Tungnath – The Highest Shiva Temple in the World
While the Char Dham Yatra has gained significant popularity among tourists, not many know about the Tungnath temple which lies on the Char Dham route from Kedarnath to Badrinath. It is situated at a small hill station called Chopta and is only 35 kms from Kedarnath. Tungnath is made up of two words, Tung(Mountain) and Nath(God) which means the God of the Mountains. This is one of the five temples of the Panch Kedar – the five temples supposed to be built by the Pandavas for worshipping Lord Shiva. Shiva turned into a bull to hide from the Pandavas and according to legends different parts of Shiva’s body appeared at different locations where the Pandavas built the temples to seek Shiva’s blessings: