Hemkunt Saheb, Valley of Flowers n Mana Village - Ex-Delhi (Upto the End of NH58) - First Bike Ride in the Himalayas

After having a significant Experience in the Mighty, enchanting and refreshing Himalayas, I decided to share the Soulful experience with the world. Here I am... my first bike ride into the himalayas. I am a Delhiite, therefore, most of my Trips will always be Ex-Delhi.

This place - Valley of Flowers, I watched this on BBC documentary 'GANGES- Daughter of Mountains' a 3 part series on the journey of this mighty river, aired on Discovery channel.



Valley of Flowers, Nanda Devi National Park, Uttaranchal, India

I always dreamt of being there. I googled it and found it accessible during the months of June - September. To my surprise, these are the months for one of the highest and most sacred pilgrimage of Sikhs i.e., Hemkunt Saheb Yatra. So, I decided to make this happen. I called all of my friends but no one agreed for a 1200 Km bike ride :( especially in the Himalayas. Fortunately, I got a yes from three of my friends Harsh Kumar Chauhan, Aditya and Malkeet Singh (He is a Sikh and he takes the credit to make us visit Hemkunt Saheb - I will always be thankful to Him :)).

At this time, the brand new bike I had has a mere 98 CC of engine and everybody tagged this as insane. We were 4 with two entirely mismatching bikes, One - Royal Enfield 350 and the other Hero Honda CD Deluxe :D . But we were Determined enough!!

As this was my first bike trip in the Himalayas, I Googled like hell for few days and finally planned to leave on Saturday, 11th June,2011. It's gonna be a 9 day (11th - 19th June) hectic, but, liftime trip experience.

About the Place:

1. Hemkunt Saheb:

• Hemkunt Sahib is a Sikh gurdwara in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India known as Gurudwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Ji, devoted to Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666–1708), the tenth Sikh Guru, which finds mention in Dasam Granth.
• With a setting of a glacial lake surrounded by seven mountain peaks and each peak is adorned by a Nishan Sahib on its cliff !!
• Trek to Hemkunt Saheb gives an apportunity to experience the untouched beauty of nature at its peak.

Altitude from Sea level: 4632 meters (15,200 ft)

How to Reach: It is accessible only by foot from Gobindghat on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway.

Best Place to Stay at: Hotel Shri Nanda Lokpal Palace (Govind Dham, Ghangaria village)

Best time to visit: Hemkunt is inaccessible because of snow from October through April.
                              Therfore, June - September is the right time to visit.
                            

2. Valley of Flowers:

• A world heritage site, the valley of flowers is situated at a very remarkable area, which is the conversion point of Himalayan ranges, Zanskar and Western and Eastern Himalayas.
• This fairyland is believed to be the place from where Hanuman (Ramayana) brought Sanjivani to the ailing Lakshman.
• This paradise on earth is still unspoiled by human invasions
• The valley and the Valley of Flowers National Park is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2004.

Altitude from Sea level: 3,700 m

How to Reach: It is accessible only by foot from Gobindghat on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway.

Best time to visit: Inaccessible because of snow from October through April.
Therfore, June - September is the right time to visit.

Here is a brief Itinerary of the trip:

Budget - INR 6000/- each.
Day 1: leave Delhi (04:00 am) - Dev Prayag (07:30 pm)
Night Stay at Dev Prayag
Day 2: Dev Prayag - Pandukeshwar
Night Stay at Pandukeshwar in a local hotel
Day 3: 13 km Steep Trekking from Govind Ghat to Govind Dham (Ghangaria Village)
Night Stay at Ghangaria (Govind Dham)
Day 4: 6 km Steep and very difficult Trekking to Hemkunt Saheb - Back to Govind Dham
Night Stay at Ghangaria (6+6 = 12 km Trekking)
Day 5: 3km Moderate Trekking to Valley Flowers - back to Ghangaria - Back to Govind Ghat
Night Stay at Pandukeshwar (3+3+13 = 19 km Trekking)

Day 6: Pandukeshwar - Badrinath - Manavillage - 2 km Trekking to Bheem Pul - Back to Joshimath

Night Stay at Joshimath

Day 7: Joshimath - Chopta - Ukhimath

Night Stay at Ukhimath

Day 8: Ukhimath - Srinagar

overNight Stay at Srinagar

Day 9: Srinagar - Delhi

Day 1: At 04:00 am Saturday,11th,June,2011 we gathered at Dwarka Sec-12 Petrol Station to fuel-full our bikes. Excited we, left for the endeavour!

We took Meerath - Mujaffarnagar route. At 7 am we were at Mujaffarnagar and had a tea break with Paranthans. As we entered Roorkee, we were shocked by the traffic jam from Roorkee till Rishikesh. This was due to the holy month of "Kanvariyas". We reached Rishikesh at 2:30 pm. Generally it takes only 5-6 hours from Delhi to Rishikesh but the traffic jam lead to a delay of almost 4 hours.

Anyways, after a short rest at Rishikesh, we headed toward Dev Prayag, 75 km from Rishikesh. Our plan was to reach Srinagar on Day 1 but we could made it to Dev Prayag only. Here is the majestic point :

DevPrayag 

 Accomodation is never a problem in Uttaranchal. One can easily get a room for only INR 300 - 500/-. We got one for 300/-. It was ammazing to wake up at a place of confluence of two rivers. Devprayag is Confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi and here after the stream gets it official name "Ganga".

Day 2, we were planned to reach Govind Ghat, around 200 km from DevPrayag. We left at 6:30 am. One thing I learnt that the average speed in the himalayas for a bike will always be 30-40 kmph. It took a whole day to reach Govind Ghat. As soon we reached the Govind Ghat Gurudwara, we came to know that we can get accomodation at Pandukeshwar, just 2.5 km from Govind Ghat. We got a room for INR 300/-. Now we had to rest over here and make ourselves ready for next days treking.

Day 3: 13 km Steep Trekking from Govind Ghat to Govind Dham (Ghangaria Village)
Night Stay at Ghangaria (Govind Dham) : We woke up at 7 am and got ready for the treking at 8 am

The Trek to Govind Dham

It takes aroung 8 - 9 hours to complete this 13km trek. We were at Ghangaria / Govind Dham at 5:30 pm and had to have an overnite stay for Acclimatization for the next 6 km treking. Next morning we have the plan to reach Gurudwara Hemkunt Saheb and back to Ghangaria / Govind Dham.

Day 4: 6 km Steep and very difficult Trekking to Hemkunt Saheb - Back to Govind Dham

Night Stay at Ghangaria (6+6 = 12 km Trekking)

The frozen Fall

Day 5: 3km Moderate Trekking to Valley Flowers - back to Ghangaria - Back to Govind GhatNight Stay at Pandukeshwar (3+3+13 = 19 km Trekking)
To enter Valley of Flowers one has to buy a ticket for INR 150/- from the counter at the entrance.

We had to cross over these Glaciers!! What a Thrill!!

Part of the Trek!

Valley of Flowers!

Day 6: Pandukeshwar - Badrinath - Manavillage - 2 km Trekking to Bheem Pul - Back to Joshimath

Night Stay at Joshimath.

As we entered Badrinath, I could not beleive my eyes.. This place is tooooo close to GOD .. a real Heaven!!!

This was my first Bike ride in the Himalayas and after this, every two or three months.. I feel this urge to be in the himalayas on Bike!