Valley of Flowers Uttarakhand
Have you ever seen a flower blooming? A baby coming out of the mother's womb? An animal giving birth to their young ones? Yes, these things are just way more precious than any of them you have ever seen. My heart melted, and the child inside me was awake with the heart to enjoy and explore as much as one can. People say that "nature heals", that day, I agreed and accepted this fact and thanked mother nature for its eternal beauty. We were mesmerised when shown to this place in Uttarakhand, Valley of Flowers.
I was thrilled and super excited with my only friend 'Malay' who was with me on this trek. My friend welcomed me as a family member by the group Treks and Trails India, He had been with this group on a different trek, and he had a great time with them, so he insisted me to join him with his trekking family on this trek. Being an introvert, I wasn't sure if I'd mix up with them or ill have a great time. I had doubted for coming on this trek, but as Malay told me these people around me never left me alone or just made me feel I was with strangers. They always made me felt like family. We started our journey with a safe and enjoyable happy train journey and reached Haridwar Jn. There we met the group leaders at the station, and a memorable trip begins!
Best time to visit Valley of flowers
We began with our tour to Joshimath, which was the base village of the trek. We had a private vehicle to reach the base village. I enjoyed the travel time; we were playing some games, an introductory session to know each other better and some time to rest. The travel wasn't much hectic, The journey was 10 hr long but not even once I got bored with it. It was a real delight to see the lush green cover, small villages along the road, ravishing waterfalls, minor landslides and gushing rivers.
In contrast, the cloud cover rested above the peaks and offered a beautiful feast to my eyes. My vision was soaked in the Himalayan beauty as I kept staring outside the window as and our route to Joshimath was through Devprayag and Devprayag is the meeting place of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda river, from where the holy river Ganga river starts. A scenic view one can get at the foot of River Ganga. By sunset, we had arrived Joshimath, and these mighty mountains seemed as they welcomed me to visit them. I was amazed by the view and had no words to express the incredible sight. Dinner served and that night passed in silence under the stars, besides the mighty mountain and peace around ourselves. That night I realised how silence screams.
Govindghat to Ghangaria
The next morning I was stunned with my eyes wide open to see those pinch of snow clads on the right and the sun rising bright in front of me. After good morning breakfast, we drove to Govind ghat, which was the starting point of our trek. From Govind ghat, we have a regular trail to Ghangaria, our camp one which is about 14km hike for the day. Govindghat is at an altitude of 5500 and as Ghangaria was drawing closer the view and the weather turned so beautiful after the first rainfall. We were gradually walking along the pilgrim trail to Ghangaria, which wasn't much tricky. Still, after the rain, it felt refreshing, and the sky got brighter, and everything was just so beautiful. After a good 4-5 hour hike, we reached Ghangaria and enjoyed the way climate changes and nature treats us in here. We had some refreshments with us and spent an exclusive evening at Ghangaria.
Valley of Flowers National Park
Next day morning, we were excited, and with full enthusiasm, we left for the Valley of Flowers. 'The valley is impressive with the enchanting sight of rare wildflowers like Geranium, Marsh marigold, Prinula, Potentilla, Geum, Asters, Lilium, Ranunculus, Corydalis, Inula, Braham Kamal, Campanula, Pedicularis, Arisaema, Morina, Impatiens, Bistorta, Ligularia, Anaphalis, Saxifrages, Sibbaldia, Thermo- psis, Trollius, Codonopsis, Dactylorhiza, Cypripedium, Strawberry, Epilobium, Rhododendrons and numerous others. The whole valley is 10 kms long and 2 kms broad which is divided by the Pushpawati stream. We had heard, read and also seen it on various pages but when these flowers bloom and dance with the flow of wind and the mighty mountains behind them standstill as a wall of protection with their astonishing beauty.
Hemkund Sahib
We were lucky to have good weather not much of heat but just some sprinkling showers to keep us going throughout. The amount of flowers beside you is just adorable to be, stay and walk within them. That day I was assured that this beauty of nature is everlasting with all the peace and harmony have hidden in it. We returned Ghandgaria millions of photos and billions of memories and views and the place within our hearts. And day by day, things were getting more and more exciting, and we headed towards Hemkund Sahib.
Today's trek is a steep climb towards the shores of the lake surrounded by seven snowclad mountains now recognised as Hemkund. Being never exposed to mountains before yet being so familiar with them was a good feeling for me, and after all, I had a fantastic company as my friend and the trek leaders. As every good thing has an end even our trek, the everyday trail, the nature walk, the blooming flower trail, the mighty mountains, misty weather and after all the time spent with our new family members was about to end. While descending back to Ghangaria, I was recollecting the past days of my life where life seemed so simple in its ways. I was flabbergasted and hope you too will join us soon with a new story and with some new adventures to do.
Age racks the body that nature boldly sends! by Vinit Vora follow him on instagram to learn more about his adventures.
