Deavria Taal ( lake ) trekking: a guide

If you haven’t read about the lake  full article here

Devaria Lake trek turned out to be  my start of a journey for the Ultimate  Himalayan experience .  One night on the shore of the lake gave me a yearful of piece but doubled my hunger for Himalayas. Here are the details of the trek as per my knowledge which might help you in some ways if you decide to visit this place.

A pony at Deorial Lake

How to reach:

Bus :

Delhi to Haridwar  : Many buses available   ( you can book train as well)

Haridwar to Rudraprayag: Buses start from 2:30 am from Haridwar till 5 am . After that very difficult to get a direct bus to Ridraprayag

Rudraprayag  to Ukhimath: Lot of shared Jeeps

Ukhimath to Saari: Shared jeep again but very rare. So you need to crack a deal with a Jeep guy .

There is also a 6 km trek route from Ukhimath  to Devaria Taal ( Deoria lake)

my friend Sudheer photographing at lake

Best time to visit: Round the year for nature lovers  . September to January for Nature lovers and Photographers.  Here is what I learnt after talking to our guide, may not be accurate.

September: Dramatic clouds, snow covered peas may not be visible, greenery, rain

October: Clear sky, cold, good water in lake, no snow, little greenery

November:  Clear sky, cold, good water in lake, no snow, very less greenery, little snow, subzero cold

December: Might snow , no greenery, dramatic clouds, less chance of clear sky

January: Snow, heavy cold, less water, less chance of reflection as the water surface might freeze,50-50 chance at clear skies

Difficulty level:

Easy for a regular trekker ( IMO regular trekkers are those who trek once in a month)

But believe me this is easy. Anybody who can walk 5 KMs at one stretch  can easily trek to this place. The only problem is high altitude which can be handles if you listen to your guide properly.

Devaria taal ( Deoria lake) at morning

Food:

There are Dhabas available but need to be confirmed with Saari villagers. Usually this place is not crowded so villagers cook only if they have fixed customers. But do carry chocolates which are light and instant energy.  Other basic food items can be bought in Saari village. But do not expect Pizza or Burger or even branded biscuits! Never ever miss Mandva-ki-roti of Saari village. Tell them in advance and they will prepare it for you.

our little camp

Guide:

An internet research for guide to Devaria lake   gave me a name called  Mr.Murali Chand Negi. As I started conversing with him soon I realized he is a great guy with lot of experience with Himalayas . We made a deal and the dates of the travel got fixed . By conversation I imagined him to be a big moustache guy sitting in a AC office in Saari Village of Uttarakhand , When finally when met I really surprised to see him totally. He turned out to be  thin old guy  carrying a radiating smile always on his face  but one can guess that he was very handsome at his younger age. If you wonder “Can he ?!”  then I wouldn’t blame such was the simplistic attitude he had. He owned a small hotel come shop where one can sit and enjoy the beauty of the valley surrounded. So with him we started our trekking in the evening to the lake and rest became some amazing moments of my life.

Mr Murali SIngh Negi the gude!

Mr.Murali  holds a degree in mountaineering club and he is a recognized guide for treks in Himalayas. Some other interesting facts I learnt about him are he has a high respect for his work and values the safety of his customer a lot. During the trek he never forgets to explain the historical background of the places , the climate round the year which are very helpful to photographers such as me. He made sure that we enjoyed our stay and any small problems he dealt with very much care. Believe me he is quite fit guy and even after carrying a load he can walk in a good pace which was highly impossible for us in that situations.  I have seen him picking plastics and glass pieces left by tourists and dumping or burying  in earth. He will not encourage use of alcohol and plastics.

I highly recommend Muraliji for those who have a real care towards  nature  and for  those who wants to learn  mythological stories, legends, history, culture related to visiting places. But let me be very clear about this place .Do not expect a Hotel class service just because you paid money to him. If you are looking for internet , Air-conditioning, room service, hot water bath, power, cell phone signal etc then I would recommend a hotel in Bangalore rather than Devaria taal. This is a typical Himalayan valley where living is so tough because of the terrain and the weather conditions.

Phone Number: 9458491488 ,  01354-214093 ( landline)

Email:   rakesh25.singh@rediffmail.com  ( Do not email and wait for reply . Call him )

His sign board :

Murliji's shop board

Facilities he can give: food,tent,sleeping bag , trekking equipment, ponies, porters, guides.

Tariff: Depends on season, Call him to find out .

Other treks he which he can assist:

Mayali pass, Panch Kedar,Satopanth trek,Chandrashila etc. You can contact him and find out whether he can support.

Mulrliji at Devaria lake

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