Valley Of Flowers – The Himalayan Treasure

Valley Of Flowers – The Himalayan Treasure

12^th August – 20^th August 2017

Nestled in the beautiful Himalayas is a beautiful valley called Valley Of Flowers.

Once hidden from the outside world, the valley was believed to be a playground of the Gods and fairies. The valley was accidentally discovered by Frank Smith a mountaineer and botanist. He was so mesmerized by the beauty of the valley that he went on to write a book about it! The valley indeed looks beautiful with over 300 different varieties of flowers spread over miles in the valley. I had a pleasure to visit this valley this august.

Let me take you on this memorable trek and give you a glimpse valley through my eyes.

We were a group of 16 ladies from different parts of India who met at Dehradun Airport for this tour package which covered Haridwar, Rudraprayag, Govindghat, Ghangria (our base camp and we go to valley of flowers and Hemkund Saheb from here) and back to Dehradun in the same way covering all the places in reverse order J

Day 1: Dehradun – Haridwar (53 Km) Drive time 2-3 hours

We arrived in Dehradun from our respective cities. Dehradun Airport also known as Jolly Grant Airport is the smallest airport I have ever seen till dateJ.  

We began our journey towards Haridwar after having Lunch at Padmini Palace. Later in the Evening around 05:45 Pm we drove to Har ki Pauri for the famous Ganga Aarti. Aarti in Haridwar is a spectacle with hundreds of pilgrims chanting and praying together. It was really nice to be a part of this mesmerizing experience with a huge crowd offering prayers in the setting sun. Located at the point where the Ganges emerges from the Himalaya, Haridwar (also called Hardwar) is Uttarakhand’s holiest city, and pilgrims arrive here in droves to bathe in the fast-flowing Ganges.

Day 2: Haridwar – Rudraprayag (165 Km) Drive time: 6-7 hours

After an early breakfast, we started our journey to Rudraprayag. Haridwar to Rudraprayag is a scenic drive along the Ganges up to Devprayag and along Alaknanda up to Rudraprayag.

Named after Lord Shiva, Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag of Alaknanda River.

We got lucky to see all the panch prayag’s during our trip –

·         Devprayag -> where river Alaknanda meet river Bhagirathi

·         Rudraprayag -> where river Alaknanda meet river Mandakini

·         Karnaprayag -> where river Alaknanda meet river Pinder

·         Nandprayag: -> where river Alaknanda meet river Nandakini

·         Vishnuprayag -> where river Alaknanda meet river Dhauli Ganga

We reached Rudraprayag late in the evening. Our stay for the night was arranded at Monal Resort which was situated in a beautiful location and offers wonderful views. This hotel is named after Monal Bird which is the state bird of Uttarakhand.

Day 3: Rudraprayag – Govindghat (135 Km) Drive time: 5-6 hours

We did an early start today to Govindghat from Rudraprayag.

We had a surprise element enroute by our tourist guide which is Badrinath temple. The roads were blocked due to landslide until few days before we arrived. We were lucky that these blockers were cleared and we could visit the temple.

We reached Badrinath Temple by noon. This is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India and one of the four char dham’s. The image of the presiding deity worshipped in the temple is a 1 m (3.3 ft) tall, black stone statue of Vishnu in the form of Badrinarayan. We got to see the Tapt Kund which is a hot water pond. Water in this pond is hot throughout the year and many pilgrims consider it a requirement to bathe in the springs before visiting the temple.

After visit at Badrinath temple, we went to Mana Pass.

Mana Pass is a mountain pass in the Himalayas on the border between India and Tibet. It appears to now be one of the highest vehicle-accessible pass in the world, containing a road constructed in the 2005-2010 period for the Indian military by the Border Roads Organization. We started our trek to the road from Mana Village which is the last India village situated at Indo-China border. It was a steep climb uphill to reach the Indio-Tibet road. Enroute climbing this hill, we saw Vyas Gufa. Vyas Cave is an ancient cave located on the banks of Saraswati River at Mana village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Vyas Gufa is believed to be the place where sage Vyas composed the Mahabharata epic with the help of Lord Ganesha. A distinct feature of the temple is the roof which resembles the pages from the collection of his holy scripts. 

