Valley of flowers – Joshimath to Ghangria

As decided previous day, we tried to start our journey by 6.30am. Govidghat is about 40kms away form Joshimath. Till this spot you can go by car. At Govinghat we had a nice breakfast. After that its only trekking route till Ghangria. You can also ride the horse or take a phalkhi. Hourse will cost you Rs.405/-. Palkhi is expensive, as it requires 4 people to carry it. Palakhi to and fro costs about Rs.6000/-.

We hired three porters to carry our luggage. They charge you Rs.405/- one way. All these are Govt. approved rates. The weather was just right. There was no sign of rain, even though one was able to see clouds high on the mountain peaks exposing the blue sky.

As you start the trek, you come across a very steep ascent and your initial excitement wares off after walking this first half an hour. You immediately come to know that whatever has been written about this trek is not an exaggeration. This is basically a mule track, laden with medium sized stone. So it is a bit different from the mountain trekking I was used to. The track is quite wide and build properly. There are lots of stalls, which sell foodstuff and other things like pain killer tablets, ointments, Band-aids and also cheap raincoats. So even if you sprained your leg during the trek not to worry, you can buy Move, Zandu Balm etc.

Apart from that we came across lot of Shikh pilgrims who were coming back from Hemkud Sahib offering their Seva to whoever requires it. These pilgrims keep asking the passerbyes if their legs were paining or if they have sprained their legs or if they require any other help. I saw some of them massaging the legs of strangers; distributing medicines to trekkers as well as porters, no mater what is your social or economic status. I found it amazing. When you have walked for hours, your whole body is crying for help. You cannot see beyond yourself. And here when you see these sorts of people who are walking the same path probably for longer time than you, not at all bothered about their own bodies and helping others, you feel totally belittled. This is a positive side of faith. Faith is not reaching your place of worship alone. It is helping everyone who wishes to reach there along with you. I think it happens only in Bharat. We met an old Sikh couple who, was climbing down after finishing their tour to Hemkund Sahib. They had come from some village near Amritsar. Due to some mannat they were walking barefoot. But when they saw us tired, sitting on the roadside, they spoke to us in a such reassuring tone and said “Beta Kuchh nahi, bass thoda hi bacha hai. Tum Jaroor Jaooge”. We had just passed a milestone which read “Ghangria –11km”.

This is what pushes me to travel in Bharat. The government policy in Bharat is not very tourist friendly. You don’t get much help from the government agencies when you are traveling. Bharatiya tourist are used to getting stuck in their travel route because of natural calamities or technological glitches. They also know if they can count on anybody, it is got to be their fellow countrymen. If you are in problem, just ask. Nobody will turn a deaf ear to your problems. This is real Bharat. After experiencing this humanity, my tongue does not hesitate in saying “Mera Bharat Mahan”.

We reached Ghangria by evening. This was the first trek, I did not complete. Half way through I and Muneera hired a horse. So we reached Ghangria by 3pm. But as Nandu and Bina walked till the end, they reached by 6pm, totally drained out. They even caught in the rains during the last 2km stretch.

Ghnagria is a small village, which only comes alive with the tourist season from June till October. After October, after the first snowfall, the hotel staff, restaurant owners and shop owners and other service providers closed their businesses and climb down to their homes in and around Joshimath, Srinagar, chamoli etc. The character of this place is very decent. A lady can walk on the street at night safely. I give credit for this to the Shikh pilgrims as well as foreign tourist who frequent this place. I found this place better than Katra which is also a staring point of piligrimage to Vaishnodevi.

I have to mention one Shop in Ghangria, owned by Mr. Rajnish. He is a guide and throughout the year he is trekking somewhere in Himalaya as a guide. From July till September he is stationed in Ghangria to take groups of tourists to Valley of Flowers. There was a article about him published in one famous Japanese magazine last year and since then most of the Japanese tourist hire him as guide. And his daily fees are, hold your breath, Rs.50000/- per day per group of 25-30. He is also a very good photographer. He sells his photos in his shop, which he runs alone. So during the season the shop remains closed through the day and opens after 7pm after he returns from the Valley Trek. One should not miss his shop as there are so many things you can purchase as souvenirs. Rajnish is a very talkative person and talks very freely about the valley and his experiences, his photos. You ask him anything and he never gets tired of answering your queries.

Food in Ghangria can satisfy any type of taste bud. Along the market the you come across different types of stall, restaurants selling tanduri dishes, sweets like Jalebi, Phirni, Gulab Jamun, Khir etc. or even dishes made from ready-to-eat packed meal. Vegetables don’t come here come here everyday. So these ready-to-eat packed food like Nor, Maggy or other brands are very handy here. Tourists are also happy to get different vegetables of their choice.

