The Valley of Flowers National Park is
located in Chamoli Garhwal, Uttrakhand state of India, close to Nanda Devi
National Park. It’s about 595 kilometres (370 miles) from Delhi, and has an
altitude that varies from 10,500 feet to 21,900 feet above sea level. This
high-altitude Himalayan valley has around 300 different varieties of alpine
flowers, which appear as a bright carpet of colour against a mountainous snow
capped background. The park has largest concentration of various species of
wild flowers. The park is spread over 87.5 square kilometres (55 miles), and
was declared a national park in 1982. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The main Valley of Flowers is a glacial corridor, around five kilometres (3.1
miles) long and two kilometres (1.2 miles) wide.
The Valley of Flowers was discovered by Frank Smith, a mountaineer,
explorer and botanist who found the valley in the monsoon of 1931.
Valley of flowers
Valley of
Flowers Opening Hours: You need to
purchase the entry ticket from the forest department booth at the entrance of
valley of flowers. The same entry ticket is valid for 3 days. The ticket cost
150 INR per person (50 INR per day) for an Indian and 600 INR per person (200
INR per day) for a foreigner. Professional and Non-Professional Still cameras
and Non-professional movie/video cameras are free, but professional video
camera charges are 500 INR for Indians and 1500 INR for foreign nationals.
To prevent trekkers and livestock from taking too
much of a toll on the park, access to The Valley of Flowers is restricted to
daylight hours (from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and camping is prohibited. The last
entry to the park is at 3 p.m. You’ll need to go from, and return to, Ghangaria
on the same day. You need to carry some food, dry fruits with you if you are
planning to stay for a full day time in the valley of flowers as you will not
find anything inside the valley of flowers. You are advised to no to litter
anything inside the valley of flowers.
About 5 km away from the Valley of
Flower, there is Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara. Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara is nestled
between the seven sacred hills, by the banks of sacred Lokpal Lake. At a height
of 14,202 ft, this crystal clear lake is reached after an arduous trek, which
has been attracting pilgrims in increasing numbers. Hemkund Sahib, the highest
gurudwara in the world, is also the only one connected with the previous birth
of Sikh Guru. Traditionally a holy place for local Hindus, known as Lakshman
Lokpal, a small temple to Lakshman still exists adjustment to the gurudwara. It
is widely believed among Sikhs that Guru Gobind Singh the tenth sikh Guru has
meditated at Hemkund in his previous birth. It is also believed that Lakshman,
brother of Ram, mediated by lake and regained his health after being severely
wounded by Meghnath, son of Ravana.
Hemkund sahib gurudwara
Lakshman temple
How to Reach: By Road/ By Rail/ By Air
By Air: The nearest airport is in Jolly Grant, Dehradun, is
about 295 kilometers (183 mi) away.
By Rail: the nearest railway station is in Rishikesh, is
about 276 kilometers (170 miles) away. Rishikesh can be reached via Haridwar
JN.
By Road: The Valley of Flowers National Park is off the
Rishikesh-Badrinath road.The closest you can get to The Valley of Flowers by
road is Govind Ghat. One can take a bus/taxi from Rishikesh/Haridwar to
Joshimath which is aabout 10-11 hour ride. Another bus/taxi takes one from
Joshimath to Govindghat which is a driving time of 1-2 hours and a distance of
25 km.
Click on the map to get larger view
Most people take a night train from New
Delhi to Haridwar and take a bus/taxi from Haridwar to Joshimath/Govind Ghat.
Following are the various distance to Vally of Flowers:
Delhi to Haridwar is around 263 km
Haridwar to Joshimath is
275km.
Joshimath to Govindghat is
around 25km.
Joshimath to
Badrinath is around is around 46km.
Joshimath to
Auli is around 15km.
Joshimath to Valley of Flowers – 42kms
Govindghat to Valley
of Flowers – 17kms
Climate
In Valley of Flowers:
Summers (June to October) have a cool
weather (around 7 °C) with maximum temperature reaches to nearly 17 °C and is a
good season for viewing the panoramic beauty.
Winters (November to May) are snow
covered and difficult to visit the outdoor attractions. Minimum temperature can
go well down up to 1 °C with average minimum about 7 °C.
In winter when the temperature goes
below the freezing then heavy woollen cloths are required, In summer light
woollen cloths are required.