Ganesha cave is also located in nearby area below the Vyas cave. Near this temple, is a natural rock that rests over the river known as Bhim pul

There is also an interesting story related to the place that explains the broken tusk of Lord Ganesh. When Vyas was composing Mahabharata, he needed someone to take down his dictation and asked the learned Ganesha for the same. Ganesh agreed but he had a condition - that Vyas would not stop even for a moment or else he would stop writing and leave. Vyas dictating as fast as he could and Ganesh bent down over the script pages. Finally, his reed pen broke. To which, he broke off a part of his tusk to be used as a pen thereon.

Finally we could make it on top and landed right on the Indo- china road. We started walking on the road and at one point noticed river Saraswati flowing ferociously. Mana Pass is the source of the Saraswati River, the longest stem of one of the longest Ganges tributaries, the Alaknanda River. Mythical Saraswati River flows in to the big orifice in the ground before it disappears.

Enroute we crossed Joshimath - the winter home of Lord Badrinarayan, when the temple at Badrinath closes. It is considered to be one of the most sacred places by Hindus who believe that Badrinath (The God Vishnu) resides here in winter.

Finally we reached Govindghat late evening which is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and is beautifully situated at the convergence of the Rivers Alaknanda and Lakshman Ganga. Overnight stay is at Bhagat Hotel.

Day 4: Govindghat – Ghangaria (Trek - 9kms/ 6hrs approx.)

We started early morning on our trek to Ghangaria(9 kms) from Govindghat. Ghangaria is also the base camp for the treks to Valley of Flowers. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Bhyundar Ganga and Pushpawati, which forms Lakshman Ganga. It is the last human habitation in the Bhyundar valley. This place is usually used by travelers as a base camp to visit Hemkund Sahib and Valley of flowers. It is only open from May till September. The rest of the year, the valley is covered under snow.

The good bit on this trek is that there are markers. That means you know you have walked 2 kilometers and you need to walk 7 more. The path winds around the River Lakshman Ganga for most of the way. It is a good trek as it does not go uphill all the way. There are short sections that are flat and some even downhill. Most of the way is uphill but gradually uphill. Lot of Poni’s(Mules) carrying people and our baggages ply on the way who act as our speed breakers. Also there are some tea shops after some kilometers for you to take refreshments, regain energy and start again. You get to meet a mixed crowd enroute this trek where a lot of people are pilgrims to Hemkunt Sahib rather than trekkers and it makes for an interesting mix. Finally we made it to our Ghangaria tents in the evening at 5 PM.

We stayed overnight at our camps in Ghangaria village.

Day 5: Ghangaria – Valley Of Flowers (Trek 3 + 3km’s to the entry point)

Ghangaria to the Valley Of Flowers entry point is gradual uphill which is 3 km and scenic trek that greets you with cool breeze and breathtaking views. The entry gate to the park is close from Ghangaria however we need to walk 3km moderately uphill to reach the Valley.

After the entry point, you are free to move around at your own pace to enjoy the scenic views of the valley.The Valley Of Flowers is a UNESCO world heritage site. The flora includes orchids, poppies, primulas, calendulas, daisies and anemones, and also rare species like the Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily.

A stone path meanders among the flowers and across streams. This stony terrain into the valley is little tough to climb so watch out your feet and thanks to our guide who asked us to carry two trekking poles for support. The flowers are so beautiful that leaving the path is difficult. Few visitors return after reaching the center of valley but we continued beyond the first one or two kilometres inside the Valley. I was quite excited to see these rare flowers and went on clicking pictures of flowers and also drank from a mountain spring.

 Day 6: Ghangaria – Hemkund Sahib (Trek – 6+6kms/ 4 hrs each way approx.)

