This Guy's Adventure Filled One Week Trip to Valley of Flowers, Hemkund Sahib, Badrinath and India's Last Village - Mana (7 nights, 8 days) Tour Route: Rishikesh – GovindGhat – Ghangria – Govind Ghat – Mana – Badrinath – Govind Ghat – Rishikesh Tour Duration: 7 nights, 8 days Estimate travel dates: August 29-September 5 Group size: 20 people ********************************************************************************************* Brief Itinerary August 29: Meet at Rishikesh at 5 am sharp. Leave for Govind Ghat. August 30: Govind Ghat to Ghangria via Poolna. August 31: Ghangria to Valley of Flowers and back. September 1: Ghangria to Hemkund Sahib and back. September 2: Descend to Poolna. Drive back to Govind Ghat. September 3: Day visit to Mana village and Badrinath. September 4: Govind Ghat to Rishikesh. September 5: After early breakfast, depart for your respective cities. Note: People can arrive at Rishikesh on August 28th night (please note: trippers can make their own arrangements for this night or book your accommodation with us for an extra charge.) or reach directly on August 29th morning any time before 5 am. On September 5th people can leave any time in the morning. Trek Information: In the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand lies a palette of colours for you to trek and explore. With one side where tall cliffs greet the sky, the other side covered in snow-clad mountains and a serene river meandering between the two, we present to you a picture-perfect trek. With approximately 80 species of flowers growing in the valley, the sight is nothing short of a treat for the eyes. While rainfall can be expected during our trip’s dates, July is still considered one of the best months to visit the valley as the monsoon is when the flowers are in full bloom. We will also take the challenging climb to Hemkund Sahib because a gorgeous alpine lake lies at a height of 14,300 ft! Cliffs merged in clouds, Pushpavati river gliding through the valley, a gurudwara situated next to a stunning high-altitude lake and a valley covered with a blanket of flowers, make this a trekkers paradise! DETAILED ITINERARY: August 29: Early morning: Get to meet your co-trippers and leave for base camp. Altitude: 6,300 ft; Time taken: 12 hours On August 29th early morning (5 am), the group will meet at a pre-decided point in Rishikesh and from there we will travel to our base camp, i.e., Govind Ghat. The drive is a long one but there’s river Alaknanda accompanying us along the Badrinath highway, so, let’s play some games, put on some music and sing along to make the drive a highly enjoyable one! We shall arrive at our base camp (Govind Ghat) by the evening. Govind Ghat is a hamlet where pilgrims and adventure seekers all unite. It is located at the confluence of Lakshman Ganga and Alaknanda rivers. Perched 1800 meters above sea level, Govind Ghat sits surrounded by hills, covered in mist at the time and serves as the starting point for both Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib. If you wish to hire a mule or a porter to carry your luggage for the course of the trek, Govind Ghat is the place to do so. Today, spend time getting to know your fellow trippers, enjoy each other’s company and get rest before starting your trek the next day. August 30: Drive from Govind Ghat to Poolna. Trek to Ghangria from Poolna. Altitude: Drive from 6,300 ft to 7,200 ft; Trek from 7,200 ft to 9,600 ft. Time taken: 4 km drive to Poolna. 9km trek over 5-6 hours trek. Early morning, we drive down to Poolna. This drive has reduced the earlier 13 km trek to Ghangria, to 9 km now. From Poolna we commence our trek for the next exciting 4 days to come. Hike through the greenery and meadows with the river in the background whilst soaking in the beauty around you. Sing a song while you trek along; for this is the start to a beautiful trek. Valley of Flowers is one of Uttarakhand’s most popular treks and Hemkund Sahib is a significant pilgrimage point, thus, you will find the trail covered with fellow trekkers and pilgrims alike and all of us shall greet and motivate one another along the way. The stone paved path is a well defined one and lined with dhabbas along the way to feed your bellies! At the mid-point of our day we shall cross the river and go to the other bank. Once we have covered about 5 km of our walk, we will arrive at Bhyundar village. The village is