Humans have always been fascinated by beauty. It has been a source of joy, bliss, happiness and has brought tranquil peace to our minds since time immemorial.  The simplest way for us has always been to turn to nature which provides abundant beauty. We have forever planted gardens with colourful flowers that has spread smile on our faces. We tend to go long distance in search of such natural beauty. People travel overseas to places like Switzerland to get fascinated by the rolling plains or to Keukenhof in Netherlands just to be mesmerized by the multi-coloured tulip gardens. Fortunately for us, there is a place equally beautiful that offers scenic views of not just flower beds that roll out till as far as your eyes can go but also throws in the spectacular views of the Himalayas. Welcome to the `Valley of Flowers’.  

Located in the Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand, the valley of flowers is a UNESCO world heritage site that is positioned between the towns of Joshimath and Badrinath. It is also India’s largest natural botanical garden that is home to hundreds of species of flowers some of which are unique to this region and have medicinal values. The valley offers a bonus trek to the Sikh pilgrimage site, Hemkund Sahib, which happens to be the highest gurudwara in the world. A little distance away is the famous Badrinath temple and the last village on Indian border – Mana.

The valley opens from June till September end every year for trekkers and is probably the only monsoon trek that is done in the Himalayas. More than 500 different species of flowers bloom and carpet the valley during this time turning the mountains into a riot of colours. 

Driving past the Panch Prayag

We had a group from Chennai that wanted to experience the glory of the valley in its full form. We all were super excited as some of them had never been to the Himalayas before and this was their first time in the mountains, though they had trekked in the western ghat a few times. But Himalayas are all together a different ball game. They are no match for any other mountain on earth in their magnanimity, splendor or grandeur.  We gave them a fitness regime to follow for 6 weeks so that they could undertake the hike with ease.

We started our journey from Dehradun and took a halt at our beautiful resort in Kaudiyala. Early next day, we drove off towards Govindghat, the starting point of our trek. Driving from Kaudiyala, we went past the famous Panch Prayag – the five points of confluence of the sacred rivers. These are Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag and Vishnuprayag in the ascending flow sequence of their occurrence.

1. Devprayag is the confluence of the two holy rivers, the Bhagirathi – the chief stream of the Ganges and the Alaknanda. It is the first Prayag on the way to Badrinath. Downstream from this point the river is called as Ganges.
2. Rudra Prayag is the confluence where the river Alaknanda meets the Mandakini River. The confluence is named after God Shiva, who is also known as Rudra.
3. Karn Prayag is the location where Alaknanda River is joined by the Pindar River that originates from the Pindar glacier, below the Nanda Devi Mountain range.
4. Nanda Prayag is the confluence where the Nandakini River joins the main Alaknanda River.
5. Vishnu Prayag is the confluence of Alaknanda River, which originates from Satopanth glacier & Dhauli Ganga near Joshimath (on Joshimath – Badrinath route). Alaknanda flows in front of the Badrinath temple, one of the most revered Hindu shrines.

We had a night halt at Karn Prayag and started off early next morning towards Govindghat reaching there in time for lunch. We had planned out trek in the last week of July making sure that the valley was in full bloom. During this month one can expect anything from a slight drizzle to a heavy downpour in the valley but we were fortunate to have clear days with the exception of experiencing rains on the day we hiked up to Hemkund Sahib. 

Floral delight

We hiked up from Govindghat to Ghangariya which goes through the enchanting forest and along a stream. There are tea stalls along the way where one can stop to catch a glimpse of the Himalayan wonderland. There is a helipad at Govindghat that operates flights to and from Ghangaria for those who are short on time or want to experience the joy of flying through the mountains. It’s a short 5-6 minutes ride flown by a dear friend of mine and we had taken it on our earlier recce trip to the valley. By evening we reached Ghangariya hiking through the beautiful trail that is mostly made of concrete. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and in anticipation of the next day’s hike.

We started off at the crack of dawn becoming the first group to enter the valley gates thereby having the whole vista to ourselves. The hike up the mountain to the start point of the valley is a mere 2 km odd but takes time as we gain height and go through many switch backs. A few hours of gentle hike led us to the entrance of the valley which is a meadow. Along the way there were a million flowers in all colours many of which were medicinal like the acclaimed `Vajradanti’ know to strengthen teeth. There was Blue Poppy, the queen of the valley and Brahmakamal, which is the state flower of Uttarakhand. The group was spellbound by the beauty of the valley. On the far side was `Tipra Bamak’ (Tipra Glacier) and the adjoining peaks covered in snow that enthralled the group. The valley looked as if some master craftsmen had spun a carpet in a million colours. The hike was worth the rewards that lay in front of us. The trail was a paradise for botanists, new Himalayan trekkers and photographers alike. The group spent time knowing about the flowers and taking pictures.  By afternoon we started back for Ghangariya as we need to exit the park before the sun goes down. Reaching our hotel, the group relaxed over tea discussing the day’s highlights.

Hemkund Sahib

We hiked up to Hemkund Sahib after an early breakfast. The trail is concrete and had clouds rolling in from all sides showing signs of rain. Nearing the top, we saw snow on the side of the trail which was a bonus for the group as many had never seen it before. The hike was steep and the going was slow but since everyone had been following our fitness regime, they all managed to reach the Gurudwara by noon. It had started drizzling on the way but that did not deter us as we wanted to reach in time for `Ardaas’, the prayers. After the prayer’s, we went around the gurudwara exploring the views and the Sarovar or lake by its side that had the famous `Brahmakamal’. The hot tea and kichdee at Langar in the gurudwara was a welcome delight as everyone was feeling cold. Spending an hour there, we started our descend to our hotel and reached back by evening. 

Return Journey

Next morning, we hiked back to Govindghat with a plan to visit Mana and Badrinath temple. Some of the members took a pony on the way back as they were exhausted by the earlier day’s hike. Reaching Govindghat we found out that the road to Badrinath was blocked due to landslide so we headed back to Kaudiyala planning to reach our resort by 4 in the afternoon. Nearing Karn Prayag, we saw a long line of traffic and realized something was not right. A huge section of the mountain had fallen on the road blocking it for traffic movement. We stayed put for an hour as the road was getting cleared by B.R.O (Border Road Organisation) team but realized that the task would go on late in the night. We retreated to our hotel at Karn Prayag and slept there for the night. Next morning, we drove back to our resort at Kaudiyala arriving there by afternoon. The evening was spent by the pool side lazing around and relaxing. The group had a wonderful experience and went back home with memories of a lifetime.