Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib

Tripoto
12th Jun 2017
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 1/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 2/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 3/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 4/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 5/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 6/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 7/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 8/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 9/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 10/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 11/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 12/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers
Photo of Trek to Ghangaria village and Hemkund Sahib 13/13 by Two Damsels City Wanderers

So, the 7 days trip to Uttrakhand began on 12th June 2017 at 12 am in the midnight. All packed up with shoes(must for trek),clothes (winters one as well),food,candies(must while travelling in hills),camera and the list goes on.

Day 1

First stop was Rishikesh which is about 245kms from Delhi, decided to stay there for 3 to 4 hours and then left for the second stop that is Srinagar, distance is 112.8km from Rishikesh.

Stayed a night at Srinagar , It's a beautiful place in the foothills of Himalayas and on the banks of river Alaknanda. It's a pauri Garhwal district in state of Uttrakhand, we couldn't get more time to explore this place as we reached there in the night. The whole 1st day of trip went in travelling but my eyes were so happy to see those majestic hills and that scary yet beautiful flow of river.

Day 2

Woke up next morning at 6am and left for the next Stop Govind Ghat Joshimath which is about 165kms from Srinagar. While going up in the hills we expected that weather would get better and we would feel the cold breeze but nothing of that happen till Joshimath, the more we were going up, the more we felt like we are burning in the hills, but to calm ourselves we stopped at Rudrprayag, a place stated on the banks of river Alaknanda, We trek down the hills to be on the riverside for a while, the trek was about 2kms and our skin was burning in the heat but we couldn't resist ourselves,reached there and felt it was worth trekking down, the water of river was freezing, I felt like I could stay there forever if the weatherman is not gonna listen to us. Enjoyed there for an hour,clicked pictures,took a deep breath,felt the beauty of that place and trekked back to the hill, had maggie(the only common food in the hills) and it was cooked in fortune oil, I never had maggie cooked in oil before but candies were there for me to change the taste.

Reached Govind ghat around 5 in the evening, explored that place a little, had dinner at the one and only restaurant in the street, though the food was so good. There are many shops selling garam garam milk, yes we had it and the badam doodh was yum. After having good food we slept and woke up at 5 in the morning.

Day 3

So it was our 3rd day of trip and no more buses,car,bikes. The trek began, It was 15km trek to Ghangaria village. Started our trek at 7 in the morning and we reached Govind Dham around 2 in the noon, yes we took time to complete the 15km trek because the views were worth stopping by. The trek was super good, last 3 to 4kms were quite exhausting because the way was very steep. We carried Glucose with us, it was quite helpful, the weather was not at all pleasant it was so HOT that liquid worked more for us than food though again we had maggie while trekking(this time it wasn't cooked in oil).

Spent evening exploring Govind dham, Khalsa restaurant is best to have food, besides the restaurant there was a sweet shop and we had garam garam Gulab jamun, it was so yum. Must be wondering why garam gulab jamun in such hot weather? NO! the weather changed, it changed totally, it started raining at Govind dham and it was freezing after that, Finally I felt cold, I felt like I'm in the hills and this weather is amazing.

After having a good appetite we slept.

Day 4

The 4th day started, another trek for about 9kms begin by 6 in the morning, It was freezing in the morning we had to wear our winter jackets, we took our laathi(stick used for trekking) and commenced our trek with so much of enthusiasm but the trek was not easy it was so steep, had breathing issues while trekking but we had trust in ourselves and in the mighty god of Himalayas. There was an option to take horse and reach the top but we did not go with that. Completed another 9kms trek by 11 in the morning. We reached Hemkund Sahib name derived from Sanskrit Hem(Snow) and Kund(bowl), a place of worship in Chamoli district Uttrakhand, surrounded by seven mountain peaks each adorned by Nishan Sahib on it's cliff, devoted to tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh ji. The GOD ordered Sikh Guru Gobind Singh ji to take birth while he was in deep meditation at the mount of Hemkunt.

This place was freezing it's covered with glacier lake, the weather changed and it started raining a bit, felt like we were in clouds. Everything was so beautiful there.

This place is located in the himalayas at an elevation of 15,197 feet. Pilgrims can only visit this place in summers from May to October only. Overnight stay is not allowed at this place and it is necessary to leave the place by 2 in the noon and trek back down to Ghangaria(Govind dham), trekked back down to ghangaria in 3 hours, it was not difficult coming back down but yes calves hurt a bit. Reached back to room by 5 in the evening, had food and slept.

Day 5

It was not the end, we had to trek down to Joshimath, started trekking back down on 5th day and stayed overnight at Govind ghat.

Day 6

After staying a night at Govind ghat, we travelled back to Rishikesh,stayed a night there and the 6th day ended with so many beautiful memories that would stuck in mind forever.

Day 7

Woke up next day it was our 7th and the final day we travelled to Paonta Sahib Gurduwara Himachal Pradesh, distanced 100kms from Rishikesh. People say it's important to travel to Paonta Sahib to complete your journey or yatra of Hemkund Sahib and Thanks GOD for the safe and successful trip.

After staying there for 3 hours we travelled back to Delhi.

The experience of travelling to Uttrakhand was amazing,made some unforgettable memories, Views were breathtaking,the trek was a bit exhausting but fun as well.

 I feel It's very important to take sometime out of work and live with nature.

PYARO UTTRAKHAND :)