Valley of Flowers Trek

Valley of Flowers

Valley of Flowers is a valley located in Himalaya mountain range in Uttrakhand, northern state of India. It is a also known as Heaven on Earth due to mesmerizing beauty surrounded in the laps of the nature. As per the old Hindu scriptures, it is known to be Heaven where the Gods used to reside.

I wanted to do a solo trip to enjoy freedom and to be myself. After a lot of brain storming I decided to go for trek. At the same time I was looking for some place to visit in the month of June to August.
My search drilled down to Valley of Flowers and I choose India Hikes as the trekking company.  Simply because my niece had been with them. There are many other trek companies who conduct similar trek. One can do the same trek on your own.

1. Haridwar or Rishikesh- Start of trek - 1 night stay recommended
2. Govindghat - Base camp - 1 night stay
3. Trek to Gangaria
4. Trek to Valley of flowers
5. Trek to Hemkund Sahib - optional
6. Trek to back to Govindghat

Haridwar or Rishikesh

Once you decide to do the trek, you need to book flight tickets.
Option 1 - Flight to Dehradun - Ideally you can get a flight to Dehradun. From Dehradun, you need to reach Rishikesh.
Option 2 - Flight to Delhi - Reach Delhi by evening. One needs to reach the Old Delhi station or bus stop. Delhi Metro service is excellent and it consumes very less time. Taking a cab is time consuming and not recommended. Catch night train or Bus to Haridwar.

It is recommended you reach Haridwar or Rishikesh one night before and stay there in a budget hotel which is near the station. In the evening one can enjoy the Ganga Aarti on the banks of River Ganga.

Govindghat

If you are going with trek company, the transport to Govindghat will be arranged and has to be paid separately.  Everyone has to report at 6 am at the Haridwar Railway station. The group is split into multiple cabs and usually takes of by 6:15 am. There is a halt for breakfast on the way.
The moment we cross Rishikesh, the cab travels through the valleys of Himalayas. The cab takes you through a road which follows the flow river Ganga. There are moments when one feels we have reached a celestial place. Specially when you see clouds hovering over the River Ganga flowing in between the lush green Himalayan mountains. On the way you witness RudraPrayag, KarnaPrayag and finally VishnuPragay. Prayag means confluence of two rivers.
Our team was lucky, as we didnot experience any landslide during our to journey. If things go as per plan, one reaches Govindghat the basecamp approximately in evening around 5 to 6 pm.
Govindghat is the last town which is accessible by motorable road to Valley of flowers and forms the basecamp. We were asked to check into the hotel usually budget accommodation. Mobile signal is rarely available for Airtel and Vodafone. BSNL connectivity is available. The town offers small shops and gives you last chance to buy any essentials before the start of the trek.
We had dinner around 7 pm and our trek leader oriented us. We had a brief introduction round. We were provided health cards, to measure our BP and oxygen readings for the following days.
Note - One can keep their extra stuff and clothing at the base camp. It is always recommended to carry minimal luggage for the trek.

Trek to Gangaria

Next day morning, we had our breakfast and were ready to leave for the trek at  7 am. The trek company arranged cab drop to Poolna which is 4 km away from Govindghat. You can hire mules, palkhis to reach the top. It is 9 km climb distributed with partial climbs and descents initially. Later part is complete ascend. There is a lot of through traffic on the narrow path in both directions. At times you will come across a group of mules racing ahead. This will scare you initially as if they are going to bump inside you. There are trekkers marching in both directions. After 4 km of gradual ascend and descends, we reach mid point of the days trek and valley, where we spot first stream. The team took a break for tea and lunch at this place. Everyone in our team was excited to take pictures in front of the breath taking stream and our trek lead kept on pursuing us that there will be more on our way. As people say - Yeh Dil Mange More. After a lot of persuasion, the team started moving ahead. This was climb of another 5 km, with most of it ascend. Many places it wide road build of stone steps. There were sporadic streams which ran across the route. We had to walk through them.
We reached at Gangaria at around 4 pm. I was among the last few people to reach the destination.

