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Sthalam

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Tungnath&nbsp;&nbsp;is one of the highest&nbsp;Shiva&nbsp;temples in the world&nbsp;and is the highest of the five&nbsp;Panch Kedar&nbsp;temples located in the&nbsp;Rudraprayag district, in the&nbsp;Indian&nbsp;state&nbsp;of&nbsp;Uttarakhand. The Tungnath (literal meaning: Lord of the peaks) mountains form the&nbsp;Mandakini&nbsp;and&nbsp;Alaknanda&nbsp;river valleys. It is located at an altitude of 3,690&nbsp;m (12,106&nbsp;ft), and just below the peak of&nbsp;Chandrashila.It has a rich legend linked to the&nbsp;Pandavas, heroes of the&nbsp;Mahabharata&nbsp;epic.

According to&nbsp;Hindu mythology, Shiva and his consort,&nbsp;Parvati&nbsp;both reside in the Himalayas: Shiva resides at&nbsp;Mount Kailash. Parvati is also called&nbsp;Shailaputri, which means &#39;Daughter of the Mountain&#39;.Many folk legends related to the Garhwal region,&nbsp;Shiva&nbsp;and the creation of the Panch Kedar temples are narrated.

Climate is generally cool throughout the year. Summers are pleasant with average temperature hovering around 16 degrees Celsius during the day time. Winters are very chilly and temperature drops below the freezing point very frequently. The best time to visit the temple is from April to September. Due to heavy snowfall, the Tungnath Temple remains closed for around 6 months during winter.

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The 5&nbsp;km (3.1&nbsp;mi) trek starts from&nbsp;Chopta&nbsp;(9,600&nbsp;ft (2,926&nbsp;m)), the nearest place on the&nbsp;NH&nbsp;58.&nbsp;Chopta&nbsp;is 63&nbsp;km (39&nbsp;mi) from&nbsp;Rudraprayag&nbsp;towards&nbsp;Karnaprayag&nbsp;and is reached from Rishikesh via&nbsp;Devprayag,&nbsp;Srinagar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Rudraprayag.

Of all the Panch Kedar trek routes, the route to Tungnath is the shortest: only 5&nbsp;km (3.1&nbsp;mi) from Chopta (on the&nbsp;Ukhimath-Gopeshwar road) that can be covered in approximately 4&ndash;5 hours (depending on the trekker&#39;s physical ability). Trek is a steep climb (9,600&ndash;11,350&nbsp;ft (2,926&ndash;3,459&nbsp;m)), the trek path is stone paved with benches provided en route at intervals.

&nbsp;The path is surrounded by scenic views and captivating flora and fauna on both sides. Generally, the pilgrimage to Tunganath is undertaken as part of the Panch Kedar trekking covering all five temples over a 170&nbsp;km (105.6&nbsp;mi) route (road cum trek length) starting from&nbsp;Rishikesh&nbsp;in the order of:&nbsp;Kedarnath, Tungnath,&nbsp;Rudranath, Madhyamaheswar and&nbsp;Kalpeshwar.

The few pilgrims who undertake this trekking pilgrimage to the shrine do so in summer months (end April or early May to October) as the temple remains snow bound and unapproachable. During this period even Chopta, the nearest road head remains deserted. But it is said that few&nbsp;adepts&nbsp;come to the area during the winter avoiding the pilgrims. The steep climb to Chandarshila is for 2&nbsp;km (1.2&nbsp;mi).

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Puranam

A folk legend about Panch Kedar relates to the&nbsp;Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic&nbsp;Mahabharata. The Pandavas defeated and slayed their cousins &mdash; the&nbsp;Kauravas&nbsp;in the epic&nbsp;Kurukshetra war. They wished to atone for the sins of committing&nbsp;fratricide&nbsp;(gotra&nbsp;hatya) and&nbsp;Brāhmanahatya&nbsp;(killing of&nbsp;Brahmins&nbsp;&mdash; the priest class) during the war. Thus, they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of&nbsp;Shiva&nbsp;and to seek his blessings.

First, they went to the holy city of&nbsp;Varanasi&nbsp;(Kashi), believed to be Shiva&#39;s favourite city and known for its&nbsp;Kashi Vishwanath Temple. But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas&#39; prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region.

