The world's highest Shiva temple, and the short climb to reach it
Tungnath sits at around 3,680 metres on a ridge above Chopta in Rudraprayag district, and is generally recognised as the highest Shiva temple in the world. It is the third and highest of the Panch Kedar, the group of five temples in the Garhwal Himalayas where, in legend, parts of Shiva appeared after he took the form of a bull to evade the Pandavas. Reaching it is a short trek by Himalayan standards: roughly two and a half kilometres of stone-paved path from Chopta, climbing about 400 metres through meadow and rhododendron.
This package is built specifically around that pilgrimage climb — a night at Chopta, an early walk up to the temple, and back — rather than the longer push to the Chandrashila summit that many operators bundle in by default. It suits pilgrims, families and first-time trekkers who want the temple and the Chopta views without committing to a full summit day. If you do want the summit, our Chopta Mini Switzerland trek covers Tungnath and Chandrashila together, and the detailed route account is in our Chopta Tungnath Chandrashila trek guide.
Why this package stops at the temple
The extra kilometre and a half from Tungnath to the Chandrashila summit adds about 200 metres of steep climbing and turns a gentle morning walk into a proper trek, with an earlier start and more exposure to wind and weather. Plenty of visitors to Tungnath have no interest in that; they have come for the temple. Separating the two means the temple trek can be paced for grandparents, young children and people who simply want a taste of the mountains, while the Chandrashila extension stays available on request for anyone in the group who wants it. It also keeps the trip genuinely short — two days from Dehradun — which is hard to do if the summit is compulsory.
The legend and the living tradition of Tungnath
The temple is said to be more than a thousand years old, built in the North Indian nagara style with a low stone tower, and is looked after by a local priest from the nearby village of Makkumath. In the Panch Kedar story, when Shiva took the form of a bull to avoid the Pandavas and then dived into the ground, his body parts are said to have surfaced at five places across Garhwal — the hump at Kedarnath, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, the navel at Madhyamaheshwar and the hair at Kalpeshwar. Pilgrims doing the full circuit visit all five, often over two or three weeks. Because of the winter snow, the Tungnath deity is moved down to Makkumath for around six months each year in a formal procession, and the ridge temple is only open for worship from roughly late April to early November. The area around it is dotted with smaller shrines, and the ridge itself has long been shepherds' grazing ground, whose stone huts you pass on the climb. Knowing that the temple is a working place of worship rather than a monument changes how you move through it: dress modestly, remove shoes at the sanctum, and be mindful of pilgrims who have come a long way for darshan.
Best time to visit Tungnath
The temple is accessible and open for worship from late April to early November. Within that window, April to June brings mild days, blooming rhododendron on the lower slopes and clear post-winter air, though nights at Chopta stay cold. September to early November is the other prime window, with the sharpest mountain views of the year, golden meadows and crisp weather. The monsoon, from July to mid-September, makes the trail slippery and the views unreliable, and the drive in is prone to landslide delays.
From late November to March the ridge is under snow and the temple is closed, but the trek is still run as a short snow walk to the frozen temple for those who want it — colder, quieter and dependent on the Chopta road staying open. Our guide to snow destinations near Dehradun covers that season, and for a full snow-trek experience the Kedarkantha trek is the better choice.
How hard is the Tungnath trek?
The trek is graded moderate mainly because of the altitude and the steady gradient, not the distance. The path is short, wide and paved for most of its length, but it climbs continuously from Chopta at about 2,700 metres to the temple at 3,680 metres, so you feel the thinner air, especially if you have driven up from the plains the same day. Most people take one and a half to two and a half hours to reach the temple and a little over an hour to come down.
No technical skill or equipment is needed in the open season. Basic fitness — the ability to walk uphill for a couple of hours with rests — is enough, and children who are used to walking manage it well at a slow pace. The main things to respect are the cold at the top, which can be biting even on a sunny day, and the pace on the descent, where the smooth stone slabs are slippery when wet or icy.
The two-day plan
Day 1 — Dehradun to Chopta
A long scenic drive of around 200 kilometres and nine to ten hours via Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag and Ukhimath, following the Alaknanda and then the Mandakini valleys. You arrive at Chopta in the afternoon, check into a guesthouse or camp, and get a briefing for the next morning. Evenings here are cold year-round, so this is the time to sort out your warm layers.
Day 2 — Chopta to Tungnath Temple and return
An early start for the climb to Tungnath, timed so you reach the temple in the quiet of the morning before the day-visitor crowd arrives. After darshan and time on the ridge, you descend to Chopta, and then begin the drive back to Dehradun, arriving by late evening. Groups that want the Chandrashila summit add the extra climb before descending, which pushes the return later.
