Valley of Flowers – The Urge

It was always there, since 1996. In June 1996, my cousin Swapna, with her mother and my Atya (anty) went for the tour organized by Garwal Mandal Vikas Nigam. This tour was a very low budget, basic tour. It included Char Dham Yatra with Valley of Flowers and Auli. After coming from this tour, I remember Swapna was all exited. That time we both were comparatively young and that’s how we latched on to the idea of Skiing Holiday in Auli rather than going for a trek to valley of flowers. Our wish was fulfilled in March 1998, when we could go to Auli for Skiing Training Program. It was one of my best holidays, so far. But we must have given few sleepless nights to our family members as we both girls went alone on that trip.

Even if our Auli trip was a smash hit, Swapna kept on insisting that I should visit Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib, at the first chance. And the urge was kept burning inside me.