A Place Where Fairies Reside. Review on Valley of Flowers

Nestled in the lap of Shivalik range, this piece of heaven is so scenic that you would agree with the local’s belief that this is where the fairies live. Valley of Flowers, as the name suggests is a span of meadows filled with alpine flowers. Discovered accidentally in 1931, this national park, I presume still retains its beauty because it is quite inaccessible.

My friend and I took a shared taxi from Rishikesh to Joshimath. The entire drive takes about 8 hours and costs 350-400(depending on your bargaining skills). I suggest instead of halting in Joshimath, get a drop to the village of Govindghat, which is situated 22kms further from Joshimath, as that would be the starting point of your trek. Govindghat is where the motorable road ends and after that it’s just a very steep trail that goes up to the hamlet of Ghangharia. Ghangharia serves as the base camp for pilgrims trekking to the Sikh pilgrimage of Hemkund Sahib, thus the entire trail is mostly filled with Sikh pilgrims. The 14 km stretch from Govindghat to Ghangharia is beautiful, dotted with majestic mountains, waterfalls, exotic flowers and the river Laxman Ganga follows you throughout the trail, however the climb is very steep and I would suggest you hire a porter(locally known as Pithoo) to carry your backpacks for about 350.

It took us seven hours to reach Ghangharia, with a few tea breaks and a lunch break at a small place situated right next to the river. The price of the food increases as you climb higher, you would pay Rs 30 for a bottle of water and 20 for tea. The last 2km stretch before Ghangharia is the most challenging part of the entire trek. The trail is literally vertical at some points. We somehow made it to the top and crashed in our hotel. Ghangharia has just hotels and restaurant, and the hotels are very basic and the village does not have electricity. The generator is switched on between 7 to 10.30 pm at night and from 5 to 6.30 in the morning.

Half a kilometer climb from Ghangharia will lead to a diversion, from where if you trek uphill for 6kms will lead you to Hemkund, the gurudwara at 4600 mtrs situated on the banks of a glacial lake Hemkund Sarovar and the left will lead you to the forest check post where you pay the entry fee to the valley, Rs 150. From there the first kilometer is an easy hike through pine and deodar forest and compared to the Govindghat to Ghangharia trek, this trail has very few people and thank god! mules are not allowed. Once you finish the first kilometer, you would have to cross a bridge and then the vertical climb starts. There are no shops or stalls and the only refreshment you will find on your way is pure glacial streams…literally the purest form of mineral water. A rickety bridge serves as an entry to the valley.

The valley is such a contrast to the huge rocky mountains surrounding it. It’s just a huge expanse of gentle rolling meadows completely covered with flowers. Nothing that I had read or seen about this exotic place had prepared me for the sheer beauty of the place. There are so many colors; no wonder the place is a paradise for botanists. In 1939, Margaret Legge, a botanist had a fatal accident in the valley and died. Her sister later erected a memorial near the spot where she had the accident. We hiked around the valley completely awestruck with the landscape. According to Hindu mythology the Valley of Flowers is the place from where Hanuman got the “Sanjivni booti”(the miraculous herb that cured Laxman when he was hurt), the story is very believable when you have seen the place. The climb back to Ghangharia was relatively easy, as it was all downhill. This is when we truly enjoyed the panoramic views on the way to reach the valley.

The best time to go the valley is between June and July end. One cannot camp in the valley, thus the only accommodation options are the numerous hotels in Ghangharia that charge Rs200-400 per room. The best accommodation option would be the GMVN bungalow but are relatively expensive compared to other options.

This exotic place in one of the pristine corners of Western Himalayas is a must for all trekkers and nature lovers.