Tungnath Temple

🛕 About This Temple

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Tungnath holds a title that tends to stop people mid-sentence the first time they hear it: at 3,680 metres, it is the highest Shiva temple anywhere in the world, and within the Panch Kedar circuit it is also, happily, the most physically accessible of the four remaining shrines beyond Kedarnath itself — a comparatively manageable 3.5-kilometre trek from the roadhead at Chopta, rather than the considerably longer, more gruelling routes required to reach Rudranath or Madhyamaheshwar. According to the Panch Kedar legend, this is where the arms of Shiva's bull-form reappeared after Bhima's pursuit, and the temple's significance is compounded by a second, distinct tradition holding that Parvati performed penance at this very site to win Shiva as her husband — layering a story of devoted courtship onto the more commonly cited Mahabharata-era legend. For trekkers rather than dedicated pilgrims, Tungnath has become almost as well known for what lies just beyond it: a further one-kilometre climb to Chandrashila peak, from which the panoramic Himalayan views — including sightlines to Nanda Devi and other major peaks — have made this one of the more popular short treks in the whole Garhwal region, blending genuine devotional pilgrimage with recreational mountain trekking in a way relatively few other sites in this project quite manage.

📜 Our Heritage

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Tungnath has ancient roots as one of the five Panch Kedar temples, with a documented history stretching back many centuries as part of this significant Garhwal Himalayan pilgrimage tradition, its comparatively accessible trek from Chopta having made it one of the more visited of the five in recent decades.

🏛️ Design & Craftsmanship

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Built in the Nagara style typical of the high Himalayan region, in a construction style similar to Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar, the temple sits at 3,680 metres — the highest elevation of any Shiva temple in the world.

🪷 Mythology

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One of the five Panch Kedar temples, Tungnath marks where the arms of Shiva's bull-form are believed to have reappeared following the Pandavas' pursuit described in the Mahabharata legend; a separate tradition also holds this as the site where Parvati performed penance to win Shiva as her husband.

🙏 Visiting the Sanctum

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When to Visit

Daily Pooja & Aarti Schedule

Darshan Tickets

Pujas & Sevas Performed Here

Major Festivals

Temple Prasadam

Getting There

Nearest airport: Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun (~215 km to Chopta). Chopta is reachable by road, with the temple trek beginning there.