To visit places within the Garhwal circuit, including the Chota Char Dham, Haridwar is the starting point. The Haridwar Jn. (HW) on the Delhi-Dehradun route has direct trains to major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Madurai, etc. The Jolly Grant Airport, 44 km from the city provides air connectivity to the rest of the country. Ample bus services are also available from the neighboring states - Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab - to reach Haridwar.
As I was based in Allahabad, I took the 14163 Sangam Link Express, the only daily train between the two stations. This is a bit slower train and one can also board the tri-weekly 14115 Prayag Ghat (PYG) - Haridwar (HW) Express. The scheduled arrival time for Sangam Express is 10:48 hours while for the PYG-HW Express is 14:15 hours. Taking either of these trains allow enough time to explore Haridwar before heading to the higher altitudes. Additionally, with Indian Railways being well known for their punctuality the time can be kept as a buffer to avoid delay in further plans.
At Haridwar, hotels that fit all budget can be easily found outside the railway station and they are also available online through MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo, etc. I had put up for the night at the IRCTC retiring room at the station compound. As per the rule, it has to be booked online and there are no provisions for offline booking (₹155/-).
Haridwar to Govindghat
Govindghat is 295 km from Haridwar on NH-58 to Badrinath. Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) and Garhwal Motors Owners Union (GMOU) Ltd. operate daily bus service on this route. Tickets for UTC buses can be obtained online (₹560/-) while for GMOU buses it has to be booked from their office near ISBT Haridwar in advance (₹460/-). An alternate option, in case no tickets are available, is to break the journey at Joshimath. UTC bus to Joshimath leaves Haridwar ISBT at 5:30 am. I took the GMOU bus that leaves at 2:30 am (₹400/-). After about 13 hours journey on the hill roads, passing through the panch Prayag - Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag - the bus dropped me at Joshimath at 3 pm. From Joshimath, bolero on shared basis is available to reach Govindghat (₹50/-). As this place has better hotels than in Govindghat, people often prefer to spend the night here and then continue the next day early morning. However, staying at Govindghat can save some precious time and stress the next day. Govinghat has few decent hotels beside the grand Gurudwara where I stayed. It is the preferred stay for most pilgrims and solo travelers like me and is provided on a first come first serve basis.
Govindghat to Ghangaria
The hike to Ghagaria starts after crossing over to the left bank of Alaknanda. The initial 5 km to Pulna village has motorable road and can be covered on TATA Sumo (₹40/-) available near Gurudwara. As there at limited parking at Pulna, it is advisable to leave your vehicle at the paid parking lot at Govindghat. From Pulna, the path is well built along the right bank of Lakshman Ganga that flows down from Hemkund and merges with Alaknanda at Govindghat. Horses and baskets can be hired from here if needed to avoid walking. The path till Bhyundar village is a mix of highs and lows and allows for a comfortable hike. After crossing over to the other side of Lakshman Ganga at Bhyundar, the hike is extremely steep and tiring. It took me about five-and-half hours to cover the 9 km distance between Pulna and Ghangaria. An alternative to this tiring hike is a helicopter ride from Govindghat. The Ghangaria helipad is approx. 1 km before the village. For hikers, the same helipad offers a nice spot to relax before the final ascend. Between Pulna and Ghangaria there are several pit-stops where one can buy food and drinks. Provisions for toilets are also available. One thing that might be kept in mind during this trek is, things get costlier as you go higher on the hills, often double or triple the MRP.
Ghangaria (10,003 ft) is the base camp to visit Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib. At Ghangaria, I stayed at the GMVNL tourist rest house dormitory (₹ 300/-). Hotels are also available here but no online booking facility. The Gurudwara also has accommodation for visitors. For food, there are numerous eateries serving all varieties of taste. Recommendation: There is a man selling hot gulab jamun just after crossing the Gurudwara.
Valley of Flowers (VoF)
The VoF opens for tourist on 1st June and closes around October/November end every year. The timing for the visit is 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. No one is allowed to stay/camp inside VoF as it falls under Nanda Devi National Park. At Ghangaria, start your day early so as to reach the checkpoint by 7:00 am. After getting out of Ghangaria, the road bifurcates into two - the way up straight to Hemkund Sahib and the one going left leads to VoF. Permission for entering VoF can be obtained from the checkpost on furnishing ID details and a fee of ₹ 150 per person. This permit is valid for three days.
