Trip to Hemkunt Sahib & Valley of Flowers

Recently I went on a six-day trip to Hemkunt Sahib & Valley of Flowers from 11th to 16th August.

This trip was unique in the sense that I had gone alone. Now it’s not that I had planned to go alone but somehow I managed to. First of all, my friend(s) who was supposed to come along couldn’t get leave at the same time that I had gotten for. Secondly, I really wanted to be alone for sometime amidst nature and away from the city life. And finally, I so much wanted to visit Valley of Flowers that I overlooked the fact that I would be going alone.

Now, to decide to go to some place is one thing and to organize the logistics is another. With the Kawaria rush at its peak to make it for Shivratri on 12th August, the Delhi-Rishikesh highway was blocked at some points and I didn’t want to get stuck somewhere in the first leg of my journey itself. So, I decided to travel in a train (Nizamuddin-Dehradun AC Special). Now, of course I didn’t have any reservation but still I decided to board this train.

The train was scheduled to leave at 2305 hrs from Nizamuddin railway station. My office is in Gurgaon and I decided to board the cab at 2000 hrs. Now, it so happened that there was unusual rush (traffic jams) on Delhi roads particularly at that time. As a result, none of the cabs which had left earlier returned yet and so there was no cab to board. It was 2030 hrs now and there was still no sign of any cab, and I started to wonder if my decision to go alone was wise enough. Finally, I managed to get a cab for myself at 2040 hrs. Under normal traffic conditions, I would have reached the railway station by latest 2200 hrs, but alas hardly anything is normal nowadays. And so, I reached there at 2245 hrs.

Now, I had to get myself a ticket to travel in the general class on the basis of which I might be allowed to at least board the train (this train doesn’t have sleeper and general class coaches). When I reached the ticket counter, there were two queues and I considered myself lucky to stand in the queue, which had only one-fourth the number the ticket-seekers than in the other queue. But it soon became clear that the person at the helm of the affairs for my queue, though old was a novice at disbursing tickets and so to say, was 4 times less efficient than his counterpart handling the other queue. I again started having second thoughts about my decision to go alone and whether I’d be able to make it to the train on time. The person in question managed to hand over my ticket right at 2300 hrs and I rushed to the platform.

When I reached the platform at 2302 hrs, I heaved a sigh of relief for there was another train parked over there and the train in question hadn’t arrived yet. But this created another problem for me. The train already parked at the platform was Chennai-Dehradun Express which meant it’d also go to Haridwar and in which, at least theoretically speaking, there was a probability of getting a berth for myself. On the other hand, getting to only board the Nizamuddin-Dehradun AC Special was doubtful let alone getting a berth in it. I don’t know what but something held me back and I let Chennai-Dehradun Express go and waited for the other one to arrive.

Nizamuddin-Dehradun AC Special arrived at 2320 hrs. I searched for the TC (ticket checker) and found from him that there was absolutely no chance of getting a berth anywhere in the train. Now, I was not going to let this piece of information ruin my trip, so I quietly slipped in one of the coaches and put my backpack in one corner. The AC coach is built like there is a long AC cabin, which carry all the passengers and a non-AC part at both the entrances. At the entrance, there is also a store room for keeping the housekeeping items. I was standing near the store room and nonchalantly I enquired the housekeeping attendant about the availability of any berth in the hope that he might be knowing the TC. At that time he was distributing bed sheets, blankets and pillows to the passengers, and all these items were coming out of the storeroom only. To my surprise he said, ‘yes, you can sleep in the storeroom. I will lock it from outside and the TC wouldn’t even know about it’. After a while he added, ‘there is an AC vent in there and so you wouldn’t feel hot also’. Now, everything was fine with this idea except the ‘lock’ part.

