Valley of Flowers & Hemkund Sahib

Thanks all for update!!

Thanks to indiamike for helping me to plan my first trekking trip to VOF.
Sharing my itinerary & some other details that, I think, could be useful to other travellers.

Trek to Hemkund Sahib 4329m and VOF 3600m

Team: Lokesh & Mukul
Days: 6 (9th Aug to 15th Aug 2012)
Trek: 62 kms
Trek cost: Rs 4,500 per person including everthing (except shopping).

Day 0 - Thu 9th Aug - N.Delhi to Haridwar [251 kms by Janshatabdi]

• Janshatabdi departed N.Delhi at 15:25 arrived Haridwar at 19:40.
• Had time to pay a visit to Har-ki-pauri. Lovely place.
• Night stay at Haridwar - Rahi motel (GMVN): Rs 450 for economy room. It's good staying option - car parking facility is available. It's oppsoite to railway station & adjacent to bus station. Local & roadways buses for Joshimath/Badrinath starts from here only.

Day 1 - Fri 10th Aug - Haridwar 314m to Govinghat 1828m [298 kms by road]

• Route: Haridwar - Rishikesh - Rudraprayag - Karnaprayag - Chamoli - Joshimath - Govinghat
• No landslides/road-blocking on this day.
• 13 hrs journey. We missed the direct bus to Govindghat (only 1 direct roadways bus to Govindghat at 5:30).
• Arrived Joshimath at 17:15. Then took a shared cab to Govindghat. Cab charges from Joshimath to Govindghat = Rs 500. Max 12 people can be accomodated.
• Night stay at Govinghat - Ganga Hotel for Rs 500 a night. Room was clean with geyser facility - I would call it a good staying option. It's near the bus stop.
• Things to do at Govindghat -
  • Phone calls, after this network may not be available.
  • Take eatables, recharge batteries etc.
  • Buy ponchos for Rs 15-25. Must.

Day 2 - Sat 11th Aug - Govinghat 1828m to Ghangharia 3048m [14 kms trek, ascent of 1220m]

• No need to carry more than 1ltr water. Natural water is good/clean enough for drinking.
• It took us 9 hrs to reach Govinddham/Ghangharia. This is including our leaisure time at river and at some hotel (near 7 km mark, very bad food but good sitting arrangement, I discourage people from eating here). Otherwise it's doable in 6.5 hrs.
• Night stay at Ghangharia - Nanda hotel for Rs 450 a night. It's okay type. Better staying options must be available. We didn't search for those.
• Few points -
  • Electricity availability - 3 hrs in morning & 3 hrs in evening.
  • No geyser, hot water bucket costs Rs 50.
  • Maalish wala - Rs 50 - 200, depends on which body part & bargaining skills. But it was not good, volini works better than that maalish.
  • About eating - all looked same, we ate most of the times at Deepak hotel. Tip - food prices shall be bargained.

Day 3 - Sun 12th Aug - Ghangharia 3048m to Hemkund 4329m to Ghangharia 3048m [7+7=14 kms trek]

• At Indiamike, trek to Hemkund on first day is discouraged due to acclimatization issues. Locals encouraged visiting Hemkund on first day - because we are still fresh and so should take this difficult walk first. Take your call. We did Hemkund before VOF and had no issues.
• It took us 5.5 hrs to cover to reach Hemkund.
• Plan early in the morning and try to leave Hemkund by 14:00. After this, weather could be highly unpredictable.
• Khichdi & Tea at Hemkund was better than any of the restaurant-food we had on this trip.
• You need light warm clothes at Hemkund.
• Night stay at Ghangharia.

Day 4 - Mon 13th Aug - Ghangharia 3048m to VOF 3600m to Ghangharia 3048m to Govinghat 1828m [10+10+14=34 kms trek]

• It was a long day - 34 kms/15 hrs of trekking (last 2.5 hrs in the dark).
• Trek to VOF is easy. We went till the end. Tipri glacier was left only 2.5 kms away.
• We stroll in the valley till 13:00 and then left for Ghangaria (after all we were 10 kms away from Ghangharia).
• Note - normally people don't go that far but if you dare to do, you will have good memory as well as feel-good factor. On that day, ours was one of the 2 groups to go that far, I guess .
• Arrived Ghangharia at 15:20. Had lunch at Deepak hotel and left for Govindghat.
• We started at 16:00 in the rain. Don't know if it was a mistake but we enjoyed it.
• Stuck in the dark at 19:00. We were still 5 kms away. Bought a torch and continued (ofcourse at a very slow pace). Thoda darr tha - thoda maaza bhi aa raha tha, it was all dark after 19:30.
• Arrived Ghangharia at 21:10.
• Night stay at Ghangharia - Punjab hotel for Rs 300 (it's cheap because it's 21:15). It was good room - good staying option even at higher price.