From the checkpost, till the starting point of VoF is 4 km. The path initially follows the left bank of Pushpawati river for some time and then crosses over to the right, after which is a steep climb. However, the dense forest and the chirping birds have a soothing effect. This zone is a bird lovers paradise. After reaching a certain height, the forest clears up bringing in view the snow clad peaks and the valley below. Two glaciers on the trek are particularly challenging and pump up the adrenaline.
The peak season for flowers to bloom is between mid-July and mid-August. This is also the time when tourists are plenty. When visited in June last week, there were very little flowers and fewer people. In fact, I only encountered 8-10 people on the trek. The months May and June are high time for pilgrims visiting Hemkund Sahib.
There are three main points on this trek. The first point, nicknamed picnic spot is a sloping grassland, is at the starting of the valley. According to a staff, most people on a casual visit return from this point. As you go further along the marked path, it divides into two. The second point - Grave of Joan Margaret Legge, is on the track that goes down from here. She was one of the first who came here to document the flowers of this valley. However, before her work was complete, she met with a tragic accident that took her life. Surprisingly, when I visited, this was the only spot with dense blooming flowers. The Pushpawati river bed is the last point on the trek I could reach. From here, the Tipra Khark glacier, the origin of the Pushpawati river can be seen. As there are no eateries within the national park, visitors are advised to carry their food for the almost 5-hour walk one way. However, I request everyone not to litter this pristine place and bring back everything you took in.
Hemkund Sahib
The 6 km path to Hemkund Sahib is steep throughout. However, unlike VoF, horses and baskets are allowed on this route and have eateries. In June, the final 2 km had thick layers of snow and the lake was mostly frozen.
Hemkund is a picturesque glacial lake surrounded by towering mountains. It is also the starting point of Lakshman Ganga. At 15,197 ft, the star-shaped Gurudwara is one of the highest in the world. It was at this place the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh meditated in one of his earlier births. Though this place is known to be revered to Sikhs, it is also a place of religious importance for Hindus. A temple dedicated to Lakshman is located just beside the gurudwara. He is believed to have regained his health by meditating on the serene banks of Hemkund.
Once the ice melts, a clear reflection of the gurudwara, temple, and surrounding mountains can be seen on the lake. Apart from offering prayers at the gurudwara and the temple, things to do include taking a dip in the frozen lake and tasting the hot khichdi langar.
Mana and Badrinath
Start your descend early from Ghangaria. If you are planning a return to Haridwar the same day, you have to be at Govindghat bus stand by 7:00 am. Still, there would be no surety of getting a seat in the packed buses that comes from Badrinath. I took it a bit easy. Started my descend 6:00 am from Ghangaria and reached Govindghat by 9:30 am. I was again in the clutches of my mobile phone. Forgot to mention before, only patchy (in fact no) network of BSNL is available beyond Govindghat. For three days, I was totally out of contact but it felt amazing.
Heading to Badrinath might be trivial. Limited public transport ply on this route and often they come full from Joshimath. Taxi (TATA Sumo/Alto) can be hired or if sufficient passengers are available an arrangement on sharing basis can be made. After waiting for some time, I got a Sumo that was headed to Mana (₹ 130/-). Mana is 50 km from Govindghat and takes two hours to cover the steep roads with sharp hairpin bends.
Mana is the last Indian village on this side. The China border is 25 kms from here. Apart from this, Mana has its own place in Hindu mythology. Mahabharat is said to have been written here. Cave temples dedicated to Ved Vyas and Ganesh are important attractions here. A rock bridge known as Bheem pul is said to have been build by Bheem on their way to Swarg or heaven. 5 km from Mana is Vasundhara falls, another crowd puller to the village and another hike.
Mana is 3 km from Badrinath. The beautiful landscape literally compelled me to walk on the empty roads with my heavy backpack enjoying the view. The first thing I did on reaching Badrinath bus stand was to secure a seat to Haridwar for the next day. At Badrinath, I stayed at the GMVNL Yatri Niwas dorm (₹ 300/-) and the evening was spent visiting the Badrinath temple and the nearby markets.
