Even before I planned for Roopkund, I had already booked my tickets to witness Valley of flowers during monsoons when the flowers in the valley bloom to their most beautiful self!
With 15th August holiday in the mid of week, we planned for this trip for mainly 4 days to trek to valley of flowers and Hemkund saheb but as it takes 2 days to reach Govind ghat itself from Delhi so we had to make our trip to be 8 days long.
We followed the most common itinerary with a twist of adventurous fly from Ghangria to Govind ghat in helicopter which if you can afford , is a must try though if it could be longer, it would have been more fun.
Trip Itinerary
Banglore - New Delhi - Haridwar - Joshimath - Govind dham - Ghangria - Valley of flowers - Ghangria - Hemkund Saheb - Ghangria - Govind dham - Badrinath - Mana village - Joshimath - Rishikesh - New Delhi - Bangalore
Just before the start of the trip, we got a late night flight cancellation SMS. As at the start of the year I had experienced Chadar trek cancelling with same set of friends, the sms got us all panicked. Finally by the late night, we all got our flights booked again though now we all were in different flights and reached at different times.
Our plan was to leave Delhi by 12 o'clock but as we all reached at different times so we finally left for Rishikesh in my car at 3 pm.
New Delhi - Haridwar
The roads are pretty decent. We took the route from Delhi - Meerut - Muzzafar nagar - Roorkee - Haridwar. As we started late so by the time we reached Haridwar, it was already 9 pm so we decided to stay in Haridwar itself
#Stay
Haridwar has many dharamshala where you can stay for very cheap price. We stayed in Hotel Heritage Sandesh as it was on the main road and had a big room with 4 beds for 1500 INR i.e. if you have good negotiation/bargaining skills otherwise this could be as much as 2200 INR.
#Food
At Har ki podi , you must definitely try the aloo poori, Maal pua and Gulab jamun. They are fresh, yummy and must try if you are a foodie.
Mostly the vegetarian food is available around Haridwar and is fresh and good to have. You can get a meal for 2 within 500 INR
#Places to visit
Har ki podi: You can take a dip in the holy Ganga at Har ki podi.
There are many temples at Har ki podi where people will push you to pray for money.
Market at Har ki podi: There is a huge market lane where you can get random things to buy starting from jewellery to things for Pooja. This market lane also has many cheap dormitories available for stay.
Shiva statue: On the main street from Haridwar to Rishkiesh, there is a Vivekananda park where there is a big statue of Shiva. You can sit in the park and is a good spot for some photography.
If abstract photography interests you then Har ki podi would provide you many subjects for it.
Haridwar - Joshimath
With 15th August holiday in the mid of week, we planned for this trip for mainly 4 days to trek to valley of flowers and Hemkund saheb but as it takes 2 days to reach Govind ghat itself from Delhi so we had to make our trip to be 8 days long.
We followed the most common itinerary with a twist of adventurous fly from Ghangria to Govind ghat in helicopter which if you can afford , is a must try though if it could be longer, it would have been more fun.
Trip Itinerary
Banglore - New Delhi - Haridwar - Joshimath - Govind dham - Ghangria - Valley of flowers - Ghangria - Hemkund Saheb - Ghangria - Govind dham - Badrinath - Mana village - Joshimath - Rishikesh - New Delhi - Bangalore
Just before the start of the trip, we got a late night flight cancellation SMS. As at the start of the year I had experienced Chadar trek cancelling with same set of friends, the sms got us all panicked. Finally by the late night, we all got our flights booked again though now we all were in different flights and reached at different times.
Our plan was to leave Delhi by 12 o'clock but as we all reached at different times so we finally left for Rishikesh in my car at 3 pm.