known to offer amazing views for clear Hathi Parvat sights. Take a picture, capture these gorgeous sights in your mind and after that commence your steep ascent. It is noteworthy to mention that despite its great popularity the trail of this trek maintains its cleanliness. The credit for this goes to the volunteers who keenly keep it clean. As we make our way through the gorgeous trek we shall also refrain from littering and help keep it clean and gorgeous. Once you start seeing tabular land you will know that you are close to Ghangria. We will reach Gangharia before nightfall, attaining an altitude of 9,600 ft. The cozy little Ghangria is a single street village lined with restaurants, hotels and a gurudwara that opens its doors to all. Ghangria shall be our home for the next 3 nights so take your time and take lazy strolls around it. Tonight, lets enjoy our day’s work with some scrumptious dhabba food, with each other’s stories and conversations in these stunning surroundings. August 31: Ghangria to Valley of Flowers and back Altitude: 9,600 ft to 11,500 ft and back Time taken: 3.7 km each way covered over a total of 6-7 hours This is the day you’ve been waiting for, the highlight of our trip – the valley of flowers. We will start early in the morning and walk through dense forests to reach our destination. Once we cross the forest checkpoint, we arrive at Laxman waterfall. After this waterfall we again stop at a rustic wooden bridge standing above the gushing Pushpavati river. Did someone say photo opp?! After this we reach the valley. Prepare to be spellbound by the varieties of flowers you will see. With approximately 80 species of flowers growing here, some of the native popularly known species are Blue Poppy, Meadow Geranium, Himalayan Rose, Dog Flower, White Leaf Hog Foot, Hooked Stick Seed, Snake Foil. Let’s get lost in a riot of colours! Walk around and see all the different kinds of flowers blooming all around. Try to name as many as possible or more importantly if you can’t name them just let your eyes be mesmerized The mountains that surround you are covered with trees at the bottom and snow capped at the top with the stream flowing through the course of the valley. Keep moving around till you reach a point from where a glacier is visible at a distance. This sounds like a dreamy set up straight out of a movie, so, in true filmy style, let's break out into a dance and have our own magical moment! Spend your day between the different flowers, buds of all sizes, leaves of all shapes and dip your feet into the icy water. There's scenery to see everywhere you turn. We will head back to Ghangaria by the afternoon. September 1: Trek to Hemkund Sahib and back. Altitude: 9,600 ft to 14,107 ft and back Time taken: 6 km each way covered for a total of 9-10 hours We start early in the morning as the trail today is a long and steep one. As we wake up in the wee hours the gurdwara in Ghangaria is already active with bhajans. Sip your chai and get ready for the day as today is the toughest yet most exhilarating part of our trip! We will cross a waterfall on our way as we make the ascent to Hemkund Sahib. We will head up with periodic breaks so as to avoid altitude sickness. Hemkunt Sahib is dedicated to the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Sikh. As the trek gets tougher remind yourself that you are headed to one of the world’s highest gurudwaras, standing proudly at 14,107 ft! Once we reach the top, we will warm ourselves within the gurudwara. Enjoy the food served at the langar here and let the tranquility of the place take over you. We will then head out to the lake. It is a mirror like a glacial lake and when the sky is clear you can see astounding reflections in the water. The view is simply breathtaking! The lake remains frozen for about six months in a year. If you are lucky, you’ll see the Himalayan flower, Brahmakamal blooming here. Rarely spotted this flower is a fascinating sight as it only grows at an altitude between 10,000 to 15,000 ft. After spending some time at the lake, we start our descent. We then retire to our accommodation at Ghangaria. September 2: Descend to Poolna, drive down to Govind Ghat; O/N Govind Ghat Altitude: Trek from 9,600 ft to 7,200 ft, Drive from 7,200 ft to 6,300 ft Time taken: 4 hours, 9 km + 4 km drive Today we start back for our base camp, Govind Ghat. We shall trek from Ghangria to Poolna.