Overview
The Valley of Flowers Trek is one of the most sought after treks of the Himalayas, which is also visited by foreigners. This is a 6 day trek that goes upto 14100 feet above sea level. The whole trek takes upto an appropriate distance of about 40 kilometers from the base site. The best time is from July to the middle of September to choose for the valley as it is a monsoon time trek. The temperatures of the valley ranges from 5 to 20 degrees Celsius and you can also expect rainfall even while trekking as it is unpredictable in nature. You must note that the trail becomes difficult when you climb to Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara. Valley of Flowers Trek is an easy to moderate level trek that offers a rare access to a glimpse of a great journey of Uttarakhand Himalayas. And this is an easy to moderate level trek and can even be done by a beginner or a novice in trekking. And this becomes easier for a seasoned mountaineer.
Plan to Valley of Flowers
The 6 day trek to the valley of flowers starts at Rishikesh in order to reach Joshimath, which is approximately a 10 hours journey. After an overnight stay at Rishikesh, you will reach Ghangaria campsite by crossing Govindghat and Pulna. You must note that you can also start the trek to Pulna, which is also the last point for the vehicles to go. The next two days are kept for the climb to the main Valley of Flowers. Then on day 5 you can come back to Govindghat, where you can also choose to go to Badrinath, which is just 25 kilometers from Govindghat. The last day can be set for a return journey to Rishikesh by 7pm.
Itinerary
From Rishikesh you must drive for at least 250 kilometers to Govindghat. It is advisable that you reach Govindghat early from Rishikesh so that you can have a sound sleep in Govindghat. Good sleep is important for a successful trek in the mountain ranges. From Rishikesh to Govindghat, the journey is one of the most beautiful routes to look into as on the route you will be seeing the Panch Prayag, the confluence of 5 sacred rivers.
After you reach Govindghat on day 2, the actual trek goes to Ghangaria village, which is a base camp of Valley of Flowers. From Govindghat village take a shared cab till Pulna village, which is just 4 kilometers away, and then start trekking to Ghangaria village, which is a 10 kilometers trek and the path is clearly laid with beautiful scenery at the backdrop.
There are also options of mules, which will help you to release your weight of luggage. This is also handy for someone, who takes kids along the trek and this can cost around ₹1200 per person along with the luggage. And remember to buy essentials like raincoats, umbrellas etc in Govindghat itself as the choice of buying them in Ghangaria is difficult because the weather in Ghangaria is unpredictable.
From Ghangaria to Valley of Flowers Trek is a small trek of 3 to 4 kilometers and easy one to do. But if you want to stretch it till 11am, you can do that but after this the officials will not allow you to trek as it will take more time for you to reach down again from the valley in the evening. As there are no options of staying or camping inside the valley as it is a pristine National Park, make sure you stick to the time between 7 to 11 am. Apart from this, if you start early from Ghangaria, you will get more time in the valley to explore as it is 8 kilometers wide.
Conclusion
The trek to the Valley of Flowers is very clearly laid. Also remember that from here onwards mules are also not allowed, so you must choose to hike along with your luggage, if any, but you can carry less luggage so that the trek becomes soothing. While on the trek you will also get to see many lush green meadows along with the beautiful waterfalls that are breathtaking. Usually, most of the people stop at the starting point of the valley itself but you can even go further to explore the valley as well. The Valley is extremely serene, colorful with flowers and clean so that you will truly experience the wonderful side of nature.