Day 5 - Tue 14th Aug - Govindghat to Saharanpur [400 kms by road]

• No landslides/road-blocking on this day.
• Took the shared cab to Rishikesh for Rs 450 per person.
• Took 9.5 hrs, bad driver. Arrived Rishikesh at 15:30.
• Buses for Delhi are easily available. We decided to stay at Saharanpur (have got relatives here).

We had a buffer day - 15th Aug. Fortunately it was not used or would say it was used for taking rest.

Mistakes we did -

• Forgot to see Brahamkamal & rare flowers at Hemkund.
• Didn't carry spare camera batteries - we exhausted ours at VOF and could not click thereafter.
• Didn't carry torch.
• Underestimated descent from Ghangharia to Govindghat. We started late (in the rain). We suggest to leave Ghangharia by 15:30 or better by 15:00 especially if you don't have good fitness.

What we did good -

• Had above average level of fitness - 11 kms / hr jogging.
• Carried optimum bag -- many t-shirts, track pants, socks, 1 rain suit, food items -- total of 8-9 kgs including water. This allowed us not to use cloakroom.
• Planned a good itinerary.

thanks for detail account of your trip. However, I would like to disagree you on one blanket recommendation of your which says "No need to carry more than 1ltr water. Natural water is good/clean enough for drinking". This is not true. This statement assumes nature to be a benign power that wouldn't normally harm anyone. unfortunately, that isn't the case. All glacier fed water appear 'clean' but they could still be infested with harmful bacterias. I personally know many people who ended up with upset stomach/dysentery after drinking water from such rivers/streams and eventually they all had to either face delays or abandon their trek all together.. all professional trek groups carry iodine pills ( or something similar ) to avoid falling prey to such infections in midst of any trek. It's worth mentioning that every human being has different level of immunity hence not all will be affected to same extent. if you can see snow melting before your eyes then I think it is safe to drink but if you cant see it before your eyes then avoid it. DISCLAIMER: I do not work for any mineral water company

I forgot to ask, when should we expect to see few photos?

Deccan Air has introduced a helicopter service from Govindaghat to Ghangaria this year. A one way flight costs Rs. 3,500 and round trip costs Rs. 7,000.

There are about 10-15 private hotels in Ghangaria now. At times all of them are fully booked for tour groups so walk ins may find it difficult to find a room in these hotels. The gurudwara at Ghangaria with bunk beds is a handy standby of course. We found Japanese and Thai tour groups during our trek to VOF in August this year.

As mobile phones do not work in Ghangaria and landline also does not work most of the time, it is difficult to book a room in advance. But tour operators and travel agencies somehow manage to get rooms booked at Ghangaria for their clients. GMVN rooms can be booked online but one has to book well in advance as they have only 14 rooms which get booked fast.

We stayed at Hotel Devlok which was better and cleaner than other hotels. At Rs. 2000/room it is not cheap but it was money well spent we felt.

Rajnish Chauhan is the best person to guide you through the VOF. He charges Rs. 2000 per group per day. During the evenings you can go to his shop and watch the short video films on VOF and the wildlife in the valley. You will also get to meet with other trekkers and with other groups and get to exchange notes.

The food at Ghangaria leaves much to be desired but please remember that everything is brought from Joshimath/Govindaghat. As the hotels are open for just four months a year, they hire local village boys as cooks. You can have better quality food at Govindaghat and Joshimath.

For those who are not in good physical shape and lead sedentary lives in the cities, I would advise a day of rest between treks. We made Ghangaria our base for four days and ventured out into the VOF and to Hemkund from Ghangaria. Heavy rain and mist mars visibility in the VOF and also makes photography difficult. For those who are out for photography, I would advise them to stay for at least a week at Ghangaria and make daily forays into the VOF according to the weather.

A hot water bottle (rubber bag) purchased locally at Ghangaria, worked wonders in soothing away the little aches and pains incurred during trekking. I recommend the hot water bottle to one and all as an old fashioned remedy to recuperate during the night. There is a Dr. Fonia who has a small clinic at Ghangaria, but I wonder about the medicines he dispenses.

Most people sweat profusely during the trek and need to drink water to prevent dehydration. It is better to have a soup in the evening or at lunch at a dhaba rather than milk tea as salt is needed by the body. Salty biscuits are also to be preferred over sweet biscuits. The Tibetans and Ladakhis drink salted tea to prevent dehydration at high altitudes.

