Valley of Flowers Trek from 22-26 July 2017
22 July Sat: Got picked up at 6:30 AM at Haridwar in two vehicles by Hike to Himalayas and On the way we had lunch and reached Joshimath by 6 PM. We were allotted rooms in Hotel Auli D. There were two extra beds laid out on the floor but there was a scorpion on the bed. They killed it but got scared as there were some other insects on the bed. They called the hotel boy and got another room and moved out.
We went for dinner at 7 PM and were briefed by our trek guides Yogendra Joshi and Chain Singh on the program for the following days. We had another round of introductions and it came to light that only a few had the experience of trekking in the Himalayas. After a good dinner, we went to our rooms to prepare for the next day. We went to bed early.
23 July Sun: Checked out of the rooms and went for breakfast at 7 AM. There were parathas, poha (beaten rice) and dal. After breakfast those of us who had to do shopping were asked to get into a vehicle and headed to the nearby street. We returned to the hotel and after getting our luggage on to the three Sumo Vehicles, went on our way to Govindghat. The mountains were steep and reaching the sky and here and there were thin streams and rivulets, white with froth and decending from the sky. We reached Govindghat by 9 AM and registered ourselves with the government office for the trek. Our luggage was transferred into another local vehicle and saying goodbye to Chain Singh, we went over a suspension bridge and climbed a hill for about 3 km to the village of Pulna. Here there were ponies ready to carry people and luggage. We crossed the thundering Laxman Ganga by a makeshift bridge with metal sheets on top. It was about 10 AM.
I had developed flu like symptoms with running nose and found it difficult to breath in the already thin air at 1830 m (5500 feet)t above mean sea level (MSL). The path was made of wide stone steps. Soon we had to encounter ponies rushing up and down but they had bells tied which jingled and gave warning so that we could stick to the side until they passed. The path was covered with their dung which we tried our best to avoid but there was no way of avoiding the stench. After a steep climb my heart would beat very fast and I was sweating a lot. I removed my jacket, then my T-shirt and was climbing with my baniyans. Yogendra teased us for declaring summer and advised us to put on more clothes which we did as we went higher and it became cooler. Although I did not realize it, I was affected by mild mountain sickness and lost my appetite. I took Thylenol to reduce my flu and hoped it will cope with mountain sickness too. I also stopped periodically to let my heart beat slow down. Many Sikh gurus and elders passed us in the opposite direction and I greeted them with ‘Sat Sree Akal’ and they in turn raised a blessing hand. Periodically, the helicopter passed us with its characteristic noise. By 1 PM, it started raining and we had to put on our ponchos. By 5 PM we reached Ghangria where there were helipads and several tents. We had covered the 11 km trek. Not knowing where to go we took shelter in the pony shed trying to keep the ponies from entering it. After some time our guide came and told us to proceed to Himalaya Hotel another half a kilometer up. As we went up, we saw about 30 ponies lined up and then there were a series of hotels.
We found our hotel and checked into a rather small room with an ice-cold bed. I collapsed into one and did not wake up until dinner time. The guide appreciated my outfit with monkey cap, gloves and all. Dinner was good with soup, rotis, subzi, rice and dal but I had little appetite.
I had developed flu like symptoms with running nose and found it difficult to breath in the already thin air at 1830 m (5500 feet)t above mean sea level (MSL). The path was made of wide stone steps. Soon we had to encounter ponies rushing up and down but they had bells tied which jingled and gave warning so that we could stick to the side until they passed. The path was covered with their dung which we tried our best to avoid but there was no way of avoiding the stench. After a steep climb my heart would beat very fast and I was sweating a lot. I removed my jacket, then my T-shirt and was climbing with my baniyans. Yogendra teased us for declaring summer and advised us to put on more clothes which we did as we went higher and it became cooler. Although I did not realize it, I was affected by mild mountain sickness and lost my appetite. I took Thylenol to reduce my flu and hoped it will cope with mountain sickness too. I also stopped periodically to let my heart beat slow down. Many Sikh gurus and elders passed us in the opposite direction and I greeted them with ‘Sat Sree Akal’ and they in turn raised a blessing hand. Periodically, the helicopter passed us with its characteristic noise. By 1 PM, it started raining and we had to put on our ponchos. By 5 PM we reached Ghangria where there were helipads and several tents. We had covered the 11 km trek. Not knowing where to go we took shelter in the pony shed trying to keep the ponies from entering it. After some time our guide came and told us to proceed to Himalaya Hotel another half a kilometer up. As we went up, we saw about 30 ponies lined up and then there were a series of hotels.
We found our hotel and checked into a rather small room with an ice-cold bed. I collapsed into one and did not wake up until dinner time. The guide appreciated my outfit with monkey cap, gloves and all. Dinner was good with soup, rotis, subzi, rice and dal but I had little appetite.
24 July Mon: Got up and went for breakfast at 6:30. We were given a lunch pack each with parathas, sabzi and pulav. Went out of Gangria at the other side and after crossing the Phul ganga over a makeshift bridge, went towards the valley of flowers. The path was covered with loose stones, schist and slates some of which were shining a lot due to a layer of quarts and mica. On the way there was a projecting rock which was converted to a shelter by stacking stones about a meter high. The river was thundering and frothing deep below and we could see a valley green on either side. By 11 AM, we were in the valley of flowers but the flowers were not much and we realized that the images in google were photoshopped and were not real. We saw a variety of flowers including the blue poppy. We reached another rock shelter and made a halt. After eating a little, the others went ahead and I decided to stay put. Soon more tourists arrived and the place became quite crowded. The track being narrow, there were no ponies here. The guide told us to start decending by 12 noon but we decided to start by 11:45 itself so as to avoid the rain as much as possible. Soon a huge cloud entered the valley and it started raining. Wearing our ponchos we made good progress and were back at the hotel by 2 PM. Again I collapsed into bed only to wake up for dinner. I decided not to go for trek the next day as the destination Hemkund Sahib, a holy lake for the Sikhs was much higher and the climb was steep.
