Valley of Flowers with family in july/august

spicetrekker

Hi Couple of points:

1. Please avoid jeans during treks - as if they get wet they become a huge drag and dont dry easily - Sharmaji has made the same point in another way. Jeans though can be used for travelling.

2. Here is a good link on what medicenes to carry www.bhramanti.com/medical.html . Please consult a doctor...

3. The site also has a decent trek checklist http://www.bhramanti.com/treklist.html

BTW dont worry too much. since it is a pilgrim route most basic things are available.

All the very best

solo_trekker

well, sorry to disappoint u ladies and gentlemen, but as of today (25th july) the road to joshimath is blocked because of landslides and the tourists on either side are stranded... this happens every year, but is usually not so severe and the roadblocks are removed in a few hours or so... but apparently, no such luck this time around...

Savita

Hey...what do v do now ?? We're doing the finishing touches to packing and bout to' get set go ' from Hyderabad Sat the 28th to reach Delhi on 29th. V are booked at Srinagar for 30th and joshimathon 31st. Help !

Sadanand Kamath

ks_bluechip has reported that the roadblock has since been cleared. Pl see another thread on the subject under Trekking and Mountaineering forum.

Sadanand

ks_bluechip

Savita .... That Landslide is cleared ... But the landslide and delay situations are day-to-day developments there, in monsoon. If you have a *planned and tightly* scheduled tour in mind, things could happen that may wreck that plan easily. If you have a an *open mind* to make changes as you go along, then it should be OK. Since you are going with kids, you need to be prepared for such emergencies.

Personally, I found the scenery, the greenery, the cloudy mists, and cool weather ... all over Gharwal.... really pleasent and enjoyable. Even the ride from Rishikesh to lower regions towns like Srinagar / Uttarkashi / Barkot was really enjoyable.

Anyway see my posts in the thread mentioned by Sadanand.... KS

PS: That link is ----
http://www.indiamike.com/india/trekk...ki-dun-t39488/

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

spicetrekker

I would say go ahead and take the trip. Landslides happen all the time and are very efficiently cleared. It would be nice if you had a reserve day... worse case if you get delayed on the way to VOF you can drop Hemkund... if you are delayed on your return think of it as one more day in Gharwal which is better than spending one more day in the plains-- be positive go for it.

jyotirmoy

The flowers in VOF blooms in the monsoons only so this is the time to go. The Badrinath route is a vital link & the army bulldozers clear the road very quickly. Do keep a bit of cushion in your palning for such eventualities.

SphericalCuboid

Me and some of my friends are planning to goto VOF on August 10th. I tried gmvnl for accomation in Ghangaria for that period but it seems to be booked completely. Are there any other sites I can check with? Do these trekking companies book acco as well? If so, can someone provide me some references?

TIA

ks_bluechip

I stayed in Ghangariya GMVN TRH for 2 nights .... 22nd and 23rd July 2007 ... I think there is some confusion there ... Dont know why? The office staff there were saying it's full ...and finally on persuation agreed to allot me one Dorm Bed for 22nd and not later days. But I stayed in a 10-bed dorm alone for 22nd night and on 23rd we were only 2 in the same 10 bed dorm! I saw some other dorms also fully unoccupied!!!

Perhaps the Rooms (not Dorms) were booked?..... Even that I doubt.

BTW: In Ghangaria GMVN there are four FH (Fibre Huts) FH1 to FH4 .... all Dorms of Capacity: 10, 10, 4, 4 = 28 as two tier beds .... besides several Rooms.

Anyway, Ghangariya has hundreds of Pvt Hotels & Lodges ... catering to many Sikh pilgrims ... so accomodation can be got there easily! In fact, in a 200-300M stretch of narrow main street (actually a 4ft wide lane) thru that town, you will be asked 20+ times if you a want a room to night stay, and maybe 30+ times if you want a Khacchar to ride!

In the last 3 weeks (july 5 to july 25,) I stayed in many GMVN's ..... at DehraDun, Barkot, Sakri, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Bhujbasa (near Gaumukh), Uttarkashi, Srinagar, Joshimath, Ghangariya etc. Everytime I got a room just as a walk-in ..(except in GMVN-Mussorie). Never booked in advance! It seems, July-August is not a High Season there.