Getting to Chopta from Dehradun and Rishikesh
Chopta is roughly 200 kilometres from Dehradun and about 160 from Rishikesh, and either way it is a full day on winding mountain roads. The route runs along the Char Dham highway as far as Rudraprayag, then climbs through Ukhimath and Dugalbitta to Chopta. The nearest airport is Dehradun's Jolly Grant and the nearest large railheads are Rishikesh and Haridwar. The road can be slow in the monsoon and occasionally snowbound in deep winter. If you have spare days near the plains, our guide to adventure activities around Dehradun is worth a look.
Where you stay at Chopta
Chopta is not a village so much as a scatter of guesthouses, dhabas and seasonal tent camps along the road at around 2,700 metres. Accommodation is basic: simple rooms with heavy blankets, or fixed tents with mattresses, and vegetarian dhaba food. There is limited electricity and patchy mobile signal. Some itineraries instead base themselves slightly lower at Dugalbitta or Sari village, which have marginally better facilities and are also the trailhead for the short walk to Deoria Tal. Book ahead for weekends and for the April-June and September-October peaks, when Chopta gets busy.
Food and daily life on the trek
Meals on this trek are simple and hot: the dhabas at Chopta and the couple of tea stalls on the way up to Tungnath serve dal, rice, roti, sabzi, parathas, boiled eggs, Maggi and endless chai. Breakfast on day two is early and light so you can climb without a heavy stomach, with a proper meal on your return. Days are short once the walking is done — you are usually back at Chopta by late morning or midday — so the afternoon is for resting, drying kit and watching the light change on the peaks. Bring a power bank because charging points are limited and often shared, and carry a reusable bottle with a purification method rather than buying bottled water, which is expensive here and adds plastic to a sanctuary that is trying to reduce it.
Who the Tungnath trek suits
This trip is a good fit for families with children who already enjoy day hikes, for older travellers and pilgrims who want darshan at the temple without a hard summit day, for first-time trekkers testing whether multi-day mountain travel is for them, and for anyone on a tight schedule who wants a real Himalayan experience in a single weekend from Dehradun. It is less suited to trekkers specifically after a physical challenge or long days on the trail, who should look at Kedarkantha or the routes in our Uttarakhand trekking guide instead, or add the Chandrashila summit and the Deoria Tal approach to make more of a trek of it.
What to pack
Even for a short trek, pack for cold and for rain. The essentials are trekking shoes with grip, a windproof and water-resistant jacket, a warm fleece or light down layer, a hat and gloves for the temple ridge, sunglasses, sunscreen and a one-litre water bottle. Add a small daypack, a headtorch for the early start, high-energy snacks, any personal medication and a basic first-aid kit. A walking stick, available to rent locally, helps on the smooth stone on the way down. In the winter season you also need insulated boots, gaiters and heavier gloves, and micro-spikes if there is ice on the path.
The optional Chandrashila extension
Chandrashila, meaning moon rock, is the summit about 1.5 kilometres and 200 metres of climb above Tungnath, at roughly 3,980 metres. From the top, on a clear morning, you get a near-360-degree view: Nanda Devi, Trishul, Chaukhamba, Kedar Dome, Bandarpoonch and, on the best days, the distant Gangotri peaks. The extension adds one to two hours of steeper walking on a rougher path and needs an earlier start to catch the sunrise light before cloud builds. It is worth doing if the weather is good and everyone in the group is up for it. The full summit route, including a common variation that starts from Deoria Tal, is described in our Chopta Tungnath Chandrashila trek guide, and the two-day summit package is on the Chopta Mini Switzerland trek page.
Combining Tungnath with other temple treks
Tungnath is part of the Panch Kedar circuit, and pilgrims often visit it alongside Kedarnath, Madhyamaheshwar, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar over a longer trip. For shorter temple treks closer to Rishikesh, our Kunjapuri Temple trek is an easy sunrise walk to a Shakti Peeth, and the Surkanda Devi temple trek near Dhanaulti is a similar short climb to a hilltop shrine. For a first taste of a proper Himalayan summit and snow, Kedarkantha is the standard next step, and the wider set of options is in our Uttarakhand trekking guide. You can also browse everything we run on the treks page.
Permits, costs and trekking responsibly
Chopta and Tungnath lie within the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, so a small forest entry fee applies, along with camera and camping charges; a registered operator collects these and carries the right identification. There is no separate trekking permit for the temple route in the open season. Carry a government photo ID.
The ridge below Tungnath has suffered visible erosion from the volume of foot traffic and from litter, and there has been an active effort in recent years to clean and protect it. Carry all your waste back down, including food wrappers and tissue, stay on the paved path rather than cutting the switchbacks across the meadow, and do not feed the birds or monkeys near the temple. Choose your operator with the same care you would for a bigger trek — our guide on choosing a trekking operator in Uttarakhand lists the questions worth asking — and consider trekking travel insurance even for a short trip; the travel insurance guide explains why.
