Valley of Flowers in August

pravs

Hi fellow trekkers,

Me and my friends are planning a trek to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund in August.. We are from Gurgaon and our mode of transport till Joshimat will be CAB. I have prepared a rough plan for this trip. It would be helpful for us if you could check this and advice me if there is any better option.

Aug 10 - Friday evening start from Gurgaon.

Aug 11 - Saturday morning reach Haridwar/Rishikesh. Freshenup, have breakfast and start to Govindghat. Saturday evening reach Govindghat. Night halt @ Govindghat.

Aug 12 - Sunday morning start the trekk to Ghangaria. Night halt @ Ghangaria.

Aug 13 - Monday morning start the trek to Valley of Flowers. Evening return to Ghangaria. Night halt @ Ghangaria.

Aug 14 - Tuesday morning start the trek to Hemkund. Evening return to Ghangaria. Night halt @ Ghangaria.

Aug 15 - Wednesday start the return journey.


Is this plan ok.. what are the things that we should look out for..

* Like I heard something abt the traffic restrictions and time of opening of the gates.
* What are the accomodation options available at Govindghat, Ghangaria. (If someone has phone numbers of good hotels in these places, it wud be very helpful.. also the budget )

Looking forward for your valuable replies..

Thanks in advance for your time and info.

Warm Regards,
Praveen

ks_bluechip

Hi,

Overall the schedule looks ok to me. I might suggest a small change i.e. stay saturday night at Joshimath and then start early from there to Govindghat. The Gate at Joshimath (towards Badrinath/Govindghat) opens around 6:30am.

I am planning to do this trek myself; around 3rd or 4th week of July. So I can answer some of your other questions after that with latest experience, by end-July.

But there are many other experts/trekkers here on IM ... who will answer all your queries well before that

Best wishes for your trek ... KS

PS:
1 - Reason suggesting Joshimath ... more places to stay ... also gate opening time early morning. there must be some afternoon gate openings too .. but then they have to match with your arrival, at the Joshimath gate.

2. Also see other threads ... such as ... VAlley of Fowers Vs Har-ki-Dun

__________________
ks_bluechip [My Travel Blog] [My Flickr Photo Sets]

Sadanand Kamath

The schedule is ok except that I go along with the suggestion by ksb to consider staying overnight at Joshimath. Govindghat will be full of pilgrims hence don't take chances in Govindghat for overnight stay.

Be prepared for heavy rains particularly from Govindghat to Ghangaria. Even with a good raincoat you will get fully drenched. So take one extra pair of trouser and shirt and socks. The stretch between Ghangaria and Hemkund is a bit hard and some may even get breathing problems. I suggest to trek this stretch with slow speed.

Best wishes for your trek.

Sadanand

VSK Sharma

Hi,
Well the trek plan is all OK and its better to spend night at Joshimath as suggested. I will only advise against night travel on the road from Delhi to Haridwar. Better start early morning from home and reach Joshimath or which ever place you are able to reach by night. Stay there and again leave early for the first gate.
Make arrangements for staying with GMVN at Ghangria. Visit their site gmvnl.com for more info.

pravs

First of all,

My sincere thanks to all of you, for your time and the valuable info you have provided. As all of you adviced, we'll halt at Joshimat on Saturday night, instead of Govindghat.

Also glad to know that Srinivasan sir has planned this trip in july. So I am sure we can rely on him for the current situation and facilities available there at that time.

As Mr Sadanand said we'll surely carry extra dress, incase we get fully drenched.

Sharma sir, thank you for the adivce regarding the night travel. But I am sure you wud understand why we prefer the night travel. We had been stuck in the traffic for long hrs one or two times while travelling from Delhi to Haridwar/Rishikesh... Anyways, we have one more plan.. instead of taking the cab from Gurgaon itself, reach Haridwar by train, and then take the cab.

One more thing.

Could anyone please tell me the trekking distance between:

Govindghat - Gangaria
Gangaria - Vof and back
Gangaria - Hemkund & back

In the above listed plan, on Aug 14th, we are visiting Hemkund and returning to Ghangria and halting there for the night.

In that case, we have to trek to Govindghat the next morning, reach there in the late morning or at noon. Then start our return journey....

Will it be possible....
To visit Hemkund, return to Ghangaria and trek back to Govindghat the same day. Then stay the night at Govindghat.

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

Warm Regards,
Praveen

ks_bluechip

Praveen ... Will post my experience of VOF/Hemkund by end July from some cybercafe there.

From all accounts I have read ... this is a minimum 4 days trek and cannot be compressed into 3 days as you seem to suggest.

Nor can one Stay in VOF or Hemkund. Is that right?

Will wait for some experienced trekker to comment on this.

solo_trekker

Hi...

