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.