It was a long pending trip ever since i saw the pictures and location of this beautiful valley. This was indeed my most memorable trip to the beautiful Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib Uttarakhand.
The place was discovered much earlier by Frank Smythe and teammates during mountaineering expedition in the year 1931. But the Government of India recognised it much later in the 1970’s.
In 1939 a botanist Lady Joan Margaret legge came here to study the flora of the valley where she unfortunately slipped and died accidentally.
Valley of Flowers is located in the Chamoli district of the state of Uttarakhand.
the government of India declared the Valley of flowers officially in the year 1986 as place of national importance.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site
In 1988, UNESCO recognised it as world heritage site. The whole area of the valley is part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve which was established in the year 1988.
The valley is very beautiful with variety of flora and fauna. The beautiful Pushpawati river traverses through this valley.
The nearest major town is Joshimath. One has to travel from Joshimath to Govind ghat to start trek towards Valley of flowers. For reaching Joshimath, we started our journey from Rishikesh, our base camp. It took almost 8-10 hours to reach Joshimath by road from Rishikesh. Chamoli area of Uttarakhand is landslide prone area especially in the rainy season, so it is advisable to be careful while driving through this area.
Joshimath
Joshimath – is a small town 16 kms before Govind Ghat and tourists generally stay here for night halt for their journey towards Govindghat – Ghagaria next day. We reached Joshimath in the evening and were fortunate to visit the local Sh. Narsingh temple and also the visit the temple near the ancient kalpvriksh located near the market area.
Kalpavriksha at Joshimath
Locals believe that the tree is more than two thousand five hundred years old.
In the 8th century, Adishankaracharya did penance under this tree as he considered it to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva.
It is located on the upper road at a waking distance from the main market area of Joshimath.
Shree Narsingh Temple, Joshimath
Shree Narsingh Temple is also called Narsingh Badri Temple is a sacred place to visit in Joshimath. Located in the lower bazaar area, the temple can be reached by foot from the market area through narrow alleys.
The temple’s deity is the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Narsimha Avatar, in the form of half lion and half man.
Adishankaracharya established it in the 8th century. He meditated there for five years during his stay in Joshimath.
People believe that visitors should come to this place before visiting the Badrinath Temple.
During the winters when the Badrinath Temple is closed, devotees regard this temple as the winter seat of BadriVishal ji.
There are four more small temples within this area known by the name: Shree Vasudev Temple, Shree Ashtbhuja Ganesh Temple, Shree Navdurga Temple and Shree Gaurishankar Temple.
Joshimath to Govindghat
We started early from Joshimath and reached Govindghat in about one hour drive. There is a Gurudwara at Govindghat and people generally take taxi from here towards a small village called Pilna from where the 14 km trek towards Ghagaria Starts. We reached Pulna and negotiated with the porters who carry the big bags to Ghagaria on their pony. After handing over our luggage to porters, we started the trek towards Ghagaria.
There is also helicopter service from here for reaching Ghagaria. You need to book in advance. Its a 8-10 minutes ride.
We enjoyed the trekking with beautiful views of forest and river on the way. There are shops on the way which sell food items. It is a moderate trek, not a tough trek and It took us 4-5 hours to reach Ghangaria as we were enjoying the views enroute.
When we reached Ghangaria, It was evening time and market was full of tourists. Ghagaria is a small village which serves as a base point for visiting Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib. We checked in to our hotel and enjoyed the evening stroll in the market area.
Ghagaria to Valley of Flowers
We started early in the morning at 7 am. The gate of the valley of flowers is at a distance of 500 meters from the market and opens at 7:30 am. One can purchasr ticket one day in advance.
Ticket price for valley of flowers
There is a nominal ticket of Rupees 200/ for Indian tourists and Rupees 800/ for foreigners for entry into the Valley of Flowers. Movie and other professional video cameras attract an additional fee of 750/ (2000/ for foreigners).
After entering the gate we trekked for some time and reached the river. It was flowing with great force and had an old iron bridge for crossing. We crossed the bridge and continued to hike, It was quite steep for an hour of trekking.