The train left at 2345 hrs. In a matter of minutes, the storeroom was empty. For the first half an hour I kept standing at the entrance and kept up the conversation with the housekeeping attendant. The guy looked really kind and helping but no way I was going to let him lock me up in the storeroom despite his repeated assurances that he would wake me up at 0330 hrs. There would be a lot many what-ifs if I had allowed myself to be locked in. What if he wouldn’t wake me up in the morning, and what if he would rob me of my money? After a while, I decided to inspect the storeroom and got in there just to relax for sometime. It was really clean with the smell of freshly ironed laundry still in the air. It was sufficiently cool and one person could comfortably sleep there. I sat in there while still talking to him who was standing at the door looking for the TC. After about 20 minutes the TC did come in. He was passing by and he just happened to glance in my direction. He was the same TC whom I had enquired earlier about the availability of any berth. He paused for a moment and tried hard to register if he had seen me earlier. And all this while, I was screaming into his face, “no, you haven’t”. As I was travelling with a general class ticket, he had the authority to charge a fine from me, which was OK, and also, he could ask me to get down at the next stop, which was definitely NOT OK. After a 5-second mental tussle, there was a glint of recognition in his eyes and he seemed satisfied as if he had nailed down one more delinquent enjoying a free ride. I don’t know what but something led him to change his mind. He gave a wry smile and went about his business, without even saying a word to me. I think in all this while, the housekeeping attendant also understood that locking me up was a bad idea. He simply did a makeshift arrangement so that the door didn’t open accidentally and particularly right when the TC was there. And so, I was lying and trying to sleep in an AC storeroom (supposedly non-AC). I must have slept for sometime and promptly got up at 0300 hrs. The train reached Haridwar at 0400 hrs and I got down at the railway station. It was raining heavily in Haridwar.

Day 1: August 11, Saturday
*******************************************************************
Haridwar-Joshimath: 274 Kms
Haridwar (altitude: 329 mts/1,082 ft)
Joshimath (altitude: 1,875 mts/6,151 ft)

I boarded one of the private buses and it left Haridwar at 0600 hrs. The ticket cost me Rs 220. Two hours into the ride and our bus had a flat tyre. Twice, we were stuck on the highway due to landslides. Fortunately, both the times we didn’t have to wait for more than half an hour. Finally, we reached Joshimath at 1900 hrs.

I would say that this was the best scenic ride I have ever had. The highway runs through the heart of Garhwali hills. You would see lush green mountains after mountains. You would see clouds hovering over them and your own vehicle passing through the clouds. All along the highway, you would always have some or the other river thunderously flowing in the valley below.

While going to Joshimath, the river is always on the right side of the highway until Srinagar. At Srinagar, the highway crosses the river and from now on the river is always on the left side of the highway. So, if you are a nature lover and don’t want to miss out on the magnificent scenery, make sure you get a right side window seat until Srinagar and there after a left side window seat on whichever vehicle you might be travelling in. Otherwise, all through the journey you would only be staring at the rocks :-)

At Joshimath, I got a room in a hotel for Rs 100 per day and spent the night there.

Day 2: August 12, Sunday
*******************************************************************
Joshimath-Govindghat: 22 Kms
Joshimath (altitude: 1,875 mts/6,151 ft)
Govindghat (altitude: 1,828 mts/5,997 ft)

The first gate at Joshimath opens for traffic at 0630 hrs. I again boarded one of the private buses and the ticket cost me only Rs 20. The bus left at 0640 hrs and reached Govindghat at 0740 hrs.

In the bus I met a very interesting guy. He had been travelling with his parents for a month now and they were on a pilgrimage tour. On the way to Joshimath, you pass many towns with their names ending in ‘prayag’ like Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag and Nandprayag. ‘Prayag’ basically means the confluence of two or more rivers. So, he told me which all rivers met in all the above mentioned towns.

