My soul yearns for stillness, for a space, a garden or a forest, mountains and sea, where i can dive deep into my soul. Yes! the purpose of visiting mountains differ for every person. For some it might be a place to relax and then for some it's a place to find your inner peace. I am one such Traveler that seeks solace and loves to dissolve her inner self in the transient of Mountains.
The Result of such zeal and a desperation to kick my work life at bay for a while led me to this untamed jewel in Uttarakhand. I always heard about this place and was willing to visit the place for long and the dream came true in the rainy month of June 2017. Without much ado, let's take a quick sneak peek into the entire trip to Valley of Flowers & Hemkund Sahib.
Day 1: Started off from Delhi to Rishikesh. Took a Volvo at 10:00 PM costing us around INR 600 per person.
Day 2: Reached Rishikesh at about 5:00 in the Morning. We had already booked our ticket to Govindghat. There is this Government Bus plying from Haridwar to Badrinath everyday. You can book the ticket on https://utconline.uk.gov.in/ Because of the frequent landslides all along the way to Badrinath, our 7 hour long travel time was stretched to 13 hours and we reached Govindghat at 8:00 PM all drenched in rain. Hunted down the last line of hotel left in the place and got a room that worked fine for us. You can also stay at the Gurudwara if you are not willing to pay much at the Hotel. We got our room at INR 1500/- to be shared between two people.
Day 3: The day started quite early when we started for the Gurudwara to get a cab for the next 4 kms. Reached the starting point of the trek at 4:30 in the morning. Remember you need to register at the Gurudwara before starting off for the trek as it is a pilgrimage spot. We started off for Ghangria, which is 14 kms from Pulna at 5:00 AM after having our morning tea at Pulna, the starting point of our trek. With few steep climbs and mesmerizing views all along, we reached Ghangria at about 9:45 AM. The time may vary for every individual. It depends on the pace with which you are climbing. At Ghangria we had our morning Breakfast and then set off for VOF at about 10:30 AM.
We reached the check post within 25 mins of our trek and got our registration done. We then started an uphill climb of 5 kms to reach the Valley. We were exhausted to our limit but forgot all about the frequent downpours and fatigue on reaching the Valley. The scene was something right out of a fairytale. The fragrance of flowers lingering all along and the majestic view of the Valley with Mountains standing tall on both sides was spellbounding. We lost track of time while roaming in the Valley. It was almost 3:00 PM when we realized its time for us to return to Ghangria. We started trekking back and reached Ghangria at about 5:15 PM. We took shelter in the Gurudwara there had our dinner and was fast asleep within a minute's notice.
Day 4: This was the day when our patience was to be tested while trekking to Hemkund Sahib. The Holy Shrine is at about 6 kms away from Ghangria but involves crossing of 2 glacier on the way and some very steep climb. The climb will appear to be tiresome and will require frequent stops but the continuous chant of "Waheguru" boosted our energy and we pushed our limits to climb further. Finally we reached the shrine after a strenuous climb of 6 kms that took us almost 5 hours. We reached Hemkund Sahib at 11 AM just in time for the Ardaas. It was like a symphony. Everything about the shrine was amazing. The temperature was freezing cold and it was quite difficult to see anything amidst the dense fog. We stayed at the shrine for almost 2 hours and then headed back to Ghangria. The trek was completely downhill and we were now able to enjoy the view as the fog started to part ways with us.
We reached Ghangria at about 4:30 PM and headed back to Govindghat. We reached Pulna at about 7:15 PM just in time to catch the last taxi to Govindghat. We headed back straight to the hotel we booked on our arrival and were lucky to find the same room empty. We had an early bus to catch. Thus, we jumped into our sleeping pyjamas and fell asleep.
Next morning was marked with our visit to Badrinath and Mana but that is a tale to be told in next post. For now, let me breakdown the total expenditure of the trip for you.
Day 3: The day started quite early when we started for the Gurudwara to get a cab for the next 4 kms. Reached the starting point of the trek at 4:30 in the morning. Remember you need to register at the Gurudwara before starting off for the trek as it is a pilgrimage spot. We started off for Ghangria, which is 14 kms from Pulna at 5:00 AM after having our morning tea at Pulna, the starting point of our trek. With few steep climbs and mesmerizing views all along, we reached Ghangria at about 9:45 AM. The time may vary for every individual. It depends on the pace with which you are climbing. At Ghangria we had our morning Breakfast and then set off for VOF at about 10:30 AM.
We reached the check post within 25 mins of our trek and got our registration done. We then started an uphill climb of 5 kms to reach the Valley. We were exhausted to our limit but forgot all about the frequent downpours and fatigue on reaching the Valley. The scene was something right out of a fairytale. The fragrance of flowers lingering all along and the majestic view of the Valley with Mountains standing tall on both sides was spellbounding. We lost track of time while roaming in the Valley. It was almost 3:00 PM when we realized its time for us to return to Ghangria. We started trekking back and reached Ghangria at about 5:15 PM. We took shelter in the Gurudwara there had our dinner and was fast asleep within a minute's notice.
Day 4: This was the day when our patience was to be tested while trekking to Hemkund Sahib. The Holy Shrine is at about 6 kms away from Ghangria but involves crossing of 2 glacier on the way and some very steep climb. The climb will appear to be tiresome and will require frequent stops but the continuous chant of "Waheguru" boosted our energy and we pushed our limits to climb further. Finally we reached the shrine after a strenuous climb of 6 kms that took us almost 5 hours. We reached Hemkund Sahib at 11 AM just in time for the Ardaas. It was like a symphony. Everything about the shrine was amazing. The temperature was freezing cold and it was quite difficult to see anything amidst the dense fog. We stayed at the shrine for almost 2 hours and then headed back to Ghangria. The trek was completely downhill and we were now able to enjoy the view as the fog started to part ways with us.
We reached Ghangria at about 4:30 PM and headed back to Govindghat. We reached Pulna at about 7:15 PM just in time to catch the last taxi to Govindghat. We headed back straight to the hotel we booked on our arrival and were lucky to find the same room empty. We had an early bus to catch. Thus, we jumped into our sleeping pyjamas and fell asleep.
Next morning was marked with our visit to Badrinath and Mana but that is a tale to be told in next post. For now, let me breakdown the total expenditure of the trip for you.
Total Expenditure:
Delhi-Rishikesh-Delhi Bus Fare: INR 600 /person *2
Rishikesh-Govindghat-Rishikesh Bus Fare: INR 550 /person *2
Stay at Govindghat: INR 1500 a room (divided between two)*2
Stay at Ghangria: INR 150 /person
Food & Other Expenses: INR 1800 /person
Total: INR 5750 to INR 6000 (Roughly)