Return journey
The GMOU buses leave for Haridwar early at 5:30 am. With pit stops at Pipalkot for breakfast, near Devprayag for lunch and coping through a tyre burst, I reached Haridwar at around 6:00 pm. Next up was another challenge on how to reach Allahabad or at least Lucknow. With calculated risk, I booked a waiting list ticked on 12370 Howrah SF Express till Lucknow. On chart preparation, my WL133 luckily got converted into RAC. Next morning I was on time at Lucknow and by noon back to the 40°C of Allahabad.
More pictures from this trip are on my Instagram profile. Do give them a visit.
At Haridwar, hotels that fit all budget can be easily found outside the railway station and they are also available online through MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo, etc. I had put up for the night at the IRCTC retiring room at the station compound. As per the rule, it has to be booked online and there are no provisions for offline booking (₹155/-).
Haridwar to Govindghat
Govindghat is 295 km from Haridwar on NH-58 to Badrinath. Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) and Garhwal Motors Owners Union (GMOU) Ltd. operate daily bus service on this route. Tickets for UTC buses can be obtained online (₹560/-) while for GMOU buses it has to be booked from their office near ISBT Haridwar in advance (₹460/-). An alternate option, in case no tickets are available, is to break the journey at Joshimath. UTC bus to Joshimath leaves Haridwar ISBT at 5:30 am. I took the GMOU bus that leaves at 2:30 am (₹400/-). After about 13 hours journey on the hill roads, passing through the panch Prayag - Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag - the bus dropped me at Joshimath at 3 pm. From Joshimath, bolero on shared basis is available to reach Govindghat (₹50/-). As this place has better hotels than in Govindghat, people often prefer to spend the night here and then continue the next day early morning. However, staying at Govindghat can save some precious time and stress the next day. Govinghat has few decent hotels beside the grand Gurudwara where I stayed. It is the preferred stay for most pilgrims and solo travelers like me and is provided on a first come first serve basis.
Govindghat to Ghangaria
The hike to Ghagaria starts after crossing over to the left bank of Alaknanda. The initial 5 km to Pulna village has motorable road and can be covered on TATA Sumo (₹40/-) available near Gurudwara. As there at limited parking at Pulna, it is advisable to leave your vehicle at the paid parking lot at Govindghat. From Pulna, the path is well built along the right bank of Lakshman Ganga that flows down from Hemkund and merges with Alaknanda at Govindghat. Horses and baskets can be hired from here if needed to avoid walking. The path till Bhyundar village is a mix of highs and lows and allows for a comfortable hike. After crossing over to the other side of Lakshman Ganga at Bhyundar, the hike is extremely steep and tiring. It took me about five-and-half hours to cover the 9 km distance between Pulna and Ghangaria. An alternative to this tiring hike is a helicopter ride from Govindghat. The Ghangaria helipad is approx. 1 km before the village. For hikers, the same helipad offers a nice spot to relax before the final ascend. Between Pulna and Ghangaria there are several pit-stops where one can buy food and drinks. Provisions for toilets are also available. One thing that might be kept in mind during this trek is, things get costlier as you go higher on the hills, often double or triple the MRP.
Valley of Flowers (VoF)
The VoF opens for tourist on 1st June and closes around October/November end every year. The timing for the visit is 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. No one is allowed to stay/camp inside VoF as it falls under Nanda Devi National Park. At Ghangaria, start your day early so as to reach the checkpoint by 7:00 am. After getting out of Ghangaria, the road bifurcates into two - the way up straight to Hemkund Sahib and the one going left leads to VoF. Permission for entering VoF can be obtained from the checkpost on furnishing ID details and a fee of ₹ 150 per person. This permit is valid for three days.
From the checkpost, till the starting point of VoF is 4 km. The path initially follows the left bank of Pushpawati river for some time and then crosses over to the right, after which is a steep climb. However, the dense forest and the chirping birds have a soothing effect. This zone is a bird lovers paradise. After reaching a certain height, the forest clears up bringing in view the snow clad peaks and the valley below. Two glaciers on the trek are particularly challenging and pump up the adrenaline.
