Deoria Tal (also Devaria or Deoriya) is a lake about from the villages of Mastura and Sari on the

Ukhimath Ukhimath (also spelled Okhimath) is a small town and a Hindu pilgrimage site in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, India, 41 km from Rudraprayag at an elevation of 1,311 meters. Gallery File:Rooms around Ukhimath Temple, Uttarakhand. ...

Chopta Chopta is a small region of meadows and evergreen forest area, a part of Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary located in Uttarakhand state, India and a base for trekking to Tungnath, the third temple of Panch Kedar which lies away. Located at a dista ...

road in the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

in India. Situated at an altitude of in the

Garhwal Himalayas The Garhwal Himalayas are mountain ranges located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Geology This range is also a part of the Himalayan Sivalik Hills, the outer most hills of the Himalaya located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Major p ...

, it has heavily wooded, lush green surroundings with snow-covered mountains (

Chaukhamba Chaukhamba is a mountain massif in the Gangotri Group of the Garhwal Himalaya. Its main summit, Chaukhamba I, is the highest peak in the group. It lies at the head of the Gangotri Glacier and forms the eastern anchor of the group. It is loca ...

being one of them) in the backdrop. It is sacred to the vast population of India, such as the Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs and other sects.

Access

Jeeps are available from Ukhimath to reach Sari, a nearby village, via Mastura village. For return journey, one can go down trekking to Mastura to get a shared jeep. Alternately, one can trek to Deoria Tal from

. Even though, trekkers are no longer allowed to camp at the famous Deoriatal , there are options of jungle trekking, videography, etc. There are a couple of shops that sell tea and snacks, but these close at sundown. Trekkers usually combine this trek with the nearby trek to Tungnath (the highest Hindu shrine devoted to Lord Shiva) and Chandrashila, which are approached from Chopta.

Panoramic view

Image:Himalayan peak Kedarnath ,Chaukhamaba and others from Deoria Tal.jpg, center, 800px, Kedarnath, Chaukhamaba and others Himalayan peak from Deoria Tal. Clicking on a peak in the picture causes the browser to load the existing article about that peak. rect 1664 385 1375 275

rect 1464 375 1264 280 Janhukut rect 1264 375 1150 280 Mandani rect 910 375 875 280

Sumeru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritua ...

rect 834 375 800 280 Kharchakund rect 615 375 565 280 Kedar dome rect 534 375 500 280

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86.5 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote ...

rect 434 375 400 280 Bhartekunta The lake is known for its wide 300° panorama. Mountains like

, Nilkantha,

Bandarpunch Bandarpunch (lit. Hindi: ''Monkey's tail'') is a mountain massif in the Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand, India. The massif has 3 peaks: White Peak (6102 m), also called Banderpunch II, to the west above Yamunotri; almost 5 km east is Banda ...

, Kedar Range, and

Kalanag Kalanag or Black Peak (6,387 m) is a peak in the Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand, India. It is the highest peak in the Bandarpunch massif, others being Bandarpunch I (6,316 m) and White Peak or Bandarpunch II (6,102 m). The name ...

can be viewed from here. There exists another route from Deoria Tal to Tungnath, which is mainly used for night camping, jungle trekking, etc.

In the Hindu faith

The Vedic scriptures, sacred to the vast majority of India's population, states that the Devas bathed in this lake, hence the name. The lake is also believed to be the "Indra Sarovar" referred to in the

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

by wandering Hindu mendicants,

Sadhus ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternativel ...

. It is also believed that it was the place from where the mighty Pandavas were asked queries by Yaksha in a famous anecdote from the Mahabharat. According to the locals it was also said that this lake was built by Bheem, who was strongest among the Pandavas, to appease his thirst, and Yudhister, who was the wisest, suggested Bheem to build his own lake.

References

{{Hydrography of Uttarakhand Lakes of Uttarakhand Sacred lakes