Deoria Tal
lake · 3.3 km away
town53 min from Chopta
Ukhimath
Ukhimath, a pilgrimage town at about 1,311 m where the Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar deities spend the winter, 26 km and 53 minutes below Chopta.
What it is
Ukhimath is a small pilgrimage town at about 1,311 m in Rudraprayag district, and the winter home of two of the Kedar deities. When snow shuts the high temples, Wikipedia says the idols from Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar are carried down here and worshipped for six months, and the Omkareshwar Temple keeps the festival image of Kedarnath in winter. It is the last big town on the road up to Chopta.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
By road it is about 26 km and 53 minutes below Chopta on our routing. Wikipedia says Ukhimath is the last point on the route served by regular buses. We have no verified bus timings, so check at the stand.
The visit
The Omkareshwar Temple is the thing to see: a courtyard of grey stone and bright blue paint, a tall stone shikhara, carved plinths and a Nandi bull. Our photographs show the courtyard, the carved base of a shrine and the Nandi. It is a working temple, so go quietly, dress modestly and ask before photographing inside. We have no verified opening hours.
If you come in winter, the town is where the Kedar worship moves, and the high temples above it are closed by snow.
When to go
The deities are in Ukhimath from about the closing of the high temples to their reopening, which Wikipedia puts at six months. See when to visit Chopta.
Around it
Deoria Tal is a walk from Sari on the road above, and Tungnath Temple is at the top of it. The two-day plan ends the second day here, and the half-day plan ends the day here after the lake.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Day plan · First visitleisure
One day below Chopta — Deoria Tal and Ukhimath
A relaxed Chopta plan below the high ground: a short walk to the forest lake of Deoria Tal, then the pilgrimage town of Ukhimath on the way down. Free to copy.
Best Apr–May · Sep–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visittrek
Two days at Chopta — Tungnath, Chandrashila and Ukhimath
A two-day Chopta plan: the walk to Tungnath Temple on day one, then the Chandrashila summit and the winter pilgrimage town of Ukhimath on day two. Free to copy.
Best Apr–May · Sep–Oct
See the plan →Nearby places
Questions people ask
Why is Ukhimath important?
Wikipedia says that during the winter months the idols from the Kedarnath Temple and the Madhyamaheshwar Temple are brought down to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. In winter the festival image of Kedarnath is kept at the Omkareshwar Temple, where Omkareshwar is worshipped all year.
How high is Ukhimath and where is it?
About 1,311 m, in Rudraprayag district, and Wikipedia says it is roughly 41 km from Rudraprayag. It is about 26 km and 53 minutes by road below Chopta on our routing. Wikipedia describes it as the last point served by regular buses on the route to Chopta, so it is the usual base.
What is the legend of the name?
Wikipedia says the place is tied by legend to a wedding, that of Usha, a daughter of Banasura, with Aniruddha, a grandson of Krishna, and that the name Ukhimath, earlier Ushamath, comes from Usha. Treat it as a tradition rather than a documented origin. In 2012 the villages of Dangwari and Bhatwari merged to form the town board.