Fun On Wheels -- Bike Trip -- Day 5: Ghangharia to Valley of Flower

Waterfall on the way to Valley of Flowers

Day 5: Ghangharia to Valley of Flower (Stay at Ghangharia)

Until now

Day 1: Delhi/Gurgaon to Rishikesh/Devprayag(Stay at Rishikesh/Dev Prayag )
Day 2: Rishikesh/Dev Prayag  to Joshimath (Stay at Joshimath)
Day 3: Joshimath toBadrinath/Govindghat (Stay at Govindghat)
Day 4: Govindghat to Ghangharia (Stay at Ghangharia)

Yet to come 
Day 6: Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib (Stay at Govindghat)
Day 7: Govindghat/Joshimath to Rishikesh/Dev Prayag  (Stay at Rishikesh/Dev Prayag )
Day 8: Rishikesh/Dev Prayag to Delhi/Gurgaon
Day 9: Rest at Delhi/Gurgaon

Trek Route– 

Ghangharia - Valley of Flowers

Distances– 

Ghangharia to Valley of Flowers: 5 km Trek, On Foot or on Porter’s back.

Valley of Flower Trek Difficulty– 

Easy to Moderate.

Route– 

You can start early morning and report at Registration/Entrance gate.  As you cross the Gurudwara at Ghangaharia (“Gurudwara Sri Govind Dham”) walk uphill towards Hemkund Sahib, you cross a river and walk approximately 600-900 m to find a diversion towards left for the Valley of Flower Entrance gate. This path takes you to the Valley of Flowers Entrance gate. If you intend to hike (go on foot) carry only the bare essentials with you, as during the hike you would feel a lot of burden/weight on your shoulders if you carry heavy loads. You will get tired very soon if you carry heavy load. You can deposit the extra load in lockers available at Gahngharia. We deposited our extra baggage at the lockers available at “Gurudwara Sri Govind Dham”. This service is again free of cost.
 The National Park Entry opens at around 7 am and Registration is done until noon. All the visitors need to report back at the entrance gate and exit by 5 pm.A registration/entry fee of Rs 150 (For Indians) and Rs 600 (For Foreigners) is charged at the entrance of the National Park. Details of the individual are collected and an Entry Pass is issued to the person. This entry pass is valid for 2-3 days. The valley of Flower is an Easy to Moderate 5 km Trek that one can do on Foot or on Porter’s back.
Give yourself ample time to enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of nature, don’t rush else you lose the charm. Ideally give this trek a day for exploration and try and not club it with the trek from Pulna to Gahngharia or with trek to Hemkund Sahib.

Valley of Flowers is an Indian National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is known across the world for its plush meadows of endemic alpine flowers. The Valley is home to rare alpine flowers including Bhramakamal, the blue poppy and the cobra lily. Rare and endangered animals including Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear, red fox and blue sheep are inhabitants of this alpine area. High Altitude birds including Himalayan Monal can be seen in this park.
The Valley ranges from heights 3352 m to 3658 m. The Valley is conical in shape. It is around 8 km long and 2 km wide. River Pushpavati flows through it. The best time to visit the valley is during monsoons in July and August, it is when the Valley is blooming with innumerable variety of flowers presenting a spectacular sight.

For information on Valley of Flowers, its history, places to visit around Valley of Flowers and Photo Gallery visit my Blog on Valley of Flowers.

Valley of Flowers

Once you come back from the trek you can stay overnight in Hotels and rooms available on rent. You can also stay and dine at the Gurudwara at Ghangharia.

* No Phone Network at Ghangharia. One can get landline connectivity (if not hampered by weather) at Ghangharia.
** Food options at Ghangharia are limited, but you would easily get North Indian Food.
** ^Carry Vaseline and Sunscreens to save yourself from Sunburns and charred lips & cheeks. Also when you are travelling by road during rainy season in India carry heavy duty rain coat, rain paints, wind cheaters, rain resistant boots etc as there is heavy rain pour and only heavy duty rain cover will last. Carry clothes that dry soon so even if they get wet they dry quickly.
***Life Savers: In case you don’t get booking anywhere or for last minute plans one can stay and dine at Gurudwara at Ghangaharia (“Gurudwara Sri Govind Dham”).The Food (Prasad) and Lodging is free of cost.

+ Disclaimer: Information provided above is based on self experience and collected from various other sources.

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Pushpavati River -Valley of Flowers