We started on our trek early in the morning to Hemkund Sahib. This is a moderate trek, 6 km each way and usually takes about 4 hours each way. The climb to Hemkund Sahib is pretty steep as it is the world’s highest Gurudwara and is located near a beautiful glacial lake surrounded by mountains. It is a pilgrimage place for both Hindus and Sikhs. The name Hemkund Sahib denotes the presence of a tank of snow. On a clear day one can catch a beautiful reflection of the Gurudwara in the lake.

The trail is wide and very well maintained. We saw lot of crowd on this path some known faces whom we met on VOF and rest were pilgrims. And ofcourse our closest companions – Poni’s J.

Initial early morning trek was good but after around 4 hours it started taking a toll on me. I had two friends who were slow walkers like me and we maintained the same pace on first two days. Hence we 3 were walking partners. It so happened that when we stopped at 11 for tea, people from our tent who had started 2 hours later than us crossed usJ. So we knew we had to gear up now. Then somewhere far from Gurudwara we heard the bhajans and that really motivated us to walk ahead. Finally after 7 hours we made it to Gurudwara on top. Our guide first asked us to go near the lake, wash our legs and took a pic of the Gurudwara. The lake also has a small temple devoted to Lord Lakshman. People say this is the only Lakshman temple in India.

Whatever time I was there, the lake was surrounded by mist and a little later it almost completely vanished from the view. We visited both the temple and the gurudwara. A little later we ate khichdi and had tea from the langar. Then it was time to head back.

Now it was time to climb down the same distance again but in a slower place though J. We spotted the famous flower Brahmakamal. Brahma Kamal is another exotic flower that is not found in the VOF but enroute Hemkund Sahib.

Walking down our guide took us through a short cut which was all steps climbing down. We took lot of breaks climbing down since major milestones of the trip were achiever. Now all we were looking forward was going back to Govindghat from Ghangria camp the next day.

We trek back to the Ghangaria camps for the night.

Day 7: Ghangaria - Govindghat (Trek - 9km’s/6hrs) – Rudraprayag (135 Km) Drive time: 5-6 hours

We started our return journey today with a trek down to Govindghat early in the morning at 7 since later in the day sun would be too strong.

While some of us decided to trek back, some decided to go on Poni’s and other preferred to take helicopter to enjoy the scenic view from top. I decided to take Poni for a change but descending downhill on a Poni was a completely different experience altogether. This time we got to enjoy the scenic view better since there was not target to be reached.

On arriving at Govindghat, we went to Yogadhyan Badri Temple which is located at Pandukeshwar near Govind Ghat. When the temple of Badrinath is closed during the winter, Yogdhyan Badri serves as the abode for the Utsav-murti or festival-image of Lord Badrinath. Hence, it is religiously ordinated that a pilgrimage will not be complete without offering prayers at Yogadhyan Badri.

We came back to Govindghat hotel and started our journey to Rudraprayag. Stayed overnight at the same Monal Resort.

Day 8: Rudraprayag –Rishikesh - Haridwar (163 Km) Drive time: 5 - 6 hours

We started our journey to from Rudraprayag to Rishikesh.

Rishikesh also known as “Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas” and “Yoga Capital of the World”. There are lot of yoga centers that attract tourist.

It is also a popular spot for adventure sports. We saw lot of signboards of bungee jumping, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, rappelling, and zip lining. Rishikesh is becoming a popular spot for white water rafting enthusiasts, both from India and abroad, as the Ganges offers medium to rough rapids

We had lunch in an Italian Restautrnat since we were bored eating dal, roti and aloo gobi all the days. After lunch we started to head towards Lakshman Jhoola. This is an iron suspension bridge across the river ganges. The bridge connects the two villages; Tapovan in Tehri Garhwal district to Jonk in Pauri Garhwal district crossing the river from west to east. We crossed the bridge amidst animals, motorists and human beings and reached the other side. Quickly checked out some shops but did not find any stuffs worth taking home. Came back to our coaches and started our journey back to Haridwar.

Day 9: Haridwar– Dedradun (53 Km) Drive time: 2 - 3 hours

Last day of our trip, after breakfast started to Dehradun airport to catch our return flights to respective cities carrying a baggage full of wonderful memories J