On 8 April 2016, Amby, Ruchika, Shibba, Saurabh, Varun and Yamini were going to Deoria Tal. Amby booked the train from Delhi to Haridwar and Innova car for the further journey. The train was on 9:50 PM; Amby called me around 7:30 PM and told me that Yamini canceled her plan, so you can join us. I just started packing my bag and caught the metro from Gurgaon to Anand Vihar. I was lucky and reached Anand Vihar railway station before train's departure.
Next day on 9 April 2016 in the morning around 4:00 AM, we reached Haridwar and got ready for the further journey. We decided to fresh at Rishikesh Gurudwara to save time instead of searching hotel room. This Gurudwara is base camp for Hemkund Sahab and having a very good facility to get refreshed. There was also a different section for ladies and you can also take a bath . After getting refreshed, we started the further journey and taken few more stop for breakfast, lunch and photography.
The journey from Rishikesh to Sari Village was very beautiful (Actually, Sari Village is a base camp for Deoria Tal trek). One side you can see the beautiful river and another side lush green hills. There was also some good places like Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag in between where you can stop your car for photography and food. Srinagar and Rudraprayag are the major cities between Rishikesh and Chopta. Devprayag is famous for the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river. After Devprayag river is known as a holy Ganga.
Around 2:30 PM, we reached Sari Village and booked one room for extra luggage and to get fresh. After one hour rest, all of us were ready for trekking. This was first trekking for Shibba, Ruchika and Saurabh, so they were very excited. This time, we came with own tents and other camping materials and just taken sleeping bags on rent from Deoria Tal. This is 2.3 KM small trek and having very good camping location. This trek is also very good for beginners.
Deoria Tal trek is an ideal place for bird watching. You can easily spot Himalayan Monal, Thrush, Woodcock etc. The whole area comes under Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary which has around 240 bird species. There was also a small temple just after 500 meters of starting point. This temple is very old and dedicated to Lord Shiva. Saurabh came with a lot of snacks, so we stopped at Temple and eaten some snacks.
I and Amby were ready with a camera to captured beautiful birds' pictures but capturing birds' photographs require very much patience. I, Amby and Ruchika was together while Saurabh, Varun and Shibba reached before us. This trek was full of flora; there was a lot of trees and you can also see beautiful Sari Village from height after 1 KM trek.
Around 5:30 PM, we reached Deoria Tal. There was already a lot of people and tents. So first, we started searching a place for our tents. This was really a fun task to set up tents and making the own space for night stay.
After installing tents, we walked till lakes and nearby area to enjoy the beautiful evening. Overnight camping in the laps of Himalaya was really an amazing experience. There were only a few shops for food and snacks. So we had early dinner and returned to our multi-star hotel rooms. All of us were very tired due to a long journey and trekking, so we had a good sleep.
Next day, in the morning of 10 April 2016 around 5:30 AM, we woke up without an alarm clock. Actually, birds chirping worked as an alarm for us. This morning was cold and mesmerizing. We walked till watch tower and climbed on that. We also did the round circle of the lake and also captured a lot of photographs.
By traveling, you made a lot of memories and those memories always stay with you throughout life. Deoria Tal is also famous for hills reflection on the lake but due to the clouds, the reflection was not clear.
After spending some time in the morning, we started return trek. Going down is always easy in compare to climbing up and I just completed return trek in 40 minutes. Shibba, Varun, and Saurabh also came after 30 minutes. There was a single washroom in the room, so we started ready one by one. Around 10:30 AM, all of us were ready to leave beautiful Sari Village for our next trekking.
This was our overall experience about Deoria Tal trekking and in next the blog, I will share our experience about Chandrashila Trek.