New Delhi - Haridwar
The roads are pretty decent. We took the route from Delhi - Meerut - Muzzafar nagar - Roorkee - Haridwar. As we started late so by the time we reached Haridwar, it was already 9 pm so we decided to stay in Haridwar itself
#Stay
Haridwar has many dharamshala where you can stay for very cheap price. We stayed in Hotel Heritage Sandesh as it was on the main road and had a big room with 4 beds for 1500 INR i.e. if you have good negotiation/bargaining skills otherwise this could be as much as 2200 INR.
#Food
At Har ki podi , you must definitely try the aloo poori, Maal pua and Gulab jamun. They are fresh, yummy and must try if you are a foodie.
Mostly the vegetarian food is available around Haridwar and is fresh and good to have. You can get a meal for 2 within 500 INR
 |
| Poori Chole at Haridwar |
#Places to visit
Har ki podi: You can take a dip in the holy Ganga at Har ki podi.
There are many temples at Har ki podi where people will push you to pray for money.
Market at Har ki podi: There is a huge market lane where you can get random things to buy starting from jewellery to things for Pooja. This market lane also has many cheap dormitories available for stay.
Shiva statue: On the main street from Haridwar to Rishkiesh, there is a Vivekananda park where there is a big statue of Shiva. You can sit in the park and is a good spot for some photography.
If abstract photography interests you then Har ki podi would provide you many subjects for it.
Har ki podi
 |
| Shiva statue at Vivekanand park |
Haridwar - Joshimath
Our initial plan was to go to Govind ghat but we wanted to fill
petrol at Joshimath as the last petrol pump and the ATM is available at
Joshimath. Unfortunately, by the time we reached Joshimath (8 pm), the petrol
pump was closed. The guy at the petrol pump lied that he is not from petrol
pump and that it's closed though there was a bike and a scooter waiting. Once we
left he filled fuel for them and in the morning the same guy was there to fill petrol
for us. So in case you want to fill petrol be there in Joshimath before 8 pm.
The petrol pump opened at 7 am in the morning. We filled our car tank fully and after breakfast left for Joshimath
#Places to Stay
Hotel Vivek for 1400 INR with 4 beds was a very good choice as it was clean and well ventilated
Hotel Parvati for 800 INR with 3 beds though it was not very clean partly because of the gloomy walls and dampness in the room.
#Food
We mostly ate in Food Plaza for every meal for almost 700-800 INR though when we had our last meal there, we found a fly in the masala of masala dosa.
 |
| Bridge enroute |
#Joshimath-Govind Ghat
As the distance is just 18-20 km, we reached in 25-30 minutes. We parked our car, lightened our luggage as we knew we have to carry our luggage. As we didn't take our car till the bridge, our guy got ready to keep the car for 150 INR for 3 days.
 |
| Joshimath view from our room |
#Stay
One can stay for nominal charges in the dormitories available in the Gurdwara.
There are many hotels available on top where you can get rooms for 1500-2000 INR as this is the peak season otherwise you might get rooms for little cheaper.
#Food
If you really want to have clean, simple and tasty food, head nowhere but the Gurudwara for langar. The food was very tasty and the wisdom with which they serve, it just increases your appetite by multiple folds. As it's langar hence the food was free but I personally believe, if you are financially capable then you must donate an equal amount which you must have spent in any hotel otherwise.
Next to the Helipad , there is a hotel which is clean and tidy and serves decent food. We paid around 700 INR for 4 people
Govind Ghat - Ghangria
 |
| Breakfast at Govindh ghat |
 |
| Distance of Valley of flower and hemkund saheb from Govind ghat |
 |
| View in the starting of trek from Govind ghat to Ghangria |
 |
| The route |
After breakfast we immediately left for Ghangria. Near the bridge a free registration is done for Hemkund Saheb. Also,from the bridge you can get Jeeps which takes you 4 km into the trek. These are shared jeeps and charges 100-200 INR per person.
As we didn't want to take Jeep, we began our trek right from Govind ghat from where the trek to Ghangria is 14 km.
