Chopta - Part 7

anywyas, the senior sadhuji donated his property and other assets, liquidated everything else and gave the money for the construction of a temple. then he came here, to good ol uttaranchal. over here he keeps visiting all of shiva's temples one by one. he has a list of all the expenses incurred in going from one place to another, various points/details about travelling from one place to another and so on. he knew about neem karori baba and had visited his bhandara in kainchi a few days ago.









beautiful green slopes. wow!!!!



jagdish daaju n i took some snaps of ourselves .. but the backgrounds look a thousand times better :-)))
i remembered gandhiji's words ... "In these hills, nature's hospitality eclipses all men can ever do. The enchanting beauties of the Himalayas, their bracing climate and the soothing green that envelopes you leaves nothing more to be desired. I wonder whether the scenery of these hills and the climate are to be surpassed, if equalled, by any of the beauty spots of the world. After having been nearly three weeks in Almora Hills, I am more than ever amazed why our people need go in Europe in search of health."

- Mahatama M.K. Gandhi









if u check the pics above, u will notice that one side of the mountain has a pretty smooth slope, while the other side is much more steeper. now the clouds were really rising fast. a lil girl also joined us in our trek. she was collecting some flowers/herb for her hut. i offered her some dry fruits (dates n cashewnuts), which she gladly took. last year, when i had not shaved and offered one lil gal in the woods soem snacks, she had run away crying).











check the pic above. the clouds r coming towards the alpine research institute. soon it will be totally cloudy and u will not be able to see a few metres ahead.

speaking of quotes..this is what swami vivekanada had said about these mountains...

"These mountains are associated with the best memories of our race: Here, therefore, must be one of centers, not merely of activity, but more of calmness of meditation, and of peace and I hope some one to realize it."

- Swami Vivekananda





now this is what i call.."breakfast with a view"

we stopped for breakfast at a shop/hotel just below tungnath. 2 aloo ke paranthe for each of us. it was absolutely yummy. kaloo and sheru had another huge helping of biscuits. sheru then drank water from a big vessel the hotel owner had kept on the side. man, it was funny. he made such cute slurping sounds. besides the great food, we were rewarded with one of the best views on planet earth.







finally, after a wonderful breakfast, we reached the temple. this is a very old temple, supposed to have been built by the pandavas themselves. they were asking for forgiveness from lord shiva. however he disappeared when they came. his arms n bust is supposed to have appeared here.

by now it was well n truly foggy. so we could not see around much. the pundits in the temple charge some money for prayers, etc. we were not interestwed in them, so we just donated some money for the renovation and continued our journey to the chandrashila top. it must have been 10:45 am when we left tungnath temple.






small hotels around the tungnath temple



view from the temple