The Enchanting Circuit of Deoria Tal, Chopta & Chandrashila
Sari village sits right at the gate of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary in Rudraprayag district, and from there the Deoria Tal, Chopta, Chandrashila line is what most folks call the gentlest real Himalayan weekend you can do.
I started out of Sari, a slate roofed stone hamlet with step farms tumbling downhill. After a steady 2.3 kilometer climb through oak and rhododendron, the lake just appears. Deoria Tal (2,438 m / 7,998 ft). On a windless dawn, the water turns to glass and the Chaukhamba Massif (7,138 m), Kedar Dome, and Nilkantha drop a razor sharp reflection into the surface. I stood there for a long time. No kidding.
Past the lake, the trail climbs the alpine ridge called Rohini Bugyal and links up with Chopta (2,680 m / 8,790 ft), the so called "Mini Switzerland of Uttarakhand." A paved stone path then pushes uphill through meadows to Tungnath (3,680 m / 12,073 ft), the highest of the five Panch Kedar shrines and, depending on who you ask, the highest Shiva temple anywhere. From the temple it's another breathless 1 km ridge walk to the top of Chandrashila (4,000 m / 13,123 ft).
Photographer's Paradise
What you actually see: gold light pouring over Chaukhamba as it mirrors in the green lake at sunrise, then later the same ridges catching fire as Nanda Devi, Trishul, and Kamet go pink at sunset from Chandrashila.
Himalayan Monal & Birding
The sanctuary around the trail holds Himalayan Monal, our national bird, plus musk deer and over 120+ bird species if you're counting.