There was two friends from Gurgaon, who had kept me as bench mark. They used to speed up and take frequent breaks in between. The moment they used to see me in visibility they started walking again. Our tour guide Kripa identified the pattern and addressed it in the next break. Ideally, during trekking one should not take frequent breaks and continue with a steady speed. As you trek, the muscles warm up. If we take frequent breaks, the muscles will get injured. 
We were welcomed by sight of few tents,lush green meadow, and helipad in between it. They were surrounded with mountains on the other side of the valley and everyone was stunned as usual with the surrounding beauty. Yes, we had our photo session. Our team was asked to walk further as the hotel was located in between the Gangaria village. Mentally, I had already reached Gangaria and each step taken to reach the hotel was way to difficult and exhausting. As we approached the village, the path started become more and more narrow. This place was full of mules as it is the start point of the Valley of Flowers trek and Hemkund Sahib. We had to some how navigate ourselves through the mules, their excretion.
Gangaria is a small village, located at the base of Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib. This village is operational from May to October every year. Later part of the year it is closed for tourist and public. As the place is completely covered with snow. The local villagers from around, will move to Gangaria in summer to provide various services to tourist visiting both the destinations.  There are hotels, small restaurants and some grocery and medical shops available at the village.
At last we reached our hotel. We were welcomed with the tea and snacks. The rooms were allocated to everyone. This was followed by blood pressure and oxygen readings for everyone. Later in the evening, we went to see the documentary on Valley of flowers in the Government Library. This documentary en-lighted us with details of various flowers and herbs available in the valley and their medicinal usage. I had read about this place being called as Heaven as per the Indian legend of Mahabharata. I will definitely agree with it. The Amrit - Health Potion, being the extract of all the herbal medicines available in the valley.At night we were served dinner. We met another group of India hikes who had just completed Valley of Flowers that day. As per them the valley was completely crowded with a lot of tourist as it was 15 August Bank Holiday. After some general discussion we marked the end of the day.
I felt accomplished at the end of the day, as I was able to climb this route. After having a complete sedentary lifestyle, I had lot of health issues, I had decided to take up this trek. It proved to be life changer and eye opener both. Most of my immediate health issues have been slowly taken care off. 

Trek to Valley of Flowers

We had wake up call at 6 am. This was followed by tea and a heavy breakfast. We were asked to carry our essentials, poncho, fleece jacket and lunch along with us. The Valley of Flowers is a protected forest by the Government of Uttrakhand, India. No commercial activities are allowed inside the valley. So those who are visiting the valley without trek team should take packed lunch on their way. Ensure that you carry enough water, as there are few streams on the way.

Mules are prohibited in the Valley of Flowers to protect the valley and the endangered species of  flora available in the valley. However, one can hire human porters who will carry weight up to 80 kgs in a basket on their back.
We started climbing big cement steps for about and kilometer and half. There were lot of mules parked on the way and we were informed it is common route to Hemkund Sahib. Later we took a turn to left for Valley of Flowers. A small board is kept with the directions to Valley of flowers.
There is a Forest department office, where we had to submit our name and contact details. Our trek guides bought entrance tickets for us. After a kilometer of walk, we came across a magnificent stream. We had to cross the stream on a bridge. One could feel the small droplets of water on our cheeks as we were walking on the bridge and later for few minutes. It was our unofficial photo break.This was followed by a steady ascend along the mountain range for 4 km, with uneven stone steps. Some places the stones were missing and we had to be double sure before placing our feet on it. The path was very narrow at places and allowed single person to walk through. Our guide showed us the peak on the opposite side where Hemkund Sahib is located. It was our next days trek destination.Slowly we were able to spot the valley at distance. It seemed the valley had pulled a quilt of lush green color with candy pink flowers embroidery. Our speed started increasing as we wanted to reach the final destination as soon as possible. We were lucky to reach the valley on a bright sunny day and were able to enjoy it to the fullest. We learnt from our guide that previous day, the valley was full of fog and visibility was very low. If you do plan to visit the valley on your own, it is advisable to keep buffer day.
We had our lunch break on huge cliff at the entrance of the valley. The valley spreads across 5 to 6 k from the entrance. One can spot an glacier at the end of the valley. Our guide spotted various flowers and herbs and educated us about it. People were busy clicking pictures and enjoying the surrounding beauty. We walked inside the valley for about 3 km to visit the grave of Lady Joan Margaret Legge, a botanist who lost her life conducting botanical studies in the Valley. We spent some time over there and then started walking back. While returning back, ensure to fill your water bottles as there is no water source for  next 4 km. On our way back, the excitement was less. I reached back the Gangaria at around 5 pm. I was 3rd last to reach the base camp but yet happy that I was able to make to the valley of flowers. Once the team reached the hotel, we had a muscle stretching session.
Someone informed that hot water bucket was available and many of us opted to have a hot water bath. We had tea and snacks. Later everyone settled on the terrace to have a riot full Mafia game. 