- KS

nyraghu

When my family and I went to the VoF two years ago, we too were unable to get a reservation at the GMVN hotel in Ghangaria; we were told that all the rooms were booked for package tours. However, we decided to anyway go there and try our luck. As it happened there were rooms available at GMVN, and we were able to get a double-bed room for three days.

Due to the difficulty in communication between Ghangaria and other places, it is hard to get reliable information in other places about accommodation at Ghangaria. So, you may indeed find place in GMVN when you reach Ghangaria.

I found that some of the smaller hotels in the village, e.g., Hotel Himalaya just opposite GMVN, were more friendly and served better food. You may want to check it out for accommodation as well. As a last resort, you can approach the Gurudwara at Ghangaria, about 50 m. from the GMVN hotel; I was told that they generously provide accommodation to anyone who asks them.

HTH,
Raghu.

Sadanand Kamath

GMVN runs its own package tours to VOF. What they do is to block the dates in GMVN, Ghagaria during which they bring their package tours to Ghangaria. These package tours mature only when there are minimum numbers of tourists. So there are good chances that trekkers can get accomodation at GMVN, Ghangaria for days when the schedule package tours have not matured. This is true of other GMVN TRHs which are located at places where they operate package tours.

Sadanand

ks_bluechip

Yes, that sounds like a possible explanation! Since Ghangariya is connected by STD/Phones, I would have expected the local staff there knowing the bookings for that day and next 1-2 days in advance.

I found the GMVN TRH, as the most "cleanest" lodging in Ghangariya town and also the most "unbooked" one. I was thinking, may be it was too costly, at Rs 150/- per bed in Dorm for Pilgrims. But as you say, the unmatured "Pkg bookings" could also be cointributing.

- KS

nyraghu

As several other posters have already said, I suggest you should just go there. IMO, landslides and the other difficulties of monsoon travel in Garhwal are more than compensated for by the awesome scenery. Again as others have said, it is better to keep your schedule a bit flexible. For instance, as I have mentioned in the thread on the recent landslide, we were once stuck in Srinagar for two days because of a landslide just past there. So, a schedule which provides a day or two to spare may be useful.

If the information is of any relevance, I went to the VoF with my spouse and daughter. That was two years ago and my daughter was 10 years old then. One thing you may want to carry is some kind of skin cream/lotion to use in case kids brush against nettles beside the trail. My wife and daughter hired ponies on the way up from Govind Ghat to Ghangaria, but my wife didn't like it much. On the way down, all of us walked. I suggest that you leave as early as possible from Joshimath for Govind Ghat, so that you can start the climb to Ghangaria from there early in the morning. The distance from Govind Ghat to Ghangaria is about 14 kms, and can take a long time. In Ghangaria also, it is best to leave very early for the VoF. Usually, it starts raining in the afternoons, and it is good to be back home by then.

There is a Valley of Flowers Information Centre next to the GMVN hotel, run by the Eco Development Committee (EDC) Bhyundar, where one can see a slide show on the Valley, and buy some nice posters and souvenirs like T-shirts.

We had to hire a `kandi' (a carrier basket) for my daughter for one of the trips to the Valley. Ponies are not allowed in the Valley. There are fixed rates for kandis, etc., which are posted in the counter near the entrance to Ghangaria. just before the GMVN hotel. We also hired a kandi for my daughter for part of the way down to Govind Ghat.

You can see the IM thread Valley of Flowers with child for some more information.

Wishing you a good trek,
Raghu.

Savita

thanks folks for all tle encouragement.WE WILL GO !

Fresh doubts...

1. Do porters also carry kids or is it only ponies?. Can v do hemkund with the kids on a pony/porter ?

2. Vishy(my husband) wonders if we should carry an oxygen cylinder? I had a breathing problem and earpain at HKD I think cos i did the last stretch too fast.

3. General trekking guidelines to avoid such situations

Please reply as fast as u can cos v leave tomorrow early morning for our trek

Savita

Once again ,thanks SK, Bluechip, Raghu and all