We reached the place where there is a huge bolder, known as the bolder spot, in 4 hours. Initial trek was hiking upwards and a mix of ups and downs. But it was a beautiful trek and the views were breathtaking.
We enjoyed our packed lunch here at the Boulder and rested for some time. Some people were taking pictures while others were napping at this beautiful place. I prefered to lie down on top of the huge rock.
After spending about 2 hours we started our return journey towards the gate of the park. The forest officials told us that everybody must reach the gate positively before 4 o’clock in the evening. We reached the gate on time and went back to hotel to relax and get ready for the next day trip towards Hemkund Sahib.
Hemkund Sahib
Next day morning we started with an early breakfast and left our hotel at 7 in the morning towards Hemkund Sahib. Some people hired ponies for the initial hike. We were slow but thought of hiking instead of hiring the pony. We were taking breaks in between to take pictures and rest for some time. The views from the above were amazing and there were clouds gliding in the sky and moving in between the lush green mountains and the valleys. It took us about 5 hours to reach the top.
Dedicated to tenth sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, Hemkund Sahib is the highest Gurudwara in the world. It is located at an elevation of 15,000 feet in the Himalayas in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. There is a lake at the Gurudwara premises which remains frozen for most of the months except during the summer when the water is freezing cold.
Guru Gobind Singh meditated by the side of this lake in one of his earlier births, as recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib.
Sarovar at Hemkund Sahib
Many devotees take a dip in the sarovar (the holy lake) located in the temple premises. There is no option to stay at night at the Gurudwara. It is mandatory for the visitors to leave this place latest by 2 pm. One can visit the Gurudwara from inside and also received prasada in the form of steaming hot Khichdi and delicious Kheer. There is a Jio tower because of which the Jio network works well here.
By the side of the main Gurudwara is Laxman Temple at the edge of the lake.
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists visit Hemkund Sahib each year. The trek is of above moderate category and its challenging to hike and come back the same day.
We returned back to our hotel before dark and we saw it started raining just before reaching the base. It was overall amazing experience to visit the holy place.
Ghagaria to Govindghat
Next day early in the morning after breakfast, we left for Govindghat. It took us 5-6 hours to reach Govindghat from where we boarded our bus towards Badrinath.
Badrinath Temple
It takes just one hour of drive to reach Badrinath Town. It is located within the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Badrinath town is part of the holy Char Dhaam yatra ( four holy pilgrimage sites of India). It is a sacred pilgrimage
Best time to visit Valley of Flowers
Best time to visit Valley of Flowers is from July to end of August which happens to be the rainy season.
Flowers are in full bloom making the valley looks magical during the rainy season.
How to reach Valley of flowers/ distance from Delhi
Delhi – (250 kms)- Rishikesh – (246 kms) Joshimath – (16 kms) Govindghat
Valley of flowers is at a distance of 520 kilometers from Delhi. One has to travel via Rishikesh to Joshimath. From Joshimath, local transport can drop you at Govind Ghat which is 16 kms.
Govindghat -(3 kms by shared taxi) – Pulna Village
Pulna – Ghangaria (Trek 11 kms)
The 11 kms Trek to Ghangaria starts from Pulna Village. Ghangaria is the base camp to start trek for Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib. There are basic hotels and homestays in Ghangaria for tourists to stay. GMVN – Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has a small guest house here which can booked online in advance.
Tour Itinerary (9 days)- Valley of Flowers, Hemkund Sahib, Badrinath.
Day 1. – Reaching Rishikesh and staying there at night.
Day 2. – Rishikesh to Joshimath, staying at Joshimath at night.
Day 3. – Joshimath to Govindghat. Trek from Govind Ghat to ghagaria (14kms). Staying at Ghagaria.
Day 4. – Trek to Valley of Flowers.
Day 5 . – Trek to Hemkund Sahib
Day 6. – Ghagaria to Govind Ghat. Govindghat to Badrinath
Day 7. – Badrinath to Mana
Day 8. – Badrinath to Rishikesh.
Day 9. – Rishikesh to Delhi.
Valley of flowers – A memorable trip to the beautiful Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib Uttarakhand
tour package – Useful links
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