Trek to Valley of Flowers

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Trek to Valley of flowers
Trek to Valley of Flowers is a vibrant trek. A burst of myriad hues greets you at every step on the trail. Valley of Flowers is a National Park situated in Nanda Devi Bio Reserve and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. It is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals.

July 9-16
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Cost:Rs. 12000/-

Short Itinerary
Day 1 (July 9) : Reach Rishikesh Hostel before 3PM. Please book your Flight/Train accordingly
Day 2 (July 10): Reach Govind Ghat; 11 hours drive from Rishikesh. Transport will be organised from Rishikesh Home stay at 6.00 am.
Day 3 (July 11): From Govind Ghat (6,233 ft) trek to Ghangria (9,843 ft); 5 hours, 13 km
Day 4 (July 12): Ghangria (9,843 ft) to Valley of Flowers (11,483 ft) and back; 6 hours, 10 km
Day 5 (July 13): Ghangria (9,843 ft) to Hemkund Sahib (14,107 ft) and back; 8-9 hours, 12 km
Day 6 (July 14): Ghangria (9,843 ft) to Govind Ghat (6,233 ft); 5 hours, 13 km
Day 7 (July 15): Depart from Govind Ghat. You will reach Rishikesh between 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm. Rest at Rishikesh for the night.
Day 8 (July 16): You can explore Rishikesh on your own and take a train or flights to your home when convenient.

Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 : Everyone reaching Rishikesh before 3PM
Day 2 : Reach Govind Ghat; 11 hours drive from Rishikesh. Transport will be organised from Rishikesh Home stay at 6.00 am.
Time taken: 11 hours drive. Pick up from Home stay at Rishikesh at 6:00 AM.
The trek to Valley of Flowers (VOF) and Hemkund starts a little beyond Joshimath at a pilgrim hamlet called Govind Ghat. Leave Haridwar or Rishikesh early in the morning and travel along River Alakananda on the Badrinath highway. The roads are dangerously cut on mountains edges and at times, you only see the river flowing in the gorge deep below. The journey from Rishikesh to Joshimath takes about 10 hours.
Day 3 : Govind Ghat to Ghangria. Will start from Joshimath hotel by 4AM and reach Govind Ghat by 5:30AM. From there trekking starts
Altitude: 6,233 ft to 9,843 ft
Time taken: 7 hours, 13 km
Trek gradient: Easy – moderate. Gradual ascent throughout on a well- defined trail
Water sources: Carry sufficient water. You can refill your water bottles at any of the several dhabas that you will find on the trail.
Start the day’s trek by walking past the eateries and shops selling trinkets. Cross the bridge over Alakananda. The water below is sparkling blue and crystal clear. The trekking route starts immediately after the bridge.
The trail is well-defined. It is usually full of Sikh pilgrims walking up and down.
The 13 km trek from Govind Ghat to Ghangria goes all the way along the river. Stop by any roadside dabha for a drink or a bite to eat. The trail is alternately sunny and shady. At around the midpoint of the day’s trek, you cross the river and go to the other bank. After this, you no longer trek alongside the river.
The trek takes 6-7 hours and you approach a tabular land. This is when you know you are close to Ghangria. Ghangria has a helipad and some space for camping. Half a kilometer from the helipad is the one-street village of Ghangria, lined with hotels, restaurants, and a Gurudwara.
Day 4 : Ghangria to Valley of Flowers and back
Altitude: 9,843 ft to 11,483 ft and back
Time taken: 6 hours, 10 km
Trek gradient: Easy. Flat walk in the valley
Water sources: Carry 2 litres of water. You can refill your water bottles from streams that you will find in the Valley, after a couple of hours of trekking.
Leave Ghangria early (6 am) to give yourself the whole day to spend at Valley of Flowers. The trail splits in less than a kilometre and there is a gate to buy entry tickets to the valley. Walk inside and notice the small flowering plants springing up on either side.
A kilometre into the gate, there is a scenic bridge across a stream gushing below. Tall rocky mountains rise before you. Notice that the well-laid-out trail has now become a small footway along the side of the valley. The stream flows below you and there are small, hard snow patches by the side. On the trek inside Valley of Flowers, it’s most likely that you and your group will be the only ones around. This may come across as a big and welcome contrast to the previous day’s trek, where there were hundreds. The scenery has also taken a drastic turn for the better and any direction you turn to looks picture-perfect.
Trek along for a couple of kilometers on the flat path and to your right opens up the valley. Cross another rickety bridge and collect water to drink from below. The entire valley is generally a carpet of colours – green, yellow, red, blue. It is surrounded by mountains with trees at lower levels, brown and grey soil in the middle and bright snow at the top. A bright sunny day will ensure deep blue skies completing the picture and taking it beyond your imagination.
The valley is really a botanists’ dreamland! One can find flowers, leaves, buds of various shapes, sizes, colours, all growing together. Notice various types of bees and insects hovering on these strange flowers. Walk further into the valley and you will be engulfed with an amazing scent, which unfortunately cannot be captured but can only be felt. The valley stretches 5-7 km further, until it ends with a glacier visible at a distance. The stream flows all the way through the valley. Take off your shoes and dip your feet into it to experience the icy cold water.
Day 5 : Ghangria to Hemkund Sahib and back
Altitude: 9,843 ft to 14,107 ft and back
Time taken: 8 hours, 12 km
Trek gradient: Moderate – difficult. Steep ascent for about 4 hours to reach Hemkund Sahib and steep descent all the way back.
Water sources: Carry sufficient water. You can refill your water bottles at the hotels that line the trail.
Start your day early. The weather can be impulsive in the afternoon and sudden cloud cover and rain can get you stranded if you do not get down on time. The thought of getting up before 5 am can be daunting but the Gurudwara makes it easy. Their day starts at 4 am with singing of bhajans. By 5 am, you hear people outside the gate of the Gurudwara chanting in chorus and the horses being readied to go up to Hemkund Sahib. Get up and grab a hot drink of chai. A poncho (light rain coat) and a trekking pole can be handy on the trek to Hemkund. Pass the deviation to Valley of flowers. Continue to trek up the steep path slowly but steadily. Spot a pretty water fall on your right falling through the rock walls on the right.
After about 2 hours of walking, you are higher than the tree line and the views begin to get better. Mark the route to Valley of Flowers on the mountain in front across the river gorge. After another hour of slow walking with numerous breaks, you begin to feel reduced oxygen levels in the air. A melting glacier lies on the way.
Take generous breaks while climbing up the steep path. These breaks are important as going up very fast could only mean inviting altitude sickness. Do not sit down during these breaks. Sitting down causes your muscles to relax and getting back on track can be very difficult. An hour of stiff climbing brings you to Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara. The lake lies just behind it. The Hemkund Sahib lake remains frozen for six months. Warm yourself in the Gurudwara and have generous helpings of hot tea and khichdi.
Walk around to the other side of the Hemkund Lake. The lake exudes an aura of peace and serenity. It’s crystal clear, undisturbed and reflects mountains in it. The lake with crystal clear water , set amidst tall mountains and reflecting them and the Gurudwara is some sight to watch. Around Hemkund, the Himalayan flower, Brahma Kamal grows abundantly. This flower grows only at heights of 10000 ft to 15000 ft. Leave Hemkund by early afternoon. The walk down can be strenuous on the knees and toes. It takes 4- 5 hours to walk down the 6 kms.
Day 6 : Ghangria to Govind Ghat and from there to Joshimath
Altitude: 9,843 ft to 6,233 ft
Time taken: 5 hours, 13 km
Trek gradient: Easy descent to Govind Ghat on the same trail that you trekked on earlier.
Water sources: Carry sufficient water. You can refill your water bottles at the several dhabas that line the trail.
The trail back to Govind Ghat is on the same path that you took on Day 1.
Day 6 : Govind Ghat to Rishikesh
Drive down to Rishikesh.