There are many places available where you can have maggi, Aloo parantha, cold drinks and tea. We ate Maggi at one place where we got 3 hair in our maggi hence eating at these places at your own risk :)
We started from Govind ghat at 10 am and finally reached Ghangria at 7 pm in the evening. By the time we reached, it was already dark.
#Stay
Ghangria is a small village on a lane with many hotels and restaurants.As we were there in a peak season, we couldn't find decent, clean room and had to take up just about any room that we got in first place.
My suggestion would be to online book Hotel Kuber as it seemed a bit decent.
We stayed in Hotel for INR 1200 per night. For hot water bucket you have to pay 50 INR per bucket. The room was damp, unclean but as there was no other option we had to force ourselves in that room.
#Food
Hotel Deepak has good food but I personally feel it was expensive compared to some other hotels.
 |
| At the start of govind ghat |
A stretch of path from Govind ghat to Ghangria
 |
| We with our luggage for next few days |
Ghangria - Valley of Flowers
Yet again even after our sincere try to leave early, we could finally leave the place after breakfast at 8 am. It would be a good idea to leave by 6:30 am as the check post for Valley of flowers opens by 7 am.
After 1/2 km you will see a check post from where you have to take left for Valley of flowers. The entry fee per person is 150 INR for Indians and 600 INR for foreigners.
As we started late so the sun was already at it's high which made walking a bit difficult.
#Place to visit in the valley
Don't just be satisfied with the beauty of the valley just at the start. If you want to have an out of the world experience then you must cross 2-3 bridges after you are in the valley and go deeper in the valley to be in the midst of vast expense of flowers
 |
| Beautiful stream on the way |
Leggy's grave: There is a grave of lady Joan. You have to walk quite a bit to reach there but once you reach there, the view is worthwhile as now you are in the center of the valley and the view from here is breath taking and it's just 700 meters from the main road of valley
 |
| The grave |
To go to the grave you have to take right but if you keep going straight you will reach Tipra Khark. As we were short on time, we couldn't go here but people mentioned that there is a glacier at about 3 km from the board where you take right to go to the Leggy's grave
Hanuman Chatti: From Valley of flowers you can also trek to Hanuman chatti which is on the way to Badrinath but for the same you need permission from Forest department and need a guide as it's an over night trek where you would be required to camp.
 |
| Hanuman temple - Hanuman Chatti |
Its advisable to leave Valley by 3-4 pm as later than that the descend could be difficult in dark as there were some patches which are very steep and are slippery. We reached Valley of flowers in 4 hours and took 2.5 hours to come down.
 |
| I wonder who said VOF was easy! eh? |
Finally after reaching Ghangria , we hogged onto food and slept in our beds like babies as we had to get up next day early again for Hemkund Saheb.
 |
| Flowers every where |
 |
| The beautiful path in the midst of flowers |
 |
| The valley with the view |
 |
| Flowers species in VOF |
Ghangria- Hemkund Saheb
I think its needless to say that even after all our tries, we still could not leave as early as 6 am but eventually after getting ready and eating breakfast we left for Hemkund saheb by 8 am.
For this trek you don't have to take any permission from forest department which means you can leave as early as 5 am also as soon as it's dawn. Not many people would say this but for some reason everyone in my group found the Hemkund saheb trek "easier" than the Valley of flower's trek. May be because the sun was not on our head and may be also because everyone told us already that Hemkund saheb is difficult so we were mentally prepared for it.
The view during the trek is mesmerizing. After around 3 km of trek, we were actually walking in the clouds. This in a way was good because there was no sun but it was also bad because the clouds were blocking our view and possibility to take good pictures
We reached Hemkund saheb at around 1: 30 p.m. After some rest, we went into the Gurudwara which was going to close at 2 p.m. so we quickly did our darshan. Had very yummy langar! and then went to the lake from where the view is just amazing and with clouds coming and going away, it was just heavenly ( though not so much for the photographs).
 |
| Langar |
#Places to see
The main Gurudwara temple
The lake
Laxman temple
We started back from Hemkund saheb at around 4 pm and reached back Ghangria by 8 pm. As the trek was steep, our knees and feet were killing us.