The above images in sequence:
1. The small town of Govindghat
2. The small suspension bridge over the river Alaknanda. The trail to Ghangharia starts right after crossing this bridge
3. The river Alaknanda at Govindghat

Govindghat-Ghangharia: 13 Kms uphill trek
Govindghat (altitude: 1,828 mts/5,997 ft)
Ghangharia (altitude: 3,048 mts/10,000 ft)

I started proceeding towards Ghangharia as soon as I arrived at Govindghat and so I had no idea about the facilities provided by this small town, one of which was a cloak room facility. With a backpack on my back I started the trek at 0745 hrs.

My backpack must have been weighing 9-10 kgs. Right at the beginning of my trek, a porter asked me to offload my backpack onto his horse, which I promptly refused and I didn’t know that my backpack was going to put me in a funny predicament. I didn’t hire the services of a porter because firstly, I didn’t want to spend Rs 300-400 and secondly, I thought that I was perfectly fit and if now I couldn’t carry my baggage then when would I? With this thought in mind, I continued my trek. Along the way, almost every porter, who was not already carrying someone or something, must have asked me to offload my backpack onto his horse. Mid-August is supposedly an off-season but still you get to see a healthy traffic of both pilgrims and travellers. I don’t know what but I think either it was the fact that I was trekking alone or it was my sorry sweaty state with a brickload full of backpack, which prompted many fellow trekkers to raid me with a battery of questions. They would first give a quick side glance at my backpack and then a longer full glance at me. Invariably almost everyone who cared to ask anything would end up asking the same set of questions. Sometimes the only thing that differed was the order in which the following questions were asked.

‘Why are you carrying such a big load? Didn't you know that you could leave your bag in the cloak room at Govindghat?’, to this I would humbly reply that I didn’t. ‘Have you come alone?’, and I would say ‘yes’. Some of the more querulous would venture with, ‘You should have come with your wife!’, and I would politely reply, ‘I am not married’. Of these, one or two really ambitious ones would almost ask me something but would not at the last moment as if they wanted to say, ‘Never mind, you should have come with your girl friend then?’. To this, I would simply twitch my face, smile back and carry on. It was as if travelling alone was a crime. And finally the usual suspects like where I was from and whether I was working? Now, almost 90% of the traffic on this pilgrim’s trail is of sardars and so almost 50% of all who cared to interrogate me would speak with me in Punjabi, which I don’t understand. So, all I would do was smile back and continue.

Amidst this ordeal and after about 6 kms, I resolved to do two things. First of all, I would not hire a porter while going up. Now, this was a question of my ego also! And secondly, I would definitely hire a porter while coming down. As if this was already not enough, it started to rain heavily.

After 10 kms, I met a very friendly group of eight sardars who were also going to Ghangharia. Four of them were really jovial and fun-loving. They were Mangu, Robin, Preetpal and Tinku. After one more km, Mangu offered to carry my backpack. At first I hesitated but then when he insisted I offered him full support in carrying out this noble task. Finally, we reached Ghangharia at 1345 hrs in heavy rains. There I took a room in a hotel for Rs 150 per day and spent the rest of the day sleeping in my room.

The best part about any trek is the shortcuts it offers and unfortunately, the Govindghat-Ghangharia trek has very few to offer and they too don’t cut short the distance significantly. All along the trek, the river Laxmanganga thunders past you.

Day 3: August 13, Monday
*******************************************************************
Ghangharia-Hemkunt Sahib-Ghangharia: 6 Kms trek (one-way)
Ghangharia (altitude: 3,048 mts/10,000 ft)
Hemkunt Sahib (altitude: 4,329 mts/14,202 ft)

Earlier, I had planned to go to Valley of Flowers first but since the above mentioned group was going to Hemkunt Sahib, I also tagged along and this turned out be a wise decision as I will tell you later how?

We started our ascent at 0530 hrs. Fortunately, this trek route offers plenty of shortcuts and some of them cut short the distance by as much as 200-300 meters. Moreover, they are the only exciting parts for the adventuresome you on this otherwise monotonic but busy trail. We reached Hemkunt Sahib at 0930 hrs and it was already drizzling there. Now, since I was with a group of sardars they wouldn’t listen of me not taking a bath at Hemkund. Hemkund is a lake at 14,200 feet and the water is just freakingly cold. Anyways, I obliged and dutifully took three quick dips in the lake.

