Delhi to Deoria Tal, Uttarakhand | Travel Guide

Deoriatal, at an altitude of 2,438 Mtrs, is a calm and serene lake famous for its mesmerizing reflections of Chaukhamba Range in the crystal clear water. In the night, the density of stars on offer in the sky is such large that it makes you forget everything else.

Let us check this complete travel guide for planning a trip to Deoria Tal lake in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

Deoriatal, Uttarakhand

Ukhimath is located about 8-10 km from Kund. Ukhimath holds extreme importance in Uttarakhand because the deity of Kedarnath is shifted in winters here.

Being less visited by tourists owing to less stay options and hike involved, no wonder Deoriatal comes in the list of offbeat places in Uttarakhand.

Location

Deoria Tal is located at a trekking distance of about 2 km from Sari Village and comes under Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Sari Village is located about 13 km ahead of Ukhimath.

Altitude

The altitude of Deoria Tal is about 2,438 meters or 7,435 feet and offers some amazing views of the Himalayan mountains.

What is the best time to visit Deoria Tal

The best time to visit Deoriatal is from March to May and October to November. In winters, i.e., December – January, when the snowfall starts, the nights at Deoria Tal are extremely chilly and is only advisable if you are OK with surviving temperatures well below freezing point. Even June – July is hot when the sun is out but shades and night are a bit cooler though.

Monsoon season is generally not a suggested time period to visit the region of Chopta – Tunganath – Chandrashilla – Deori Tal due to landslides which are common in Garhwal.

Travel Tip: You can check out my list of places to play in snow or snowfall in Uttarakhand which are near Delhi.

In the winter season, you can easily get to see snowfall on the Deoriatal trek or around the Deoriatal lake. So, if you want to have some fun playing in snow then head out to Deoriatal – Chopta region in January to March.

How to Reach Deoria Tal from Delhi

Let us look at different modes of travel to choose from when you plan a trip to the Deoriatal lake.

By Air

The nearest airport is Jolly Grant, Bhaniawala, Dehradun, 41 km from Haridwar. After reaching Haridwar, you need to carry the rest of the journey by road only. Haridwar to Chopta is about 225 km by road.

By Rail

The nearest railway station is at Haridwar. After reaching Haridwar, you need to carry the rest of the journey by road only. Haridwar to Chopta is about 225 km by road.

By Road

Please note that you can only travel from Delhi to Sari Village, which is the base village of Deoriatal trek. After reaching Sari village, you need to trek the remaining 2 km to reach the lake. You can pretty much do this trek as a beginner without any guide. There is a well-paved track to the top.

Below is the route that needs to be followed to reach Deoria Tal from Delhi –

Delhi – Haridwar (212 km) – Rishikesh – Dev Prayag – Srinagar – Rudra Prayag (take left towards Kedarnath) – Agustmuni – Syal Saur – Kund – Ukhimath – Sari Village (415 km) – Deoria Tal

One needs to drive about 12 km to Sari Village from Ukhimath, and from Sari Village, one can reach Deoriatal by a trek route of 2 km approx. There is no motorable road to Deoria Tal. The trek is a paved path from Sari Village up to Deoria Tal, although it is quite steep at some places.

There are many rest houses or shelters on the trek with benches to take some rest and restore your breath. Normally, it will take about 60-80 minutes to trek up to Deoriatal, and if you have good stamina, you can even complete it in 40-50 minutes :). Anyhow the descend is pretty fast for everyone. Having said all that, it is an easy trek in Uttarakhand.

Road Conditions from Delhi to Deoriatal

When I visited, overall, the road conditions were not that bad. In between Dev Prayag and Srinagar, the road is quite dusty and at some places in poor shape. It slightly improves after Srinagar and up to Rudraprayag with few bad sections.

After Rudraprayag, the road condition further improves up to Agustmuni. You can cruise as you like after Agustmuni as the roads are in the best of shape up to Chopta.

Preferred Vehicles

Almost any vehicle (car/bike) in perfect running condition can take you to Sari Village from where the trek to Doeriatal starts.

Suggested Itinerary for Deoriatal Trip

Let us look at one of the most popular itineraries that you can follow to visit these places in Garhwal.

Day 1 – Delhi to Syal Saur or Ukimath GMVN

I would suggest that on day one, you prefer to stay at Syal Saur, GMVN, Ph. 9536384724 (15 odd km before Ukhimath) right on the banks of River Mandakini. Unlike suggested below, if you plan to visit Deoria Tal on Day 2, then staying at Syal Saur will take a bit of time out from Day 2 as well and help you not get bored at Deoria Tal in the afternoon.

