expected a huge crowd at the temple, but we had walked up and gone in without a queue.

What a relief.

We’d reached Chopta the previous afternoon, around one, after finishing our Madhyamaheshwar trek. Cars were lined up near the Tungnath starting point, and I remember wondering how many people must already be up there if this was the situation on the road. We left the climb for the next day. In late May, with a rest night behind us, that turned out to be a good decision.

Here’s how our Tungnath trek worked out: we were getting ready to leave at five, began walking around six, reached the temple at seven-thirty and were down again by about nine. We fitted darshan, food and a bit of shopping into that morning. Coming back, we walked past the crowds heading up. You’ll see them towards the end of the video.

Our Tungnath trek, on video

I’ve left the climb and the return in this vlog because showing only the quiet temple would give you half the picture. Stay for the footage at the entrance on our way back, when it was getting busy.

Watch the full Tungnath trek vlog on YouTube.

Chopta came after two other temple walks

First Kartik Swami, then Madhyamaheshwar, now Tungnath. That was the order of this trip. Madhyamaheshwar had been a long walk, so when we arrived in Chopta I was ready for a room and some rest, even though it was only early afternoon.

We had our own car. Staying a little beyond the trek starting point suited us, and the place we chose, Moon Rock Cafe & Stay, had valley views from the rooms. I filmed a separate walkthrough there. Have a look at that post if you’re deciding where to stay; it includes the room and cafe, along with the issues we had when the rain became heavy.

Rain, yes. We’d had a fair amount on the day we arrived. Chopta also felt colder than Kartik Swami and Madhyamaheshwar had felt on this trip, so the idea of continuing from Tungnath to Chandrashila stayed conditional. We’d try if the weather was clear. Our priority was darshan.

If you’re coming by bus or taxi, I’d look at the stays by the trail entrance as well. I pointed those out in the video. You could leave your room and start walking, whereas we had to return by car from our stay and begin the whole parking exercise. Neither arrangement is complicated, but they’re different mornings.

We parked about 500 metres away

Five in the morning, and my first thought was still: will we get parking?

Vehicles had been standing along the road in both directions from the trek entrance the afternoon before. I described it as roughly a kilometre on either side. We were staying farther along, a couple of kilometres away, and had seen the line on that side too. Arriving early didn’t mean we could put the car right beside the steps.

Eventually we found a place about 500 metres from the starting point. I showed the distance from the car in the video. It meant walking back along the road before beginning the climb, and of course going back to the car after descending. Leave room for that in your morning if you’re driving.

There were already people going for Chandrashila sunrise. We’d spoken to groups planning to start walking around midnight, so an early hour on the clock didn’t mean nobody had arrived yet. We weren’t joining that sunrise plan. Once the car was parked, we could get on with our temple walk.

The entrance was near the taxi stand, on the side with the flags. Steps went up between the shops, with a small place of worship at the start. Opposite it stood a green counter for horse tickets. Keep that counter in mind if somebody in your group wants a ride, because I’ll come back to where the horses stop farther up.

The path was better than the traffic had suggested

Once we started, I liked the walk. The route was built, with stone paving underfoot and trees around the lower section. It was easy to see where to go. After Madhyamaheshwar, I found this shorter trek quite manageable, though there were steep stretches and I mentioned them more than once while filming.

Don’t confuse a paved trail with a flat one.

We took roughly ninety minutes to reach Tungnath, leaving at six and arriving at seven-thirty. The early hour helped: we got up before strong sun hit the exposed part of the route. If you need more breaks, take them. There’s no reason to walk at our pace simply because I’ve put our times here.

Above the trees, the path runs through meadows. Lovely to look at, but there isn’t much shade, and that’s another reason I preferred doing the climb early. On a sunny day, an uphill walk out in the open can feel harder than the distance suggests.

For distance, Uttarakhand Tourism gives about 3 km for the trail to Tungnath. While filming I mentioned 4 to 5 km in the discussion about Chandrashila, beyond the temple. Those are different endpoints. Add your parking walk separately rather than treating either number as the distance from your car.

The meadows were worth slowing down for

We could see mountain ridges before we had properly begun the trek. One of our photographs shows a mountain-identification app held up against that view. As we climbed, the slopes opened out further and there was more to look at than the path ahead.

I liked the meadows. There were birds out on the green slope, with trees scattered around them, and we filmed that as we went. You’ll also see the big green bird board in the photographs. It lists birds found around this route, including the Himalayan monal. I can’t name the ones in our distant photograph, but keep an eye on the slopes while you’re walking.

There are shortcuts across some of the bends. I mentioned these in the video because it is easy to follow somebody onto one without thinking much about the footing. My advice was to use the built trail, especially without much trekking experience. We had seen rain the day before, which gave us another reason to be careful.

There was plenty to photograph from the path itself. In the lower section we had trees close around us; farther up, the green slopes and ridges took over the view. That’s a nice change on a relatively short walk. I preferred it to scrambling across the bends just to save a few minutes.