Hill diarrhoea can occur at any time so please take a good medication for it. Also Iodex or Tiger balm comes in handy to soothe away the aches and pains.

A good trip report by Tulsi. I'm sure we ran into each other on 13th at the VoF

Here is info from my trip, for what it is worth..
Aug 10 - DEL to Haridwar: Approx Cost: 550/- per person in an AC bus. The bus was supposed to take off at 9:30 but started at 12 AM. Most pvt buses wait until they are full. Be watchful of this if you have a rigid schedule.
Aug 11 - Haridwar to Joshimath, 6:30 AM bus: Approx Cost: 350/- per person, Approx Time: 10 - 12 Hrs, Right seat upto devprayag and then left seat for awesome views. Stay at GMVN Joshimath - Family room cost 900/- per night
Aug 12 - Joshimath to Govindghat - GMVN cab costed us 100/- per head. A bus/share taxi will be much cheaper. 14KM trek from Govindghat to Ghangria. The first 10KM is normal while the last 4KM is treacherous. Approx. time:6-8 hrs. Night stay at GMVN tent in Ghangria (we did not have a prior booking and we reached Ghangria quite late, so we had little options)
Aug 13 - Ghangria to VoF and back. Entry cost is 150/- per person and is valid for 3 days. Free entry for still camera. Shifted to Nand Lokpal hotel for night stay. Room was pretty damp and cold. Had to shell out 700/- per night for this dinghy room.
Aug 14 - Ghangria to Hemkund and back. Entry free. Approx time (one way) - 4.5 hrs. Trek is very treacherous. Please acclimatize by visiting VoF previous day. Have your fill of Khichdi and tea.
Aug 16 - Ghangria to GovindGhat . Took 5 hrs for return trek because of heat. Tip: Start trek early so as to reach govindghat before the sun gets to you. Took a shared cab to Badri (350/- for two people). Got a deluxe room at GMVN Devlok (cost: 1770/- per night)
Aug 17 - Drive to Mana village (100/- per person to and fro). 5KM trek to Vasudhara Falls. This trek is simple superb. Don't miss.
Aug 18 - 5:30 AM bus from Badri to Rishikesh. Approx. Cost: 350/- per person. Night stay at Gayatri resorts. Approx cost: 1500/- per night
Aug 19 - 9:30PM AC bus from Rishikesh to Delhi. Approx Cost: 550/- per person.

Tips:
1. Don't try to second guess the road conditions. If you are meant to visit these places, you will visit them. Just move on
2. Take raingear and sufficient dry + warm clothes. Ghangria gets very cold at nights and most rooms don't have heaters
3. Take all kinds of medicines with you: fever, cold, loose motion, body ache etc. Though we were told by a physician in Badri that none of these medicines work at high altitudes
4. Start trek early in the morning, since the afternoon weather is very unpredictable
5. Avoid oily food if you have travel sickness.Drink lots of water. Keep aside 1-2K just for water
6. If you are fussy about acco, please try to book in advance
7. Believe that what ever happens is for the best and have faith in the almighty.

Photos will follow soon..

Thanks for useful tips tulsi.

Every bit of info is worth it omkara bhaisaab. Eagerly awaiting for your photos..

This one quote worth more than million and secret of all happines.

Isaanvi.... your first post and it's super.. I leave on aug 24th. 1 question.. do we need thermals? is it very cold at ghangariya

not sure if you still visit IM but if you do then below link shows the location where my car got stuck... I wont repeat whole story again... leapords etc :-). I took this video next morning ... when volume of water was considerably less than previous night....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UEluLmuJhs

for those interested in watching my video on VOF, please follow link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcarSTk_WCc

it's bit long though but covers almost whole of VOF.

Many thanks for putting it up, Chandan. Saw the link late last night, but holding on to watching it on telelvision this evening in glorious HD The last time I saw some good (albeit brief) VOF footage was in the BBC series Ganges.

Thanks again!

hello to everyone,

i am new to this forum,just passed out of college and planning on a trekking trip to VOF and hemkund sahib with a group of 6 friends,during 1st week of september.
i just want to enquire,whether it would e a good time for the trip?
is there any contact details so that i can hire guide/porter from kolkata?

It is good time in first week of September. It would be raining on hills, and, that is the only time of visiting VoF. There are 4 guides at Ghangharia. You can hire any of them. Three of them carry surname of Chauhan. I saw some of the hotels showing photos of VoF. They have guides associated with them. Rajnish Chauhan is one of the guides. And there are many porters available. But I do not think that porter is required at all.

There is a place next to GVMN guest house Ghangharia where GVMN plays short movie on VoF and has some books on VoF. One can ask for guides at that place as well.