Not sure if they ever renovated Syal Saur GMVN after the 2013 flashfloods.

The evening and early morning views along with night stars are what you will be more interested in at Deoria Tal. But, in case you do not opt to stay here (which I won’t suggest), then do halt here for a cup of tea on the way back on Day 4 or even Day 1. You will get an excellent view of Kedarnath Peak over calmly running the Mandakini river.

Day 2 – Syal Saur to Chopta to Tunganath to Chandrashilla

This day, you can utilize to go towards Tungnath to see snow (if in winters) and capture beautiful sunset near Chopta meadow. You will also find lots of beautiful birds there, especially Magpie, en route Chopta. There will be lots of red-colored flowers around April – May; I guess Rotadendrum is the name.

In our case, we reached at 5 PM at Sari Village in the evening on Day 1 and hiked in the evening to stay overnight at Deoria Tal, which gave us a day extra to trek to Tunganath easily and at comfort. Hence, start early morning from Syal Saur by 7 AM, say, to complete the trek in that day. Stay overnight at Duggalbitta or Chopta or Ukhimath.

Day 3 – Chopta or Duggalbitta or Ukhimath to Sari Village to Deoria Tal

In the first half of the day, you can even go towards Ukhimath and visit the local temples. After having lunch, you move towards Sari Village and trek to Deoria Tal to enjoy the sunset. Keep that in mind; it will take about 1.5 Hrs to trek for a normal person to complete the trek. So, start at 3 PM so as not to miss the sunset reflections. Stay overnight at Deoria Tal.

The road only goes to Sari Village, and hence, you need to park the car at Sari Village. Call either of Bharat Puspwan: 09719875326, 09456108780, Umeid (09411737835), Mr. Hira Singh Negi (09410241543) or Mr. Surendra (09410367921, 08958329376) few days before so that he can book the room for you at Deoria Tal, FRH or arrange tents for you with proper bedding. He will be available for you near the BSNL tower at Sari Village. The FRH caretaker will also charge you some fees for entry to Deoria Tal, give him just the tip … he will be more than happy.

Day 4 – Deoria Tal To Sari Village to Delhi

Enjoy the early morning reflections of Chowkhamba range in Deoria Tal and have your breakfast. On the way back, check the local temple of Sari Village as well. After getting down, start the journey towards Delhi.

You can opt for dinner at Bikano or Moolchand Resorts or Cheetal, all near Mujjaffar Nagar. If you forget the diversion to Cheetal you may miss by running over a flyover, hence do not miss that turn from the highway, if you like Cheetal.

You can also check the itinerary which I prepared for myself and followed to some extent only, at the below link: Itinerary | Chopta – Tunganath – Chandrashilla – Deoria Tal

Where to stay at Deoria Tal

Syal Saur

I will always prefer to stay at Syal Saur, GMVN (Ph. 9536384724) whenever I will be visiting the region next time at least either on the first day or on the last day. It is right next to the Mandakini River and an awesome place to spend the evening. It got washed away in the floods of Kedarnath.

Ukhimath

Nearest GMVN is at Ukhimath for winters, 25-27 km before Chopta from where the trek to Tunganath and Chandrashilla starts. Contact or phone number for Ukhimath, GMVN is 9568006692. The caretaker is Umeid. Ask him to give rooms at discounted rates. 550 was the price for double-bedroom, and you can always ask him regarding further discounts by letting him know upfront that you won’t need any GMVN bill ;)…

Travel Tip: Did you know that you can also club a visit to Auli when visiting the Chopta region?

Sari Village and Deoria Tal

For stay options at Deoria Tal contact either of Bharat Puspwan: 09719875326, 09456108780, Umeid (09411737835), Mr. Hira Singh Negi (09410241543) or Mr. Surendra (09410367921, 08958329376) for camps or tents. He may even book the rooms of FRH at Deoria Tal for you as well.

A very nice person who runs his Dhabha there, and he cooks well too at such a place. You can pay him whatever you feel like; it will be a great help for the old fellow. We paid him Rs 500 per person for a night stay in the tents which included breakfast and dinner with tea and coffee and mineral water bottles.

There are two tents that have proper beds in them, so you need not sleep in the sleeping bags. There are a lot of quilts available to beat the cold.

You can even plan to stay at Sari Village, but there are only limited options available. Hence, I will suggest that either stay at Deoria Tal or go to Ukhimath or Chopta / Duggalbitta for a stay.

