| Char Dham Yatra – towards Kedarnath, Day 30 |


The Madhyamaheshwar location is ethereal in its beauty and ambience. You reached this place surrounded by mountains abounding in green forests, on all four sides. One loses the inclination to return to the modern day world, once you come to such a location. After listening to the glory of this place, we shall now get to know of the glory of yet another Divine place. That place is called Devariya Taal.

Devariya Taal

For tourists travelling to the Garhwal Himalayan region, Devariya Taal too is a very scenic location to visit. One can reach Devariya Taal from Ukhimath by taking the route either through Pali village or through Masturatala and going up to Sari village by taxi. From there, one has to undertake a 4 kms climb on foot, to reach Devariya Taal. Upon reaching Devariya Taal, one can view the rare and remarkable beauty of Nature. The aesthetic beauty & power of Nature’s creation enchants the heart. Those tourists taking the route via Pali village experience the thrill & exhilaration of passing through beautiful forests abounding in Himalayan white oak, Buransh flower trees, Kaphal (bayberry) shrub trees, English brown oak and the red vermillion Kumkum trees. It is rather unfortunate that this naturally beautiful lake is now getting filled with silt, due to which, its existence itself is under threat. Amidst this unparalleled beauty of the Himalayas, you come across diverse species of faunae wandering around freely; a sight that fills one with spontaneous joy and glee. The Devariya Taal lake having the shape of a bowl is 400 meters long & 700 meters wide. Musk deer, bears, hyenas and other such forest animals can be sighted here in fairly large numbers.

Having a dip in Devariya Taal and offering prayers here fulfills every wish and prayer of the devotees. Beholding the enchanting shimmering silvery peak of Chaukhamba at sunrise everyday, is a pleasant and tranquil experience in itself.

The reflections of the peaks of Gangotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Neelkanth and the Chaukhamba range of mountains can be seen very clearly in this lake. In the Puranas, this lake has been described as “Indra Sarovar”. Sages and saints believe that the Yaksha or demi God who posed questions to every one of the Pandavas during their period of exile; the One who was the protector of all natural resources and treasures hidden beneath the earth and the roots of all the trees, lived in this lake.

This extremely beautiful place is worth seeing because its beauty cannot be described fully, in words. This place must be visited in person to be experienced.

(To be continued …)