Visit to Valley of flowers - stopover advice

Hi,

We are planning to visit the valley of flowers in the first week of august. We will be using a hired taxi for the entire journey from delhi to joshimath and back.
We are planning to break the journey somewhere around Rudraprayag. I have been adviced to stay at gauchar which is just a few kms ahead of Rudraprayag.
Does anyone have a first hand experience of this place?

Also, I was alternatively thinking of taking a slight diversion and staying at chopta valley for a night. I think it is just an 1.5 hr travel from Rudraprayag on the kedarnath route?
Would be grateful if someone can advice if this is feasible....

Regards,
Ashish

VOF is toward Josimath (Badrinath) route. However, you can also stay at Chandrapuri or Sialsor (GMVN have bungalows there). Both are offbeat and nice. They are very near to Rudraprayag. Next morning, just come back to Rudraprayag and start towards Joshimath. Otherwise, you can also stay at Chopta as stated and then proceed to Joshimath. But, whereever you stay, stay for 2 nights so that you have a solid day in between to feel the quite places. Towards Chopta, if possible, stay at Dogolvita. I have no information about the condition of the bungalow there.

It is not a slight diversion. Rudraprayag to Chopta via Kund may take about 3 hours.
It is worth staying overnight at Chopta provided you spend one day at Chopta and trek Tungnath (4 kms).

Sadanand

Chopta is simply beautiful, I recommend two days here & you can visit Tungnath. Gauchar is a flat place not interesting at all.

Rudraprayag or Chopta get my vote.

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies.
Well, we dont have those many days and so was just looking for a one evening stopover. I guess we should plan for Chopta separately sometime, so that we can cover the surrounding places also comfortably and spend some time there. For this trip Rudraprayag seems the best option, or maybe Syalsaur is a good idea.

Thanks....

I am just back from the same trip. Rudraprayag will give you more options but let me share my personal choice, I just love Chamoli. It is a beautiful place on the rout. I am considering the scenic beauty of the place.

Hi everyone.

Somnath got good weather at Valley of Flowers and Hemkund. We are waiting to hear his first and experience and pictures of the same.

Syalsaur is 26 km off your route, Tilwara is 9. Both have a GMVN "holiday village" with hut-type accom. Both are on the left bank of the Mandakini. If u're not staying at Rudraprayag (GMVN overlooks the sangam), go to Tilwara. Coming from Rishikesh, u don't even need to enter Rudraprayag - there's a new bypass (big signboard pointing to Kedarnath) a km or 2 before the town on the left.

Hi,

Thanks for the quick advice. We are planning to start wednesday morning and travel till rudraprayag via pauri and halt there for the night.
Next day we plan to reach joshimath early and catch the 9 am gate to govindghat.
We plan to reach ghanghria by thursday evening.
On friday VOF and back. On sat maybe hemkund and back to ghanghria.
Sunday - Ghanghria to rishikesh.
Sunday night or monday morning - rishikesh to delhi

Does this sound feasible?
Also, we are confused as to whether we should go to hemkund sahib or whether we should trad-off for a ropeway ride and stay at auli

Somnath ji, how was ur experience and how is the weather like? Did u come across any landslides...?
What are the best places to stay at joshimath/ rudraprayag/ and ghanghria....
Also, would we get use-and-throw ponchos or raincoats at joshimath or any other place on the way or do we need to carry something from delhi itself...

1. Rudraprayag to Joshimath is about 115 kms. If you intend to catch 9.00 a.m. gate at Joshimath, you will have to start atleast at 05.30 a.m. Joshimath to Govindghat is about 20 kms.

2. Ghangaria to Rishikesh on Sunday looks stretched but weather permitting, it is possible provided you start from Ghangaria early morning.

3. You don't have any extra day for some unforseen eventualities like landslides etc. I think, you may have to drop Hemkund/Auli.
If it is possible, it is better to do Hemkund trek than Auli as the latter can be done any time of the year and it is motorable.

Sadanand

Sadanandjee, thanks for your help. The info provided by you and other friends was really a great help during my trip. Bhaswaran, thank you, the URL is given. But sorry I am not getting time to upload all the pix.

Aps, good suggestion from Sadanandjee. I am trying to share my experience…………

rudraprayag via pauri
– Khirsu is a beautiful village where a GMVN hotel is there. Actually I was planning to visit this are this time (once it was decided that we are not going to visit Kalpeswar). Waiting to know your experience about this place.

Rudraprayag – Joshimath before 9 am:
- well, my personal opinion is it would be better if you stay at Joshimath. And start early from Joshimath itself.

Sunday - Ghanghria to rishikesh.
- I cant say impossible but rain / any road block may influence your plan so ……… you can prepare for Rudraprayag / Srinagar. We went to Badrinath.