The peak season for flowers to bloom is between mid-July and mid-August. This is also the time when tourists are plenty. When visited in June last week, there were very little flowers and fewer people. In fact, I only encountered 8-10 people on the trek. The months May and June are high time for pilgrims visiting Hemkund Sahib.
There are three main points on this trek. The first point, nicknamed picnic spot is a sloping grassland, is at the starting of the valley. According to a staff, most people on a casual visit return from this point. As you go further along the marked path, it divides into two. The second point - Grave of Joan Margaret Legge, is on the track that goes down from here. She was one of the first who came here to document the flowers of this valley. However, before her work was complete, she met with a tragic accident that took her life. Surprisingly, when I visited, this was the only spot with dense blooming flowers. The Pushpawati river bed is the last point on the trek I could reach. From here, the Tipra Khark glacier, the origin of the Pushpawati river can be seen. As there are no eateries within the national park, visitors are advised to carry their food for the almost 5-hour walk one way. However, I request everyone not to litter this pristine place and bring back everything you took in.
The 6 km path to Hemkund Sahib is steep throughout. However, unlike VoF, horses and baskets are allowed on this route and have eateries. In June, the final 2 km had thick layers of snow and the lake was mostly frozen.
Hemkund is a picturesque glacial lake surrounded by towering mountains. It is also the starting point of Lakshman Ganga. At 15,197 ft, the star-shaped Gurudwara is one of the highest in the world. It was at this place the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh meditated in one of his earlier births. Though this place is known to be revered to Sikhs, it is also a place of religious importance for Hindus. A temple dedicated to Lakshman is located just beside the gurudwara. He is believed to have regained his health by meditating on the serene banks of Hemkund.
Once the ice melts, a clear reflection of the gurudwara, temple, and surrounding mountains can be seen on the lake. Apart from offering prayers at the gurudwara and the temple, things to do include taking a dip in the frozen lake and tasting the hot khichdi langar.
Mana and Badrinath
Start your descend early from Ghangaria. If you are planning a return to Haridwar the same day, you have to be at Govindghat bus stand by 7:00 am. Still, there would be no surety of getting a seat in the packed buses that comes from Badrinath. I took it a bit easy. Started my descend 6:00 am from Ghangaria and reached Govindghat by 9:30 am. I was again in the clutches of my mobile phone. Forgot to mention before, only patchy (in fact no) network of BSNL is available beyond Govindghat. For three days, I was totally out of contact but it felt amazing.
Heading to Badrinath might be trivial. Limited public transport ply on this route and often they come full from Joshimath. Taxi (TATA Sumo/Alto) can be hired or if sufficient passengers are available an arrangement on sharing basis can be made. After waiting for some time, I got a Sumo that was headed to Mana (₹ 130/-). Mana is 50 km from Govindghat and takes two hours to cover the steep roads with sharp hairpin bends.
Mana is 3 km from Badrinath. The beautiful landscape literally compelled me to walk on the empty roads with my heavy backpack enjoying the view. The first thing I did on reaching Badrinath bus stand was to secure a seat to Haridwar for the next day. At Badrinath, I stayed at the GMVNL Yatri Niwas dorm (₹ 300/-) and the evening was spent visiting the Badrinath temple and the nearby markets.
Return journey
The GMOU buses leave for Haridwar early at 5:30 am. With pit stops at Pipalkot for breakfast, near Devprayag for lunch and coping through a tyre burst, I reached Haridwar at around 6:00 pm. Next up was another challenge on how to reach Allahabad or at least Lucknow. With calculated risk, I booked a waiting list ticked on 12370 Howrah SF Express till Lucknow. On chart preparation, my WL133 luckily got converted into RAC. Next morning I was on time at Lucknow and by noon back to the 40°C of Allahabad.
More pictures from this trip are on my Instagram profile. Do give them a visit.
Awesome Bro...
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DeleteThanks for sharing such an interesting piece of blog post I admire the way of presentation. Valley of flower is in Uttarakhand.
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World4ufree
Nice arindham
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