The above images in sequence:
1. A glacier enroute to Hemkunt Sahib
2. The lake Hemkund

After this, the group went to the gurudwara. By then, the drizzle had changed into heavy rain and it became quite cold at the top. I roamed there for sometime and started my descent at 1015 hrs. I reached Ghangharia at 1215 hrs and as usual spent the rest of the day sleeping in my room.

Whenever I go for any trek, whether in a group or alone, the only thing that worries me is the presence of wild animals. So, before actually going to Valley of Flowers the next day, I decided to enquire some locals about it. I think almost all of them said that there were no wild animals in the valley. Then I visited this place which is right beside the GMVN rest house and is the office of an NGO, which works for the conservation of Valley of Flowers. I asked one of the guys there and his answer really perplexed me. He said, ‘You really have to be fortunate to spot one’. Now, what if God became extremely benevolent on me and I got to be the fortunate one?

Day 4: August 14, Tuesday
*******************************************************************
Ghangharia-Valley of Flowers-Ghangharia: 3 Kms trek (one-way)
Ghangharia (altitude: 3,048 mts/10,000 ft)
Valley of Flowers (altitude: 3,352-3,658 mts/10,997-12,001 ft)

I reached the checkpost right at 0600 hrs. This is where the trail to Valley of Flowers starts. I really didn’t want to be the first one to enter the valley. There was no one at the checkpost but after 2-3 minutes a local emerged from somewhere and I asked him if anyone else had crossed the checkpost earlier that day. He told me that a group of 4 people had crossed around 0530 hrs and that was some relief to me.

I must have just started my trek when I saw that a dog also started to follow me. Now, this was immensely relieving to me, and I cuddled him and lured him with biscuits to make sure that the dog kept following me. I thought I had a companion with me and now we would together explore the valley. I had completely forgotten about wild animals and in the event we did come across any, my dog would take care of it. In the valley, you don’t get anything to eat so I was carrying packets of chips and chocolates in a small bag. I thought I would give him everything to eat whenever I would take my first break in the valley. But nowadays you can’t trust even dogs anymore. We must have done around 500 meters when we reached a small stream. We had to cross over some big stones to get to the other side. It was really easy even for a dog but the lazy dog just wouldn’t move and refused to cross the stream at any cost. So, I dumped the dog or rather the dog dumped me whichever way you look at it. The image below shows the stream, which we had to cross and which the stupid dog didn’t.

I continued my trek and caught up with the other four guys at 0630 hrs. I must have walked along with them for 15-20 minutes but they were very slow and so, I left them behind, continued my solo trek and became the first one to enter the valley that day. Valley of Flowers is a national park and no one is allowed to live inside the designated area nor anyone is allowed to even camp overnight. That meant that at least for the next one or two hours, I was going to be the only one in the valley because later I came to know that the group which I met on the way didn’t continue into the valley and returned from where the valley starts. This also meant that I had to be on guard against any wild animal. The entire last day it had rained heavily in the valley and as such my decision to swap my visit to Valley of Flowers with Hemkunt Sahib turned out to be right for there was broad sunshine in the valley today. After a 3 km trek, you just reach the valley and after that it's upto you how much you want to explore it further. I must have gone 3-4 kms further down the valley and also visited the grave of Joan Margaret Legge, who is credited with discovering the Valley of Flowers.

The valley is 10 kms long and 2 kms wide, and is a true delight for the eyes. Mid-August is the best season to visit the valley and true to its name, it was in its prime bloom. I came back at the checkpost at 1015 hrs and straight away headed for my hotel.

