Chopta is the prettiest spot on the Ukhimath-Chamoli road that connects Kedarnath with Badrinath via a clearly more picturesque, somewhat shorter route. This sleepy little place, 35km up from Ukimath, is really just a bend in a very narrow, thickly forested mountain road. It’s the quaintest place you are likely to see en route, along with the famed bugyals (meadows) of the state peeking through towering trees, framed by snowy mountains in the distance. Chopta is the springboard for a 5km trek to Chandrashila Peak and Tungnath – one of the Panch Kedar (sacred Shiva temples) in Garhwal, including Kedarnath, Rudranath, Madmaheshwar and Kalpeshwar.