What I’d take in the day bag

An umbrella and a water bottle were the two things I specifically recommended while filming. Rain had come through Chopta the previous day. On the exposed stretches above the trees, protection from the sun mattered too.

Keep the bag light. There were food stops along our walk, and I estimated seeing something every 500 metres to a kilometre. We didn’t need to haul a full meal up with us. I would still carry drinking water and a small snack so that a closed shop wouldn’t decide when we could take a break.

A warm layer is useful for the early departure, particularly if you’re coming from a warmer stop farther down. Chopta had felt noticeably colder to us than Kartik Swami and Madhyamaheshwar. Leave room in the bag for the layer when you no longer want to wear it.

Look at the paving in the trail photographs before choosing footwear. There are broad slabs, smaller stones at the joins and steps in places. I’d want a comfortable grip for the descent as much as the climb. Later, with people coming towards you and horses using the route too, you have less room to pick your way along.

The horse ride stops before the temple

Near the upper shops, I showed where the horses were dropping riders. There was still a walk to Tungnath, including steps. I estimated it at about 500 to 700 metres from that point.

This is something to ask about before buying a ticket at the green counter below. If someone in your group needs a horse because walking is difficult, the remaining uphill stretch matters. Ask exactly where the ride ends and explain what that person can comfortably manage.

You can see the drop-off area in the video just before we reach the temple shops. Food stalls begin around here, and I also pointed out places to buy things and a few basic stays. This is where being nearly there can be misleading for somebody who has difficulty walking: the ride has ended, but the steps haven’t.

We didn’t buy horse tickets, so I don’t have a fare to quote. Ask the counter for the current rate and what the ride includes. That conversation is more useful than arriving with an old price and finding the arrangement is different.

Darshan at 7:30, without the queue I’d expected

We reached Tungnath around 7:30 am. There was no queue for us. After looking at all those cars below, I had expected a much busier temple.

The morning was clear, and we had finished the climb before strong sun made the open stretches uncomfortable. I said in the video that the early sunrise crowd had gone towards Chandrashila. At Tungnath itself, we could have darshan without standing in a long line.

That was the best part of our timing. I was happy with how the morning had worked out, particularly after the previous day’s cold and rain. The place felt quite different from the crowded road that had made us hesitate.

We were also allowed to offer water ourselves during darshan. That stood out to me because our Madhyamaheshwar experience had been different. Being able to make the offering personally was something I liked about this visit. Ask the temple staff what is permitted when you arrive; follow their arrangements for that day.

There were people around the complex, as you can see in the photographs, but we weren’t waiting in a queue. I took a little time to show the temple area and the shops below before we went to eat.

For a temple-focused visit, I would choose an early start again. Our own walk began around six; in the video I suggested aiming closer to five if possible. Check the local opening arrangements first, then leave enough time for your group’s pace. The point is to avoid arriving with the main rush, rather than chase a particular minute on the clock.

Tea, a sandwich and the return crowd

After darshan, we stopped for food. Tea and a sandwich were on the table, with the camera beside them. There were places to buy food and prasad near the upper approach, and we did a little shopping before starting down.

I don’t have the bill from that stop. Ask the price before ordering if you’re working to a budget. We had found enough places to eat on this walk that carrying a heavy food bag hadn’t been necessary.

I also saw basic stay options near the temple, the sort I described as dharamshala-style accommodation. For this trip, my preference was to have darshan and return to Chopta. We already had a room there, and I liked having the wider choice of stays below.

Staying near Tungnath would be a different plan. Ask about the room and facilities before committing, particularly during a busy period. A place right beside the route can lose some of its appeal when a long line of visitors is passing outside.

Coming down, we met the crowd we had expected on the way up. More and more people were climbing towards us. By around nine, when we were back at the bottom, the entrance was much busier.

I kept saying, watch until the end, you’ll see the crowd on the way back. That wasn’t an exaggeration. The return footage shows the entrance filling up, while our climb earlier had been much quieter. Same trail, same day, only a few hours apart.

Leave Chandrashila as a separate decision

“If the weather stays clear” was how I put the Chandrashila plan before we left. We’d had rain the day before. We weren’t setting off for sunrise, unlike some of the groups we’d spoken to, and this video follows our Tungnath darshan and return.

The Chandrashila information plaque and the higher stone steps are included in the photographs below. If you want to continue beyond Tungnath, build extra time into your day rather than attaching it casually to our 90-minute ascent.

I’d ask about conditions at Tungnath before going farther. How is the weather above? How is everyone feeling after the climb? Is there enough time left to come down comfortably? Those answers would matter more to me than keeping an extra stop on the plan simply because we’d mentioned it the evening before.

After darshan

At the temple, I said, “Man khush ho gaya.” That’s how I felt after darshan. No queue, clear weather, and we had been allowed to offer water ourselves. If you’re going mainly for Tungnath, watch those last few minutes of the return before deciding what time to set your alarm.