After we reached Ghangria, we got a foot massage done for 100 INR per person. Honestly, I don't know if it relieved my pain or gave me more but because of all the sound and madness it definitely was a crazy fun :)
 |
| The Gurudwara |
Blue Laxman temple
 |
| The Kund |
 |
| En route, the beautiful view with sun and the clouds |
 |
| On the way to Hemkund saheb |
Ghangria- Govind ghat
As we all were in an adventurous mood and wanted to try something different, we decided to take a helicopter from the Ghangria to Govind ghat.
The booking office opens at 8 am but if you sure shot want to fly from helicopter, try to be there earlier , perhaps by 7:30 am.
When we reached the office, there were hoards of people wanting to fly. Some of them were senior citizen and definitely needed to use the service but for us it was only for fun and experience.
The process is that you get your name written at the office and based on your weight you are allotted a slot ( if weather is fine and many other criteria's are satisfied). As we reached late, we were told, we might not get a chance but after waiting for an hour or so, we finally were given the last slot.
To get our chance to fly into the helicopter we waited for 4 hours. Only one of us could sit in front so I took the liberty of sitting in front being the eldest :p (Sorry Sowmya). One is not allowed to take videos or photographs from the helicopter for safety reasons.
And well with the adrenaline rush going high and low once or twice, we reached Govind ghat in a span of 8 minutes exactly for 3200 INR per person and with taxes etc. we paid 12920 INR for 4 people. It definitely was worth it but as I mentioned earlier it would be a good idea to choose your fly where you can fly for longer!
Govind ghat - Badrinath - Mana
 |
| Wohooo! Our helicopter |
 |
| :) the sun and the helicopter and the tan and Somi :) |
 |
| Selfie with helicopter to banta hai! |
As we reached by 1 pm, we immediately left for Badrinath temple which is around 25 km from Govind ghat. On this route we found many dangerous patches of landslides and due to them it took us more than an hour to reach Badrinath.
 |
| Landslides on the way |
 |
| The road which is feeble due to landslide |
We straight went to the temple and after Darshan left for Mana Village. As my car was not in a position to handle the crazy roads, we parked the car a bit away from Mana village and walked up to the village. The walk and the view of the last village of India from Uttarakhand had breath taking view. At one point standing at a place we could see 17 mountains one behind the other.
The best itinerary would have been to stay at Badrinath and trek Vasudhara falls (which I had missed last time as well when I came to Uttarakhand for a solo trip) but as we had spent all our money in helicopter ride which was unplanned , it was important for us to reach back Joshimath where there were ATMs available.
Mana village has lot of people who weave clothes at home and if I had money in my hand I would have definitely bought some, not so much because I need them but more so to support those people financially as I could clearly see that they were in the desperate need of money.
As I love taking portraits, I could have spent a lot of time because there were people with such unique and striking features that for me it was a paradise.
Joshimath - Rishikesh - New Delhi
 |
| Jai Badri vishal |
 |
| Mana village |
 |
| Mana village the river view |
 |
| The ITPB office in far sight |
 |
| Mesmerizing view |
 |
| The legendary board! Been there done that! |
Joshimath - Rishikesh - New Delhi
Finally in the night we reached Joshimath, took out money from ATM stayed in hotel Vivek and ate at Food Plaza. In the morning, we left for Rishikesh.
Our plan was also to do bungee jumping but as Ganga was flooded , all adventure sports in Rishikesh were stopped.
#Stay
You can stay at Zostel for a nominal charges in the dormitory but they didn't have dorm available
Hostel Bonfire : We checked in into this hostel for 450 per person but the rooms were dingy , damp and the flush was not working. Even after keeping ac on for 1/2 hour the smell didn't go away so finally we decided to leave the place and find some other place
M.S Guest house: This was a clean and tidy room with 4 beds for 1500 INR but only in the morning we realized that the loo gets clogged. :p
#Food
Choti wale: They server some good north Indian food. Except for rasmalai which was actually rasgulla in the milk, everything else was value for money there.