It was chilly cold in Ghangria at night. Even the mattress was feeling like ice bed. And let me remind you this is summer in Ghangria. Here the GMVN guesthouse provides you very basic facilities. The power supply is limited. They have 2 generators for the power needs of the guests, but both were not functioning properly. So we used to see the streets of Ghangria well lit from our candlelit restaurant of GMVN guesthouse. We slept that night praying that tomorrow it would stop raining and we should be able to go to the Valley of Flowers.

Valley of Flowers – Haridwar to Josimath

On August 03, 2008, we started our journey from Haridwar to Joshimath by Road. The distance is 300 kms. After we pass Rishikesh, hilly region starts and the roads are zigzag and the danger of being hit by the bolders in the land slide is real. It can take upto 10-12 hours for this journey. When we went to Auli in 1998, we went to Joshimath from Rishikesh by the local newspaper delivery van along with other 8 people jam packed in addition to the driver. It was dreadful journey where the driver put all 11 lives in a lot of danger. But we were young that time and did not realize the seriousness of the situation. I, in fact enjoyed the journey. But as you grow old, you don’t want to trust anybody with your life.

We got ready by 7.00am and by stoping for food or for taking pictures en route, we reached at Peopalkoti at about 5.00pm. From here Joshimath is about 40kms. Here we came to know that about 10kms away form Pepalkoti, the road was closed due to landslide. The work has already begun. It was up to our luck whether the roadblock gets cleared and we get to proceed as per our plan. We were all praying that this should not happen in the beginning of our journey. We had to wait at the Pepalkoti GMVN guesthouse for about an hour. As the vehicles from the opposite side started coming in Pepalkoti, we got our signal and we rushed inside the car and the driver took off. He drove very fast as he wanted to clear the landslide patch of road at the earliest, before it becomes dark. By the time we reach Joshimath, it was 7.30pm. The next day was very important for us - the actual trekking day. So we retired early by agreeing to start the journey by 6.00am. All over Uttaranchal due to the narrow roads, to regularize the traffic, there is gate system followed by the state police. The cars standing at the gate at that time are allowed to go further. But if your does not reach this spot on time, then you will have wait till the next gate timings i.e. 9.00am. We did not want to miss the 6.00am gate timing. Because the sooner you start your trek is better.

Valley of Flowers – Mumbai to Delhi

We left Mumbai on August 2, 2008 in Rajdhani Express at 4.30pm. As 15^th August was fast approaching and in the wake of the recent bomb blasts at Ahmedabad, there was a strict security at the station. They were frisking all the men and their belongings. We reached Delhi station at 8.30am next morning.

We left Delhi at 3.20pm for Haridwar by DDN Janshatabdi. Before we reach Haridwar, we come across a very heavy rain. So much so that our AC compartment started leaking from sides and the floor of the train was totally wet. By the time we reach Haridwar station, the rain was only a drizzle. But due to Shrawan, Haridwar station was crowded. People were sleeping on the platform. The station was turned into a devotee camp. We had to fight our way to get out. There was water everywhere on the road.

We checked in the A.C rooms at “Rahi Motel” of GMVN, which is 2 mins walking distance from station. Rooms were O.K. They have a restaurant inside the hotel, so you don’t have to go out searching for a clean place to eat. Next day we were going to travel by Innova. The driver reported at night. We told him not to sleep in the car. This was well thought by Muneera. She was in a way right. These drivers just to save some money usually sleep in the car itself at night. It is not very comfortable to sleep in the car and as a result it might effect their driving the next day. For saving Rs.200-300/- why should we put our lives in danger?

Valley of flowers - Things We Carried

We decided to carry lots of clothes, as sometimes the rainfall at Ghangria can be very heavy. The humidity is very high. Clothes feel damp all the time. All of us were going to carry mostly Tee Shirts and trousers, expects Muneera as she is more comfortable in her Salwar Kurta. Next important thing was Trekking Shoes. We did a lot of survey for affordable but comfortable shoes and finally I found “Action Trekking” shoes. They costs only Rs.600/-. They are actually made for trekking but they are 100 times better quality than hunter shoes and 100% cheaper that it’s Rebok, Nike cousins.

We carried lots of dry fruits, chocolates etc. to give us energy while trekking.Bina provided big plastic sheets for wrapping all our clothes over before keeping them in the suitcases. We also packed all our things in individual polythene bags. Because during the 14km trek, if it would rain, we would be covered in our raincoats, but at the same time the porters would be carrying our bags without any protection. It is a possibility of the content getting wet.