Nov 18, 2015

Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib Trek

Posted in trek, self

Having completed a quick trek to Roopkund in Dussehra vacations, I wanted to do another one in Deepawali as I had no plans of going home. Kiran was also in Gurgaon too so we had 5 days to do something. I proposed going to Joshimath and doing some of treks among Kauri Pass(Curzon Trail) or Hemkund Sahib and Valley Of flowers (Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib were already closed by then for the winter season).

Zeroing down to Hemkund Sahib and Valley Of flowers and we started but there were very few buses on the route due to Deepawali. We managed our way to Joshimath by changing buses and eventually booking a cab from Karnaprayag. It was night when we arrived Joshimath. To start trekking for Valley Of Flowers & Hemkund Sahib early morning, it would have been better if we stayed in Govind ghat that night but the cab driver was asking for a lot to go there so we decided to stay in Joshimath.

Next morning, after asking about the route, we left for Govind ghat around 8 in morning. Govind ghat is situated at the confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Lakshman Ganga. The route going through Bhyundar valley is well paved and goes through a dense forest with Bhyundar Ganga on the right side. After 3-4 hours walk we reached Bhyundar village.

There was no one in the village except one shop and 3-4 labours working on a home. While having our lunch, we enquired about the trail further ahead. The shopkeeper told us that there is absolutely no one beyond this point in Ghangharia or Hemkund Sahib and everything is closed. He also warned us about the bears and leopards in the area and gave us few crackers and some kerosene to light up fire in night. After getting few chapatis packed with pickle, soon we left for Ghangharia. On our way, two dogs tagged along with us after getting lured by Kiran with biscuits.

Hathi Parbat as seen from Bhyundar Village, A trail to Kakbhushundi lake starts from here towards this mountain

Walking through the dense forest, it was past 2 P.M. when we reached Ghangharia.

This is a significant place along this trek, with lots of houses on both sides of street; but everything was closed. It gave the whole place an eerie look. After hiding our bags in the gallery of a rest house, we left for Valley of Flowers.

Towards Valley Of Flowers From Ghangharia, The Pushpawati river gorge

The trek goes through the dense forest on left side and Pushpawati river gorge on the right. The Pushpawati river joins Bhuyandar Ganga near Ghangharia to form Lakshman Ganga.

The dogs walking with us chased the herd of grey langurs herds whenever they see them. Climbing our way after crossing Pushpawati river and walking through the dense forests with some snow along the trail; we reached Valley of Flowers.

The flora in the valley was completely dried except few green patches here and there. We roamed inside this deserted valley, enjoying the view and clicking pictures.

After some walk inside the valley, we rested near the grave of Joan Margaret Legge (1885 - 1939) who died while collecting samples here. The sun was about to set, so we turned back towards Ghangharia. It was completely dark when we reached there.

We picked some woods from the street and lit up a fire with the help of kerosene. Sitting there, the dogs occasionally barked and ran along the street. Kiran feared that something is around and tried to look towards the way these dogs ran with torch. We only had 6 chapatis to eat and I suggested we all (including the dogs dutifully prtecting us) eat them the next morning for breakfast as we needed enough energy to climb Hemkund Sahib. After few hours of warming ourselves with fire, we decided to get some sleep. I kept the fire burning and pitched our tents in the gallery of the rest house. Dogs kept barking and running all night.

Next day morning, after sharing our breakfast with dogs, we started for Hemkund Sahib. It was a continuous 6 km climb till the top. After 3 kms, treeline ends and the path was snowy. The bridge on the way was disassembled so we found an alternate route nearby to go further. After the bridge there are stairs and there also is an alternate way. The stairs were steep and completely covered with snow but the alternate path is longer and not so steep. There was snow everywhere. After crossing the nullah, when I started on the stairs, I noticed foot steps of some big animal which walked before us on that path. Kiran found the path slippery and decided to take the alternate route. I climbed the stairs cautiously, wondering if some bear is waiting for me above but was later assured that this could not be the case as the dogs went ahead and waited for me at the end of stairs. Kiran continued negotiating the snow, while I reached the gurudwara. After few mins, Kiran reached there and meanwhile I roamed around the serene Hemkund lake taking pictures with my mobile which still retained it’s juice in airplane mode. With the gentle breeze, the crystal clear rippling water of the lake was making sounds creating a serene and magical surroundings. We sat there on a stone by the lake for few minutes in silence and watched around. The dogs were lying on the snow basking in the sun.

Around 11 AM, we started trekking back for Govind ghat. It was a long way ahead and we both were hungry. We picked our bags up from Ghangharia, where we stayed last night and continued the descent, talking about having big lunch at Bhyundar. The shopkeeper was waiting for us; when we reached there in noon. After lunch and little rest in Bhyundar, we returned the kerosene and the crackers which we didn’t use. It was necessary to reach Govind Ghat by evening, so as to stay in Joshimath that night. Around 6 PM, when we reached Govind Ghat it was dark. With some luck, we managed to catch a jeep coming from Badrinath.

We still had a day left after these two trek days. And having this very crazy habit of doing more, going ahead, a thought popped in my mind of doing Kauri pass. It was at least 28 km one way which we decided could not be managed in the remaining time, we ended our trek with this only. Next day we ended our trip after visiting Badrinath temple and stayed overnight in Joshimath.

I am a software engineer, based in Delhi, India. I was born in Sonbhadra, raised in Varanasi/Allahabad and graduated from Lucknow.

Roopkund Trek