Once it was dark, we were called downstairs for dinner.During dinner we interacted with the other group who had completed Hemkund Sahib today. We learnt that there were two casualties in the group. Two girls had felt unconscious and were provided with Oxygen supply. Everyone was curious to know the details of the next days trek including me. A couple informed that they were the last to reach the Hemkund Sahib peak at approximately 1:30 pm and were able to reach back by 5:30 pm. The entire team was held up at the Hemkund Sahib till 2 pm for the casualty.
I had done my calculations and was all set for next day.

Valley of Flowers Trek Video - Courtesy Rajkumar Singhai - Indiahikes group Team member.

Trek to Hemkund Sahib

After a heavy breakfast and packed lunch, we left for Hemkund Sahib approximately at 8 am. It is advisable to leave early as its a steep climb of 7 or 8 km at a stretch. The path is made up of huge stone steps and steep cemented road at some places. It is famous Sikh pilgrimage and one can expect a lot of pedestrian traffic along with mules and palkhis. The initial path was the same as yesterday. I had by now guessed, that I will be among the last few people in the group. The steep climbing for past two days had taken a toll on my legs and I had started losing hope on myself. After completing about 2 km, I was barely able to pick up my legs and pull myself ahead. Our Trek guide Raju Da was surprised to see me in that state. After sometime he started pursuing me to take mule and reach the top. I handed over my sack bag with essentials to him and started dragging myself. Later our trek guide Kripa joined me. I was joined by Niranjan from our team after a kilometer. I was happy to have some company on my way. Usually I was able to catch up with the team during breaks, but today I was lagging far behind. It was foggy through out and we were barely able to see the surrounding mountains. I was constantly asking Kripa the number of kilometers left and calculating the speed and time needed to meet the 1:30 pm target. As per this target, I was sure I will be able to make it. At 11 am, when only 2 km distance was left, Kripa had lost her cool on me. I was about to tell her my calculation and justify my speed. But I just kept quiet and continued. At last i reached the peak at 12:30 pm. All my team members were eager to see me. By the time I reached the peak, it was all foggy and had started to rain. Later I came to know that no one in our team was able to get view of the Lake due to fog. Everyone in our team was praying for clear skies, till I reach the top. However it did not happen. Once I reached the gurudwara, many of my team members came and congratulated me for my feat. As most of them had thought it would be impossible. Deepti served me hot tea and later some dal. We visited the gurudwara and started the descend. It had started raining and visibility was quiet low. Temperature had suddenly dropped and it had become very chilly. We had to pull out our fleece jackets along with the ponchos. Climbing down the path was not difficult but manageable. I was among the last few to reach the hotel. 
Evening we had snacks and then as usual everyone joined at the terrace to have fun. Dinner was served and it was time to pack up and leave to Govindghat - base camp the next day. Our Trek lead acknowledged everyone from the support team for their great efforts. And thanked the team members as well.

Trek back to Govindghat

The day started with heavy breakfast and we moved out at 8 am. Since it was descend at most places, it was an easy task. I kept on walking at constant speed. The excitement among the team members was less. Everyone was eager to reach Govindghat before it rains. Most of us had planned to leave immediately on the same day for Haridwar. Landslides in the Gharwal area are unpredictable and will hold you back for day or two till the road is cleared for traffic. So we wanted to cover maximum distance the same day. We reached Pullna by 11 am. I was super excited to be board the first cab back to Govindghat. At last I was not among the last few in the team. We had lunch at the Govindghat Hotel. We visited the Gurudwara near by and left for Haridwar. Plan was to spend night on the way at Karnaprayag and leave early morning to Haridwar. Fate had something else planned for us. Yes the landslide !!!