Best time to visit Vally of Flowers: The Valley of Flowers is only open from April to
October as it's covered in snow the rest of the year. The best time to visit is
from July to August, when the flowers are in full bloom after the first monsoon
rain. If you go before July, you’ll find hardly any flowers at all.
Hotels Information: The
government run Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) guesthouses/Bungalows are the
reliable options for accommodations in the area, and advance bookings are
possible through their webstite http://www.gmvnl.com. There are GMVN hotels in Joshimath, Ghangaria,
Badrinath and Auli.
Iternary:
Day 1
(New Delhi – Haridwar (287 kms/7-8 hrs)):
Catch an overnight train from Delhi to Haridwar and reach Haridwar in the early
morning around 6 am.
Day 2
(Haridwar - Joshimath (275 kms/8-9 hrs)): Hire
a taxi from Haridwar to Joshimath . you can have breakfast on the way. On the
way visit Dev prayag where Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers meet, from here the
holy river Ganges started.
Dev Prayag
Throughout the route there are numerous
other pilgrimage sites like Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag and
Vishnuprayag. Arrival at Joshimath by evening, check into the hotel. Dinner
& overnight stay.
Joshimath: The great sage Adi Shankaracharya is supposed to
have wandered into Jsohimath and gained enlightenment here. Check out the
Narsingh and Gruda temples, the Shankaracharya Math, and the mar Kalp tree
which is believed to have over 2500 years old. Drive down to the hot springs of
Tapovan just 14km away from Joshimath.
Another important place around
Joshimath is Auli. Auli is
at a distance of about 15km from Joshimath by road and around 4km using cable
car from Joshimath. Auli located at a height of 2750 meter is famous for Ski,
many national and international competitions on winter sports like Ski are
organized during Jan to March months when Auli gets covered by more than 6 feet
of snow.
Auli slops
Auli cable car
Day 3 ( Joshimath
- Govindghat (25 kms/1 hrs): Ghangaria (14 kms/4-5 hrs)): After an early
breakfast drive to Govindghat, which is the starting point of the trek. At
Govindghat, vehicles must be parked at a safe parking place, with a registered
parking lot operator. From Govindghat there is a gradual ascent along a well
maintained pilgrim trail to Ghangaria. Upon arrival at Ghangria check into
hotel. Explore the surroundings in the evening. Dinner and overnight stay at
the hotel.
Day 4
(Ghangria – Hemkund Sahib (6 kms one side/5-6 hrs)): 6kms trek to the Hemkund Sahib with packed lunch.
In the afternoon trek 6kms back to Ghangria, dinner and overnight at Ghangria.
A night halt is not possible at the Hemkund Sahib, all pilgrims must return to
the Ghangaria. The journey to Hemkund Sahib is difficult. Steps are often cut
in the snow to take way to these heights. It snows even in September. The last
5-km stretch is very steep. Surrounding difficulties, devotees are filled with
a sense of achievement when they reach the gurudwara. And when the flowers
bloom, Hemkund Sahib looks like heaven.
Day 5 (
Ghangaria - Valley Of Flowers - Ghangria (5 kms one side/4-5 hrs)): This is an easy trek. 5kms trek to the valley of
flowers with packed Lunch and 5kms back to Ghangaria, dinner and overnight at
Ghangria.
Day 6
(Ghangaria – Govindghat(14kms /4-5 hrs) – Badrinath(22 kms)): 14kms trek to Govindghat with packed lunch.
Further 22kms drive to Badrinath from Govindghat and dinner and overnight at
Badrinath. Badrinath is one of the most sacred temples of India and it is also
the one of the Char Dham as well.
Badrinath temple
Day 7
(Badrinath – Joshimath (46kms/2-3hrs) – Auli(15kms-1hr)): Drive from Badrinath to Joshimath have breakfast
at Joshimath. Drive to Auli for a causal visit to Auli to go for a day trip to
Auli. You can either stay at Auli or Jsohimath. Note that the road to Auli from
Joshimath is not so good and frequent travel up & down by ropeway is
costly. The ropeway cost 500 INR per person including the return journey. The
ropeway requires a minimum of 10 passengers, if there are less than 10
passenger then they do not run the ropeway. Dinner and overnight at Joshimath/Auli.
Day 8
(Joshimath - Haridwar (275 kms/8-9 hrs) – New Delhi(287 kms/7-8 hrs)): Drive back to Haridwar from Joshimath. From
Haridwar catch a train for Delhi.
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