Also, we are confused as to whether we should go to hemkund sahib or whether we should trad-off for a ropeway ride and stay at auli
- The rule is minimum 15 passengers are required to start a ropeway trip. But practically 7/8 people is a must. Unfortunately I was a victim of this rule. It is not the season for Auli, and there was no other tourist for this ride. I’ve spent one extra day at Joshimath but couldn’t enjoy the ride. BTW, here is the Phone no of their office:

01389222209
you can ask them about the availability of ride before hike upto the station. On the other hand if you are interested to see Bramhakamal you have to go to Hemkund. Because this flower is not there at Valley of Flowers.

Weather – unbelievable !!!!! no one can expect such a nice weather during this part of the year. I was really lucky. You can understand from my pix:
Ringo - Search Results: g6jt2
And landslides is nothing new in that rout ……. Small obstructions were there but nothing serious.

What are the best places to stay at joshimath/ rudraprayag/ and ghanghria :
Joshimath – Hotel Pindari (3 bed room 300/-), location is great. Just beside the GMVN Tourist Complex (on the main road). There is a GMVN Hotel also but you need to walk for couple of meters. We are satisfied with Pindar.

Rudraprayag – there are so many hotels. You can easily find one. We didn’t stay there this time.

Gangaria – Hotel Pritam, just opposite to GMVN Hotel. 200/- for 3. aps, plz do not hesitate to bargain anywhere. You will definitely get good deal.

Ponchos:
- Freely available at Joshimath. You need to pay Rs.10/- for one. But I’ll suggest you to carry the lower part of the raincoat. Those ponchos are good but an waterproof lower will be really helpful.

aps, wish you a very happy journey. And if you think I can provide any helpful info…. Plz let me know.


- Somnath

Sadanand-ji, Thanks for for advice. I was also feeling a bit shaky about ghanghria to rishikesh in one go.....


Somnath ji, very very useful information. And thanks for the warning abt the ropeway! We had no clue there was any such restriction....

And I can't resist asking.....did u find flowers at the VOF ? Cant see the pics right now as ringo is blocked at office, will see them from home in the evening

looking forward to the trip! we've been planning every year since 2-3 yrs but somehow never end up going. Am keeping my fingers crossed

ha ha ha….. aps, then I’ll not tell you about the flowers.
OK, the season is just on but you’ll be amazed to see the colors of nature. This is out of the world experience.

And let me tell you this plan will be successful for you – I am also keeping my fingers crossed.

aps,

Going via Pauri is a nice alternative and less trafficked than NH58 (Meerut-Roorkee-Rishikesh-Shrinagar), but be advised that it will still take one hour more to reach Shrinagar than via NH58. I concur with Sadanand and Somnath that your timetable to reach Govindghat is very ambitious, so I suggest -

a) If u want to stay in Rudraprayag, forget the Pauri route and go via NH58, u'll need the rest if u want to leave early next morning, no matter how fit u are; u can come back via Pauri if u want, espesh as u'll have a better idea of how much time u have in hand.
There was a landslide on NH58 last week as reported by ks_bluechip which caused him an hour's delay, but landslides can happen on any route (read his posts starting here). U may have heard that it rained heavily in UA before the weekend and the Ganga is flowing close to maximum. So be fully prepared to encounter landslides (this is actually not the best time to travel in UA, but if now is when u have leave then now it is).
b) Leave Delhi as per your original time-plan, still go via NH58 and use the extra hour (or more) to go further upstream - Karnprayag, Kaldubagar, Nandprayag, Birahi and Pipalkoti all have GMVNS. Joshimath is very ambitious, but u can try make it there if u REALLY want to. Be advised that u won't average more than 30-35 kmph up the valley.
I forgot to give the links for GMVN GHs in my previous post, I am giving them here alongwith distance from Shrinagar:
Rudraprayag - 33 km...(away from main bazar, overlooking sangam)
Karnprayag -- 65 km...(away from main bazar, overlooking Pindar, sangam is 100m downstream)
Kaldubagar -- 72 km...(river-side)
Nandprayag - 85 km...(walk 50m up an alley, parking on main road)
Birahi ------ 102 km...(river-side)
Pipalkoti --- 111 km...(behind the petrol-pump)
Joshimath -- 145 km...(Read my post here for more on Joshimath. U can easily drive up to the GMVN, plus they have in-house parking)
Joshimath to Govindghat is 19 km.
(Note: not all heights given are correct. The photos marked "SAMPLE" are not of those places).
GMVNs are not always the best accom avbl (sometimes they are the ONLY one at a particular place) but they are decent, one knows what to expect.

I also concur it's the wrong time to go to Auli. If it's overcast or raining u won't enjoy it (any time in the dry season is good). Hemkund wud be a much better option, if only for the Brahmkamal (there is at present the crush of pilgrims going there - no escape! They'll be with u all the way from Rishikesh/Shrinagar.)

Good luck.