Ghangharia-Govindghat: 13 kms downhill trek

I completed my packing, settled the hotel bill and headed for Govindghat. I abided with my resolve of hiring a porter for my backpack. The porter charged me Rs 340, which is the official rate for one-way travel. I started at 1230 hrs and reached Govindghat at 1600 hrs. I went to the bus station and kept waiting for the bus to Badrinath. All this while, it had started to rain crazily which continued the whole night. Finally, the last bus of the day arrived at 1830 hrs but then it also brought the news that the highway to Badrinath was blocked due to heavy rains. Well, I then went back to the town and looked for a cheap hotel room. I found one for Rs 150 per day. In the hotel room, I decided to cancel the visit to Badrinath and to head for Delhi the next morning.

Day 5: August 15, Wednesday
*******************************************************************
Govindghat-Pipalkoti

The first gate (towards Joshimath) at Govindghat opens for traffic at 0745 hrs. I got a seat in a shared Tata Sumo for Rs 300. It was going to Rishikesh. The gate opened 10 minutes earlier. We started moving right then and didn’t stop until we met the first landslide of the day at 1000 hrs. It was the day of landslides for the rains had wreaked havoc the entire night. This was the state of the road when we reached there.

A bulldozer had already cleared a narrow stretch so that the vehicles could just pass through. But small stones were still rolling down the hill and it was not long before the big stones and boulders also came crashing down. This was the same site after the fresh onslaught.

There was another pile up just 50 meters ahead and I think it was around 1400 hrs when the highway was opened for traffic. We must have covered only another 500 meters when we had to stop again for there was yet another blocked section of road.

For half an hour, there was no sign of any bulldozer and the people started to speculate that since it was Independence Day there wouldn’t be any either. Thankfully a bulldozer arrived but unfortunately, after some time there was a crack in its blade or shovel or whatever it is called, and it was no longer working.

It was 1600 hrs now and one thing was clear that this section of road was not going to be opened up until late evening or possibly next morning. Since night travel on highways is not allowed in Uttaranchal, there were two options for me. The first one was to cross over to the other side of the stuck-up section on foot and take the next available bus/shared taxi until as far as it could take me before the night fall and spend the night there. And the second one was to spend the night at Pipalkoti, which was 3 kms away from that spot, and take the bus/shared taxi to Haridwar in the morning. I opted for the second option. I left my baggage in the Tata Sumo itself and proceeded to Pipalkoti on foot. I got a room in a hotel for again Rs 150 per day and spent the night there. Around 1900 hrs, it again started to rain crazily and I think it must have rained the entire night.

Day 6: August 16, Thursday
*******************************************************************
Pipalkoti-Haridwar-New Delhi

It was a lovely morning and fortunately it was not raining now. At 0600 hrs I left the hotel and decided to inspect the area to see if there was any hope of even expecting the road to be opened soon. I soon realized and so did many others that the road was not going to be opened to traffic that day at any cost. The latest bout of rains had not only triggered fresh landslides but also added debris to the already cleared up sections of the road. The most devastated area was a stretch of 2 kms just 3 kms before Pipalkoti (same spot). At some places, the whole chunk of road was simply washed away. After gauging the situation, I decided to walk up to my taxi and bring my baggage to Pipalkoti. As I had started at 0600 hrs, I was able to get some good shots of the landslides for there was minimal pedestrian traffic at that time and also, I could come back on time for after some time the Army had stopped the pedestrian traffic as the clearing work was already in progress.

At 1030 hrs, I boarded one of the private buses which would take me to Haridwar and the ticket cost me Rs 195. Again, we were stuck twice due to landslides but fortunately, both the times we didn’t have to wait for more than half an hour. We reached the bus station at Haridwar at 2200 hrs and right then I boarded another bus (Uttarakhand Roadways) for Delhi. The ticket cost me Rs 114 and we reached ISBT at New Delhi at 0300 hrs.

You can read some traveling tips to plan your visit here.
You can view the entire album at Valley of Flowers.

Au Revoir