German bakery: On the market road you can find a German bakery which serves some interesting brownies, cinnamon rolls and strong coffee.
 |
| Yummy! |
On the way to Delhi, you can also stop by at Jain shikanji for some refreshing lime juice with some authentic masala added which makes it really tasty. They also serve paneer pakkoda which is their specialty.
Cheetal Grand: When we started from Rishikesh , we decided to have our lunch at Cheetal grand as it is popular for clean and tidy food as after our adventurous trip in food with flies and hair and what not, we really were looking for some clean and tidy place. Unfortunately, though the food was tasty at Cheetal, we still found an insect in Chicken chilly.
#Place to visit in Rishikesh
- Surprisingly at this last stretch we all were out on the streets at 5:45 am to see the sunrise but as it was a cloudy day. we couldn't get a good sunrise though I got some really beautiful abstract photos.
- You can indulge yourself in Yoga, in any drop in class.
- Laxman Jhoola
- Ram Jhoola
 |
| Lakshman Jhoola |
 |
| A temple next to clock tower |
 |
| The clock tower |
 |
| Mighty Ganga |
 |
| Temple with multiple floors |
And then on 18th evening, we reached home sweet home! Next day, Sowmya and Subhashish left for Agra to see Taj Mahal. Well this monument of love deserves a separate blog post!
Note:
At Joshimath
When I took out money from ATM, I had put 6000 INR as the amount but I only got 4500 INR at a canara bank ATM
At Govind ghat
One can take their car or bikes till the Govind ghat Gurudwara and park there. For 3 days the parking charges are 300 INR.
From Govind ghat to Ghangria
1) It's advisable to book a hotel in Ghangria online so that you can take a horse for your luggage till Ghangria otherwise you would be required to take 2 horses as the horse will reach earlier and there would be no place to keep your luggage but if you have already booked your hotel then you can take one horse for 2000 INR and send all your luggage.
2) The water on the way is available at far distances hence it would be a good idea to carry your own water bottle
3) I am not sure what are the standards to measure if a trek is easy, medium or difficult. In our opinion Govind Ghat to Ghangria was a medium to difficult trek may be because it was steep, we were carrying our luggage on our own and there was sun.
4) Its always a good idea to start early in the morning as you can cover major distance before the sun comes up
At Valley of Flowers
1) If you read all the blogs for valley of flower and the groups which take you for the trek will say that its an easy trek but I don't know why and how people say that because in my opinion it was definitely quite a steep trek and with sun it actually became quite difficult to trek
2) There is no water available on the way though there is some water available at the start of the valley. Also, there is no food available on the way and in the valley hence pack your food and water as there are many picnic spots available in the valley
3) To reach to valley you have to hike for 4 km but to reach to beautiful points in the valley where you can actually see rare species of flowers, you will have to walk as much as 4-5 km within the valley. Hence plan your trip accordingly
4) Please please please carry back all the trash which you create and keep the valley clean
5) Even if its hot on the way, in the valley you might feel cold due to wind hence carry your jackets.
6) If you are going in a rainy season then a rain coat or a poncho is a must have.
At Hemkund saheb
1) The Gurudwara closes by 2 pm and if there are predictions of bad weather, they ask you to leave early
2)In case you want to take bath in the lake, you must carry an extra pair of clothes
The langar is available in the Gurudwara and is given with so much dedication that I really bow to those people who are so impartial and dedicated for this cause.
3) You are not allowed to stay at Hemkund saheb
4) There are not many loo's available on the way. There is one at 3 km and then finally at the Gurudwara itself.
5) The Gurudwara is open on 15th August and is open only till October.
