Valley of Flowers & Hemkund Sahib

Ha ha, you must try me a bit more hard buddy :-) .. Kidding

Visha_dixit may be on-off case, but you cant override the whole charm of the valley with this example
(google the images for Valley of Flowers. Not much of images are out of target by the way)
Tell me this even if that picture isn't true, wont a first timer be blown off?

Lets take this VOF in August still you have a air of serenity around it. Yes cloud cover may poise a problem to peak view,
but isn't those cloud cover add a charm in itself? When it rains, it will be divine green. Clouds seem to close around you.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1128182...00213848839922
(but this was in June taken by me).

June - Greenery with a little strewn flower nursery. Clear views of peaks
July/August: Flower Bloom to the maximum. Mostly no peak views, but still glaciers will be visible unless its completely cut by
cloud cover (no big peaks BTW, except Ratavan)
September: Unpredictable in second half. Rains in first half. Greenery and flowers not as thick as in August. But foliage
is dense.
October: Dry but cold season. People will be surprised to know the slops grow bone dry towards late october. If you start a
forest fire, it will burn well :-)

And you are mentioning the other side of VOF : It is Ratavan Peak and TipraBamak Glacier.

[QUOTE=AceTrekker;1440246]Amit: Incase you start by 2-3 PM from Govindghat, DO TAKE a torch along with you & watch out for the snakes on the trail in the dark; especially the last 2-3 kms.
Please visit this post for some bits:
Haridwar - Joshimath - Ghangaria

Hi acetrekker..went through your post..good to know that Rishikesh - Govindghat - ghangaria is doable in a day..yes..have already packed a torch ( a point stressed by chandan earlier and you too..)hoping I make it on time to Govindghat..

[QUOTE=amitsehgal;1440327] amit, so things ae pointing towards option 3 as per my earlier post for you. 2 points I would like to make.
a) carry 2 torches. even if the 2nd one is the worst quality but still carry it. You wouldnt like to become a nice and tasty dinner for bears and leapords, who infest surrounding forest, in case your only torch ditches you. These things fail in monsoon season especially NI-MH based battery operated ones. If possible, try to get a winding' torch as a backup option.
b) How many of you will be travelling? if all alone then please take it easy and do not proceed for Ghangaria unless you get a company there. However, I Still doubt that you will be able to reach by 2:30 due to local road blockages that are common during monsoon season but by no means impossible.

You are scaring me friend. First it was snakes and now it's bears and leapords! :-)
For now, I am alone but will look for company if I do reach Govindghat on time..will be careful..

you better be careful. you will be deep into himalayan Jungle, in a national park. venturing there all alone during night is not advisable.. Atleast I wont do it myself. leapords are more common than we all think they are. On 4th july this year, around 10pm , I encountered 2 of them together. I was on the road struggling to get my badly stuck car out of kanchanganga, a glacier fed stream 2.5 kms before badrinath that swells up to 3-4 times of it's usual volume in the evening. 2 leapords were constantly stood hardly 10 mts away for, god knows, how long. I realised their presence only after I had managed to get my car out of that hell. Dont ask me why was I driving at that time ..

I am not suggesting you to be scared. Just be careful.

will do.. though am definitely tempted to ask that question...

If you start very early morning from Ghangaria, you can easily reach Rishikesh/Haridwar late night and can avail late night train - Mussorie express to reach Delhi next day morning. You need to check gate timing from Badrinath to Joshimath and accordingly make your planning. Problem you may face is landslide, in this monsoon season.

@amitsehgal
I totally agree with Mr chandanprakash2002.....except on one point......two torches with metal hydride batteries are enough to keep a pair of hungry leopard at bay.....think, need a few more....atleast a car......be carefull of those HAPS at night....on your way to the VOF......if you are confident go ahead with your plan.....else drop the "in the dark" episode..

Desr Mosederbaer,

I need your valuable suggestion that, is there share jeep service all the routes in Panch Kedar ?

My route is like this :

Gourikund to Kedarnath
Kedarnath to Gourikund
Gourikund to Ukhimath (By share jeep or Bus)
Ukhimath to Uniyana (By share jeep)
Uniyana to Madmaheswar
Madmaheswar to Bura Madmaheswar
Bura Madmaheswar to Madmaheswar
Madmaheswar to Uniyana (By share jeep)
Uniyana to Ukhimath (By share jeep)
Ukhimath to Chopta (By share jeep or bus)
Chopta to Tunganath
Tunganath to Chopta
Chopta to Badrinath (By share jeep or bus)

In all these route share jeeps are available on 25th October to 10th November.

Please let me know.

Best wishes,

Bishu

2 torches to keep him on the right path.
on a serious note, few days back I had an experience based on which I can confirm that NOT all leapords are sensitive to artificial lighting. I encountered 2 of them , one ran off the road instantaneously but the other one stayed hardly few meters from my car's head light, facing car, until I blew horn to send the beast off the road.

Hello das_bishu, aren't you asking your query in a wrong thread. this thread in intended for VOF/hemkund sahib and nearby locations. hope you wont mind moving your question in a right thread/forum.

Came across this thread, happened to see the colorful pic in #2188 and associated discussion ...

That picture is not fake or overly photoshop-ed. Such landscape exists in Carrizo Plains National Monument of USA. Also can be seen near a small town called Gorman on the highway 138, 60 miles north of Los Angeles. It is a beautiful sight, sometime during mid march-early April (springtime in USA). I have seen it and have few pics too.

would you mind if I suggest you something bhaisahab?
FACT: VOF is the ultimate destination for any nature lover on this planet. No place on this planet could be as b'ful as VOF, that too in Aug. No place could have more variety and quantity of flowers than VOF has. No argument or challenge to this fact will be tolerated at all. We in India will get outraged if you try to do so... Because, It's a valley of flower.

Will you stop suggesting stupid things. If a photo or location seem better than VOF than that location simply can't exist. Aah.. Photoshop has to be real culprit

I hope you got what I want to convey...

As far as this thread is concerned, as long as that photo isn't of VOF, we all are fine.

Well, I wouldn't mind suggestions, but I would definitely mind if you refer to me as "bhaisahab" "Behen" would be better

Totally agree with you! I haven't been to VOF but will definitely do some day this year or next.

not sure whether you got my intended message.. never mind.