Not finding Shiva in Varanasi, the Pandavas went to&nbsp;Garhwal&nbsp;Himalayas.&nbsp;Bhima, the second of the five Pandava brothers, then standing astride two mountains started to look for Shiva. He saw a bull grazing near&nbsp;Guptakashi&nbsp;(&ldquo;hidden Kashi&rdquo; &mdash; the name derived from the hiding act of Shiva). Bhima immediately recognized the bull to be Shiva. Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs

. But the bull-formed Shiva disappeared into the ground to later reappear in parts, with the hump raising in&nbsp;Kedarnath, the arms appearing in Tungnath, the face showing up at&nbsp;Rudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in&nbsp;Madhyamaheshwar&nbsp;and the hair appearing in&nbsp;Kalpeshwar.

The Pandavas pleased with this reappearance in five different forms, built temples at the five places for venerating and worshipping Shiva. The Pandavas were thus freed from their sins.

A variant of the tale credits Bhima of not only catching the bull, but also stopping it from disappearing. Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the&nbsp;Kedar Khand&nbsp;of Garhwal region of the Himalayas.&nbsp;After building the Panch Kedar Temples,

The Pandavas meditated at Kedarnath for salvation, performed&nbsp;yagna&nbsp;(fire sacrifice) and then through the heavenly path called the Mahapanth (also called Swargarohini), attained heaven or salvation.&nbsp;

The Panch Kedar Temples are constructed in the North-Indian Himalayan Temple &quot;Katyuri&quot; architecture with the Kedarnath, Tungnath and Madhyamaheshwar temples looking similar.

After completing the pilgrimage of Shiva&#39;s&nbsp;darshan&nbsp;at the Panch Kedar Temples, it is an unwritten religious rite to visit&nbsp;Vishnu&nbsp;at the&nbsp;Badrinath Temple, as a final affirmatory proof by the devotee that he has sought blessings of Shiva.

Legend also states that&nbsp;Rama, the central character of&nbsp;Ramayana, meditated at the&nbsp;Chandrashila&nbsp;peak which is close to Tungnath, in India. It is also said that&nbsp;Ravana&nbsp;performed penance to Shiva, the lord of the peaks, when he resided here.

Ravana Shila / Speaking Mountain

Ravana shila&nbsp;is above Tungnath temple, there is a small temple which is known as Chandra Shila. Ravana Shila or Speaking mountain have his own historical importance related to the&nbsp;Ramayana. After killing&nbsp;Ravana,&nbsp;Rama&nbsp;felt guilty for what he had done.

He then started austerities for&nbsp;Shiva&nbsp;and requested Shiva to release him from the guilt of killing Ravana. During his penance, he built the&nbsp;Ramanathaswamy Temple&nbsp;in Rameshwaram, in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu. The temple in Rameshwaram is one of the 12&nbsp;Jyotirlingas.

Tungnath is one such temple, situated among the majestic mountains of Tunganath, and is famed for being one of the world&rsquo;s highest Shiva temples. It is believed to have been discovered by Adi Sankacharya. 
While India is home to numerous temples that are dedicated to Lord Shiva, there are some that are considered special due to their significance.

&nbsp;It is one of the Panch Kedars and is believed to be almost 1000 years old. As per the folklore, Arjuna, the third brother of the Pandavas, laid the foundation of this temple. Featuring the North Indian style of architecture, shrines of other Gods also surround the temple..Also, legends believe that it is this place where Lord Rama meditated to get himself released from the curse of Brahmahatya for killing Ravana.

Tungnath Temple Trek is a moderately easy trek of 3.5 km, and doesn&rsquo;t necessarily require the help of a guide, except during winters, when the place is covered by snow. So, if you ever embark on the&nbsp;Panch Kedar&nbsp;journey, you will find that this temple is the third destination of the divine journey. The trek starts in Chopta in Uttarakhand, and is the shortest among all the&nbsp;Panch Kedars.

Do note that the temple remains open for visitors only for a few months. It is usually during the months of summer when the pilgrims make their way to the temple, while the temple shuts its doors by the end of October. As such, during the winter months, Lord Shiva then moved to Makkumath Temple, and the shrine remains covered with snow during this time of the year.

Tungnath peacefully adorned on the Chandranath Parvat is the highest Shiva temple in the world and the highest&nbsp;Panch Kedar temple of Uttarakhand.&nbsp; 
It is the third (Tritiya Kedar) in the pecking order of the&nbsp;Panch Kedars. Tungnath is perched at an elevation of 3, 680 metres above sea level and is considered to be more than 1,000 years old.

