Trekkers spot 23 Monal pheasants on the way to Darwa Top, from Dodital

2021-11-08 78

The walk from Dodital to Darwa Top is a steep uphill and exciting walk through Rhododendron campanulatum shrubs which are the habitat of Monal Pheasants and Musk deer, although the former are more readily seen than the latter!

Dodital is a freshwater lake in Uttarakhand, India, situated at a height of 3,024 metres (9,921 ft). To reach Dodital, one may reach Uttarkashi by road and then walk to Dodital here via Bewra and other minor villages alongside the Ganges river.

According to one of the popular legends Lord Ganesha chose this place as his abode. There is a temple devoted to Lord Ganesha here. Another name for this lake is 'Dhundital' meaning Ganesh ka tal or lake of Ganesha.

Dodital means Emerald Lake and is situated at a height of 10, 500 feet in a forested bowl above Uttarkashi in Uttaranchal, now named Uttarakhand. It is a two day trek from the road head at Kalyani, along the Assi Ganga River. The first day's stop, after a brief but steep trek, is at Agoda village. After that, one walks 16 kilometers, across Rhododendron and oak forests to Dodital, passing through some beautiful mountain scapes inhabited by Goral (a wild Himalayan mountain goat) and Black Bear and coveys of Monal Pheasant with their iridescent plumage. Above Dodital lies Darwa Top, from where one can get beautiful views of Bandarpunch or Banderpunch (White and Black Peak) at around 20, 956 feet, and views of the Gangotri valley. Other images include Primula macrophylla, Short-toed Eagle doing the samba, a swim across the icy cold lake, setting up camp, pitching tents, fishing for Rainbow trout, a tarn at Darwa Top, views of the Hanuman Ganga, Rhododendron shrubs, crossing streams and waterfalls, Himalayan Pied Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Himalaya, Himalayas, Shivling, Jaonli, Sudarshan, Podophyllum hexandrum, fishing. adventure sports right across the state, including mountaineering, trekking, angling/fishing, ballooning, heli-skiing, skiing, para-sailing, para-gliding and river-rafting. Swargarohini and Bandarpunch ranges in the Govind Pashu Vihar sanctuary, and the Tons river basin, to the Gangotri head-waters, the Nelong-Rudragaira valleys, Harsil and the Lamkhaga and Dhuvadhar Kandi Passes and valleys.

Source - Wikipedia

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