25 Jul Tue: Our trek group woke up at 6 AM and went for breakfast and the trek. I continued sleeping but was soon waken up by two local guys who were looking for someone. After about an hour again I was disturbed by another trek guide who mistook me to be a member of his group. I got up and went and had idli-sambar for breakfast. Then I went down-hill and took pictures of a lot of flowers. I stretched out on a rock shaped like an easy chair and greeted the people who were coming from below. I also collected a few flowers and one old Sardar-ji commented that I was collecting herbs which was indeed true as most of the plants have medicinal properties. There was some sunlight and the view was fantastic. Three ponies were grazing and periodically lay upside down to scratch their backs. When one of them was chased by its owner for resuming work, he kicked several times with both his hind legs in the air. After sitting for about an hour, I started climbing back and again started panting. Eventually I reached the hotel and sat outside my room watching the reddish brown sparrows flying around. After some rest I ventured uphill and sat on a stone bench hoping to see our group members return. Soon the clouds came and it started raining so I returned to the hotel. Soon the members started returning one by one. By 5 PM we went for tea and at 6 we went to see the documentary on the valley of flowers. Through it, I came to know that Rama’s brother Lakhshmana and Guru Gobind Singh had meditated on the banks of the Hemkund Lake and so both hindus and Sikhs considered it sacred. Also, most of the flowering plants in the valley were actually herbs and had medicinal uses to cure a variety of ailments ranging from hair loss to cancer. The bark of a tree here was used for writing ancient scriptures. During dinner, plans were made for the next day and since a couple of places were added on the itinerary, it was decided to have just tea at 5 AM and start the decent to Govind ghat. Our guide told us that there would be Himalayan Black Bears on the path at that time but agreed for the plan.
26 July Wed: Had tea at 5 AM and started decending by 5:15. There was a mild rain so we had to be extra careful to avoid slips. By 5:30 there was enough day light and we could see our path clearly. I managed to keep a good pace as there was not much pressure on my heart and lungs. At 9 AM we stopped for a cup of tea and reached the vehicle point by 9:45. Most of us were down except one person who was coming by pony. We took a vehicle and reached Govind ghat by 10 AM as per our schedule. It was a 45 minute drive to Badrinath and we were told that the temple closes at 12 noon only to open at 3 PM but that would risk a rain and landslide on our way to Joshimath. We were desperate to leave but our guide Chain Singh did not give permission since the person coming by pony had not reached although he had a separate vehicle.
Eventually we left at 11:15 and knowing well that the temple would close at 12 we headed for the border village of Mana. At Mana we walked along the village, watching the Bhotia people who had rosy cheeks and were engaged in a variety of activities like drying herbs. There were a lot of plantations of cabbage, radish, tulsi and other plants. We walked to the other side and saw the cave where Ganesha had written the Mahabharata as it was dictated by Sage Vyasa. There was also a Vyasa cave but we did not go that way. Taking a detour we reached the origin of the Saraswati River which gushes out with great turbulence through an opening in the rocks. A huge rock supposedly placed by Bhima bridges the river and lets people reach the opposite side.
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| View showing our trek over Lambagarh landslide |
We returned to the vehicle and went to Badrinath for lunch. I recommended Makki di roti (Corn flour rotis) and Sarso ka sag (mustard leaf paste) and others enjoyed the change. We quickly visited the Temple at 3 PM and were on our way to Joshimath by 3:30. Around 5 PM we reached the landfall site only to find that the heavy rain had indeed blocked the road (No. 7 on map before Lambagad). We waited until 6 PM and there was no let up of the rain. The road would open about 30 minutes after the rain stopped but since this was monsoon there was not much chance. There were only two possibilities either we head back to Badrinath and sleep without changing clothes as the bags had already reached Joshimath or we trek over a nearby hill to reach the other side and take another vehicle. I was glad that a third possibility of spending the night in the vehicle was not considered. Eventually it was decided in favour of the trek and we got ready for the same. This time the path was narrow and slushy and we had a tough time climbing the hill. On top there was a small village and we made our way thought the gaps between the houses to decend on the other side. There was Chain Singh waiting for us with vehicles and we were glad to reach Joshimath by 7:30 PM. We checked into our rooms and had a hot bath after 3 days and went for dinner. After dinner there was some celebration and dumb-charades but many did not know the movie names. I came to know a drink called masala coke but did not like it.
27 Jul Thu: Left Joshimath by 7:30 AM and it was a long drive to Haridwar. Time was spent watching the mountains, playing anthakshari, sleeping and listening to songs. We had thali with bhindi sabzi for lunch. We reached Rishikesh by 5:30 where half the group got down since they wanted to watch the Ganga arti. The rest reached Haridwar by 6:30.
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| Ghangaria Mules |
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| Tents before Ghangaria |
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| The Trek |
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| View from Ghangaria |
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| Hotel Himalaya |
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| Map of Mana |
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| Flowers in the valley |
