Tungnath temple situated in the state of Uttarakhand is the highest Shiva temple in the world. Tungnath is one of the five Panch Kedar. Among the Panch Kedar, it is the highest temple located in the Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand. Tungnath literally means 'Lord of the peaks'. The temple is located at an altitude of 3,690 m (12,106 ft), and just below the peak of Chandrashila. Tungnath has a rich legend related to the Pandavas (from Mahabharata). It is believed that Lord Shiva appeared here in the Dwapar Yug when the Pandavas were searching for Lord Shiva. The Tungnath temple is over 1000 years old. The best time to visit Tungnath is from April to September.
Tunganath is situated in the high mountain range of Uttarakhand. Its one of the five Panch Kedar temples. It is the highest Panch Kedar temples of Lord Shiva in Uttarakhand.
A pilgrimage to Tungnath is undertaken as part of the Panch Kedar (five temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in Uttarakhand). These Panch Kedar are- the five temples of Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheswar and Kalpeshwar.
After the famous war of Kurukshetra, the Pandavas went out to look for Shiva, who would pardon their act of killing the Kauravas. However, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas' prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region.
In search of Shiva, the Pandavas went to Garhwal Himalayas, where Bhima started to look for Shiva and saw a bull grazing near Guptakashi. He immediately recognized the bull to be Shiva. Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs.
But the bull disappeared into the ground only to later reappear in parts, with the hump in Kedarnath, the arms in Tungnath, the face showing up at Rudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing in Kalpeshwar.
So Pandavas built temples at each of these locations to seek pardon and blessings. And Tungnath is the place where the bahu (hands) were seen.
Enjoying the sereny beauty of Tungnath, a trek to Chandrashila, at 4,000 meters above sea level, is highly recommended. It is about 200 meters uphill from Tungnath Temple.
The best time to reach Tungnath is from April to September. Travellers can also camp in the open grounds of Tungnath, but with prior permission from the forest department.