Duggalbitta, Chopta, and Tunganath

Check accommodation option for Duggalbitta, Chopta, and Tunganath at the following link: Delhi to Tunganath Temple and Chandrashilla, Uttarakhand | Travel Guide

Special Notes

There is no electricity at Duggalbitta, Chopta, Tunganath and Deoria Tal. But, Sari Village does have electricity.

Where to eat

I am not sure of any famous food joint at the place, and you will either be eating in the hotel or some dhabha in the day while you are on excursions, as we did on our trip. There are two Dhabhas at Deoria Tal.

You should always carry your water bottle and refill it as many times as you need water. It will not only keep you hydrated always, but you will also help in saving the Himalayas from plastic garbage. Remember, every tiny step counts and your step in this direction can help save the Himalayas too !! 🙂 🙂

Phone Signals at Deoriatal

Phone facility and electricity is not available at Deoria Tal. Mobile signals for Airtel and Vodafone were not much at Deoria Tal, but BSNL and IDEA were working fine. You may find a bit poor connectivity in between at Deoria Tal.

Petrol Pumps Nearby

Nearest Petrol Pump is at Kund about 7-8 km before Ukhimath. I will suggest that you top-up the fuel either at Srinagar or Rudra Prayag.

ATMs Availability

Although there is a number of ATMs on the route as well and we used Chandrapuri ATM which comes after Agustmuni and before Syal Saur. Chandrapuri ATM is the closest ATM because I guess there is no ATM present at Ukhimath.

Travel Tip: Do not forget to check this list of things to carry on a trip to Uttarakhand.

Important Places around Deoria Tal with Distances

• Syal Saur to Ukhimath is 17-18 km approx. Syal Saur comes first even before Kund when going towards Ukhimath from Delhi.
• Kund is the bifurcation point where left turn goes to Guptkashi – Gauri Kund – Kedarnath and the straight or slightly right turn goes to Ukhimath – Sari Village – Chopta.
• Kund to Guptkashi is about 25 km. Further, 22 km is Gauri Kund, where the road ends. From Gauri Kund, a 14 km trek starts for Kedarnath.
• Ukhimath to Sari Village is 13-14 km approx. You need to go straight from Ukhimath, and you will find a board on the right side stating directions to Deoria Tal. Here, you need to take a U-Turn towards left for Sari village – Deoria Tal. If you do not take the U-Turn and follow the road coming from Ukhimath, then you go towards Duggalbitta – Chopta.
• Sari Village to Chopta is 32 km approx and Duggalbitta is 4 – 5 km before Chopta.
• Overall Delhi to Syal Saur/Ukhimath/Sari Village/Duggalbitta/Chopta is almost alike, with an overall span of about 50 km. Hence, from any place, you can travel to Delhi in one day without much time difference.
• You can get in touch with two good local guides Bharat Puspwan: 09719875326, 09456108780, and Umeid (09411737835), maybe if you need they can be of much help with everything, and you can directly get in touch without involving any travel agent. Both Bharat and Umeid are good people at heart and friendly company on the trek. Bharat is working as a guide for almost for more than 14 years. You can also check with another local guide Surendra Singh Negi at 8958329376. You can also check with Umendra Singh Negi at +918958647802 and +919456534062, who runs a dhabha at Deoria Tal and camps as well. You can also contact Rakesh Singh Negi at 08475011425 9411534715. He has a guest house in Sari village and a dome tent with toilets at Deoriatal.

Do not forget to carry these must-have things for a trekking trip.

Local Sightseeing near Deoriatal

There are locale temples of Usha and Anirudh, Shiva and Parvati at Ukhimath which are worth visiting too.

Chopta, Tunganath Temple, and Chandrashilla are nearby Deoria Tal, which can you can include in the trip. For more details check the Travel Guide for these places at the following link:

Personal Travelogues

• A drive to Deoria Tal | Revisiting Uttarakhand
• Reflections in Deoria Tal | Revisiting Uttarakhand
• Deoria Tal to Ukhimath | Revisiting Uttarakhand
• Snow Trek to Tunganath, Climbing Up | Revisiting Uttarakhand
• Snow Trek to Tunganath, Climbing Down | Revisiting Uttarakhand
• A Drive from Ukhimath to Delhi | Revisiting Uttarakhand

Conclusion

It is a great place to go if you like to see the raw beauty of Himalayas and camp there. Just visit and witness the enchanting views of Chowkhamba range at dusk and dawn, you won’t regret at all. Please share your views or experience or suggestions etc. as I would wait for your comments.

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