It is best to spend the nite at Joshimath. If you leave Haridwar very early in the morning and manage to cross the Joshimath gate before 4.30 in the evening, you can carry on to Govindghat. Else, you have to stay at Joshimath. Gates at Joshimath open at 6.30 a.m., the first gate, that is. It doesn't really matter much as you would be spending the next nite at Ghangharia - wherever you spend the previous nite.

Govindghat to Ghangharia - 15-16 km
Ghangharia to VOF - 5 to 8 km one way (you decide how far u wanna go as the Valley spreads out)
Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib - 6 km 0ne way (altitude change of 1.2 km in that stretch...!)

And a BIG NO for even thinking of doing the Ghangharia - Hemkund Sahib - Ghanghria - Govindghat stretch in a single day. DON'T.

I've been there twice - see my thread about the VOF and Hemkund Sahib. And, btw, I'm in Gurgaon right now...!

Au revoir...

Sadanand Kamath

I agree with solo trekker. It is a big NO to trek Ghangaria-Hemkund-Gangaria-Govindghat on the same day. As I said earlier, the trek between Ghangaria-Hemkund-Ghangaria is a hard one.

Sadanand

Sadanand Kamath

solo trekker has suggested in some other thread to carry ponchos rather than raincoats for VOF. I remember, one of our fellow trekkers felt uneasy while trekking from Tawaghat to Pangu in our trek to Chhota Kailash on a rainy day. We ultimately found out that due to wearing of raincoat, he got a lot of perspiration even in rains which resulted in a minor sort of dehydration. We removed his raincoat and gave him a make-shift poncho to cover himself. He did not get this problem afterwards.

Sadanand

VSK Sharma

Hi,
I think people are making the plans by reading about the kms to be covered and are forgetting about the altitude affect. Hemkund is a very steep climb in a very short distance of 5 kms and it takes the juice out of anyone.
Yes sweat due to rain coat is a problem one needs to be carfull about it.

Pintz

Hi to you all. I did a solo as well in 2004 and found that it is better to stay at Joshimath (GMVN guesthouse on the main road) than at Gobindghat. Take the morning bus (6:15 am that leaves from just opposite to the guest house) and proceed to Gobindghat in the morning. Start the trek and reach Ghangharia the same afternoon (depends on yr pace) and the ability to dodge-step the slippery horse-shit on the cobbled way up The best bet at Ghangharia would again be the GMVN Guest house. 3 nights here would suffice the visit to VoF and Hemkund. While at Hemkund, don't forget to visit the Laxmanji's temple tucked away into a corner. And while in Ghangharia, you must taste the 'Madhve ki roti' or the Black Pizza with tea. It's a local fare and gives you warmth in the cold. also visit the Photo shop and meet Rajneesh Chauhan, who is an expert on the flora and fauna of the region. Well, say 'Hi' to him from me!

Enjoy the rains, fog n mist, the playful Pushpawati and the swollen Alaknanda! Also, see the 'Bhojpatra' trees (ancient writing material) at VoF and the smiling faces of children on the way. I miss Uttaranchal!!!!

pravs

Hi all,

Once again my sincere thanks to all of you for the info.
I'll sure keep in mind the advice given by Solo_trekker and Sadanand sir and Pintz.

To be on the safer side, Ive decided to book rooms in Joshimat, Ghangaria and Govindghat this week itself.

I was able to find rooms in the GMVN rest house in Joshimat.

But in Ghangaria, the rooms are already booked or not available. So please suggest me some other alternatives in Ghangaria.

Also in Govindghat what are our options. If anyone can suggest a good hotel it would be of great help!

Thanks in advance,

Warm Regards,
Praveen

ks_bluechip

Ok ... this info will be useful for me too for my VOF trek later in July-07 ... but I dont plan to book in advance and hope to manage stays on the fly.... KS

shahronakm

[quote=pravs;35431
[COLOR=Green][b]Also in Govindghat what are our options. If anyone can suggest a good hotel it would be of great help!/QUOTE]

I don't have much idea but there are some dharamshalas (Mainly for Hemkund Pilgrims) at Gagharia. This I have read in guide book.

Ronak.

Sadanand Kamath

You can still make a try at GMVN RH on reaching Ghangaria. In season, the entire RH is kept reserved for GMVN's conducted tour of VOF & Badrinath. In case the conducted tour is delayed or not materialsing, you have a chance to get the accommodation at GMVN.

The second option is to try in Gurudwara. The last option is to stay in the back room of any one of the tea shops (we did that in Aug.90). We carried a thin bed sheet to act as a layer below the blanket given by the tea shop. In Govindghat also you can try at Gurudwara. As I said in an earlier post, it will be better in all respect to take overnight halt at Joshimath rather than Govindghat.

Sadanand