Inclusions
Stay – 7 Nights hotel/Guest House/Backpacker hostel accommodation on sharing (triple or quad) basis (Rishikesh hostels may have mixed dorm and its depending on room availability)
Trekking permits
Transportation Rishikesh to Rishikesh in non AC vehicle
First Aid support
Govindghat – Dinner
Ghangaria- 3 Breakfast + 2 Lunch + 3 Dinner
Govindghat – Breakfast

Exclusions
Any kind of Insurance
Carriage of personal rucksack
Personal expenses of any kind
Anything not mentioned in the inclusions section

Booking Terms
• Appooppanthaadi may change the itinerary without prior notice in case of any unavoidable circumstances (natural calamities, strike, emergency, etc) and the same will be communicated to clients as soon as possible.
• In case a trek gets canceled at last moment due to unexpected and unavoidable circumstances, Appooppanthaadi will provide the clients’ options of an alternate trek, alternate date, or trek voucher with 1-year validity. Refunds may not be possible at last moments in such cases.
•All the expenses for medical treatment for any injury or accident before, during or after the trek has to bear by the client. however, we will try to provide full support for any resource arrangement or travel arrangement.
•Appooppanthaadi has the right to cancel all the services of the client without any further clarification and without any refund in case of misconduct (inappropriate behaviour, abusive language, use of intoxicants including alcohol, littering, etc) during the trek.
•Refunds are not possible for any missed or unused services including the voluntary/involuntary termination of the trip on account of sickness, late arrival, inappropriate behaviour, or failed to submit declaration form, id proof, medical form, etc.

FAQ
1. What level of fitness is expected from the trekkers?
This trek can be done by the first time trekkers who want to familiarize themselves with High Altitude treks. However the Trek will need basic fitness level both physically and mentally.
2. Why the joining point is Rishikesh why not anywhere in Kerala ?
A. As people are joining from different part of India its difficult to manage them. So picking up from everywhere is not possible
3. Will I get any companions to travel from my city?
Offcourse, once you register and pay, you will get added to the group of traveller who is in for this trip. There you can see other people who travelling from your city
4. Do we need to carry our bags everywhere?
A. You can carry your bags while trek from Govindghat to Ghangria and back or you can opt ponny for this , pay yourself.
5. How to reach Rishikesh
A. For travel to Rishiksh and back one can choose between air, rail & road. For air travel, the closest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport (30 kms) in Dehradun and is well connected to Delhi and other parts of the country. Train travel is highly recommended with enough options being there. For train details and online railway ticket bookings you could log on to www.irctc.co.in. There are frequent Public Transport buses including Volvos available from Delhi to Rishikesh. It take about 5/6 hrs to cover the distance. The same is also applicable on the return journey.
6. After payment, if I cancel the trip, will I get a refund?
A. It’s strictly as per cancellation policy which is written below. So please read it before making any payment after registration
7. Whats the minimum age for this trek?
A. 8
8. When should I book my return ticket on Day 7?
A. As the trip ends on Day 6, you can book your return ticket preferrably next day morning.
9. Is it possible to see all the flowers in the valley during trek?
A. Yes but its depending on the weather change as himalayan ranges witnessing frequent climate changes. We choose the best time to witness the full bloom valley and weather changes are not predictable

Please read this instruction carefully.
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1. For cancellations done prior to the 30 days or more of the date of departure, initial deposit amount or 25% of the tour cost will be charged as cancellation charges.
2. For cancellations done between 29 days to 15 days prior to the date of departure, 50% of the tour cost will be charged as cancellation charges.
3. For cancellations done between 14 days to 8 days of the tour, 75% of the tour cost will be charged as cancellation charges.
4. For cancellations done within 8 days of the tour, 100% cancellation charges will apply and you will receive no refunds.
5. No refund of money is admissible on cancellations due to any type of contingencies or unforeseen circumstances including, but not limited to natural calamities, lockdowns, any covid induced scenarios or otherwise

Registration link : https://forms.gle/jGHnZXhRGxNqP5QC9
Please Note the Payment details you will receive in 24 hours. If not, please call or text 8078 388 133. Please read the cancellation policy twice before making payment.

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