Valley of Flowers, Utharakhand


The Himalayas called …and I had to go! Valley of Flowers (VoF) had been in my wish list ever since the Sikkim Rhododendrons trek. But then the pandemic confined us to our homes & it just remained buried until one day in May I just booked one through a trekking organizer, sadly had to cancel my plans as an official trip intervened.
But fate landed me amid an amazing bunch of people, when my college friend pulled me into a trek group that had a slot left by a cancellation. In the wink of an eye, I was enroute Uttarakhand amidst all the concerns of rains and climate disasters reported by media.
Landing in Dehradun and taking a long 300 kms drive to Govindghat was tiring and had the risks of landslide that could leave us stranded on roads. Luckily, we reached there incident free and had a good meal & sleep.
The trek started next day early morning to Ghanghria which is a 10 Kms beautiful trail full of nature’s scenic splendors with waterfalls, cold water springs, oaks, rhododendrons, shrubs, wild roses. As we climbed up, the river Lakshman Ganga flowed down to the valley. There are many small wayside tea stalls to rest, catch up the breath and energize for the last 2-3 kms lap of the trek that’s steeper and harder. Now at almost 10000ft we were at the base camp for the upcoming treks to VoF & Hemkund Sahib.
The early morning 5 kms trek to VoF, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, took us through the myriad patches of vivid colors under the watchful eyes of the towering snow-capped Himalayas. Heavenly experience it was! I cannot recollect the names of the hundreds of species of flora that our guide told us along the trail. The valley is no short of an enchantress perched idyllically to cast a spell on the visitors, taking us through dense forests, along the Pushpawati river with makeshift bridges, glaciers and waterfalls on the way to an altitude of 12000ft.
Next day we ventured to Hemkund Sahib which was a very hectic 3-4 hrs climb of 6 kms to the Gurdwara at 15000ft. It is along a beautiful lake and is popular for the Brahmakamal flowers. Alas! mist engulfed the view of the lake and Brahmakamal was elusive thanks to the haphazard flowering patterns due to climate changes! Hot tea and kichdi served there rejuvenated us for the descend.
We visited Badrinath and Mana village on the banks of the River Saraswati, which is a last Indian village from the border of India and China in the Himalayas.
Back in base camp Ghangria, we packed up for the descend to Govindghat the next day. There was a day to go around in Rishikesh before our return flight. So, we managed to get a glimpse of the Ganga Arati and visited the `Beatles’ ashram aka Chaurasi Kutia.
The 6-day trekking expedition tested our muscles, lungs our tenacity & resilience. Apart from the breath-taking views, landscape, what’s close to my heart is the team that I hiked with, some were known, some were new, so diverse yet like beads on a string. We had an excellent trek leader & guide who made sure we were safe, stood by us throughout the expedition.
I’ve seen that I build stronger friendships while hiking, maybe we are more alert, less distracted, and attentive to others; I end up having deeper conversations and our thought processes sync. We encouraged each other to hike a certain distance, elevation, in certain time, faced challenges, supported each other & that brought us closer. Now looking at the pics, I see that I’m missing them all so much & cherishing the great memories we shared and looking forward to many more adventurous endeavors with them…

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