Tungnath Temple has perched on the Chandrashila Parvat&nbsp;in the Tungnath mountain range, in the state of Uttarakhand. It sits atop an intimidating&nbsp;altitude of 12,073 feet.

Tungnath Temple is a heavenly abode that literally translates to &ldquo;God of Mountain Before. Set amidst the most beautiful backdrop, it is not only the&nbsp;highest temple of Lord Shiva&nbsp;but also the highest of the PanchKedar temples.

We will discover more about this magnificent place of worship, first, let us quickly learn about the&nbsp;Panch Kedar temples.

These 5 temples (PanchKedar) are the&nbsp;holy places dedicated to Lord Shiva&nbsp;and therefore, held in high esteem by Hindus for pilgrimage.

The strict order that one should follow for a pilgrimage to these temples is Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar, and Kalpeshwar.

Tungnath is the&nbsp;Tritiya Kedar (3rd) among the PanchKedars.

The&nbsp;beautiful meadow of Chopta&nbsp;is perched at an elevation of 8,556 ft in the lush evergreen forest area of the&nbsp;Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a small region that lays 29 km from Ukhimath. Chopta village, also famously known as the &ldquo;Mini Switzerland of Uttarakhand&rdquo; is the unspoiled hamlet in the Uttarakhand Himalayas with the mesmerizing view of the majestic peaks such as Trishul, Chaukhamba, and Nanda Devi that leave you awestruck.

Chopta village is blessed with the nature all around it, be it the forest of pine, deodar, and rhododendron or the chirping of the rare bird species to the animals from the wildlife sanctuary. Chopta will leave you mesmerized with its beauty.

Isn&#39;t it ironic that the&nbsp;trek to the highest Shiva temple in the world&nbsp;is short and moderately easy? The trekking route starts at Panger village and journeys to Chopta, the base camp of the trek. This simple yet&nbsp;adventurous trek of 5 km&nbsp;(from Chopta to Tungnath) is dotted with a mixed terrain against the backdrop of distinct Himalayan peaks.

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Varnam

The priest at this temple is a local&nbsp;Brahmin&nbsp;from Makkumath village, unlike the other Kedar temples where the priests are from&nbsp;South India, a tradition set by the eighth century&nbsp;Hindu&nbsp;seer&nbsp;Sankaracharya. It is also said that the Maithani Brahmins of Makkumath Village officiate as priests at this temple. During the winter season, the temple is closed and the symbolic image of the deity and the temple priests are moved to Markandeshwar Temple in Makkumath village, which is 29km from here. It is near Duggalbitha 10&nbsp;km (6&nbsp;mi) before&nbsp;Chopta&nbsp;towards Ukhimath.

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View of the&nbsp;Himalayas&nbsp;from Tungnath

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Tungnath is at the top of the ridge dividing the waters of the&nbsp;Mandakini River&nbsp;(raising from&nbsp;Kedarnath) from those of the&nbsp;Alaknanda River&nbsp;(raising above&nbsp;Badrinath). The Tungnath peak on this ridge is the source of three springs, which form the Akashkamini River. The temple lies about 2&nbsp;km (1.2&nbsp;mi) below the&nbsp;Chandrashila&nbsp;Peak (3,690&nbsp;m (12,106&nbsp;ft)).

The road to&nbsp;Chopta&nbsp;is just below this ridge and hence provides the shortest bridle approach path for trekking to the temple from&nbsp;Chopta, over a short distance of about 5&nbsp;km (3.1&nbsp;mi). From the top of the&nbsp;Chandrashila&nbsp;peak, picturesque views of the Himalayan range comprising snow peaks of&nbsp;Nanda Devi,&nbsp;Panch Chuli, Banderpoonch,&nbsp;Kedarnath,&nbsp;Chaukhamba&nbsp;and&nbsp;Neelkanth&nbsp;on one side, and the Garhwal valley on the opposite side could be witnessed.

The valley between&nbsp;Chopta&nbsp;and Tunganath temple has wooded hills with rich alpine meadows with rhododendron coppices and also agricultural fields. The rhododendrons, when they are in full bloom during March, display dazzling colours ranging from crimson to pink. A high-altitude botanical station of the&nbsp;Garhwal University&nbsp;is located here.

Nearing the top of the temple, there is a forest resthouse at Dugalibitta, just opposite to the Kedarnath range of hills. The Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary, also called the Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary, set up in 1972 to preserve the endangered&nbsp;musk deer, which lies in the region, also has a musk deer breeding centre at Kharchula Kharak near&nbsp;Chopta.

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