The Valley Of Flowers - India's Dreamland ...Contd

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The tourists can also find different kinds of insects, birds and variety of butterflies. The park is a home to tahr, snow leopard, musk deer, red fox, common languor, Himalayan black bear, serow and bharal. The valley is surrounded by high mountains on three sides. Many small streams that flow within the valley add on to the beauty.

There is no settlement in the national park and grazing in the area has been banned. The park is open only in summers between June and October.

The path that leads to the tranquil flowers
The valley of flowers is 330km or seven hours drive from Dehradun. The destined path is not a cakewalk. One has to trek for nearly 18 kms to reach the place. The nearest major town with convenient road connection is Joshimnath in Garhwal. There are road connection from railheads such as Hardwar and Dehradun, both about 270 km from Joshimath. You can hire a vehicle from Joshimath to take you within 17km of the park, to the settlement of Govind ghat.

The only overnight stay near the valley is 3 kms away from the place called Ghangaria. It generally has no electricity throughout the day. The village gets electricity only in the evenings, around 6-7 p.m. Accommodation tariffs range from Rs.400 - 1500. There are small hotels and restaurants available here, where you can relish fast food, punjabi food, vegetarian food, Chinese, and cold drinks. After walking out of Ghangria, you will find a bridge across called Lakshman Ganga, which falls down from the rocky mountain far away. It originates from the Hemkund lake. After the bridge, the path bifurcates, the right leads to Hemkund, and the left one leads to the Valley of Flowers. No ponies are allowed into the Valley, although you can ride one right up to Hemkund.

The path goes down, and there is an iron bridge over Pushpawati river which hurtles down with great fury, and meets Lakshman Ganga at Ghangria. Exotic flowers start right from here. The path is narrow, as you climb up from the bridge, and the river is way down below, with rocky slopes on both sides. After a 3 km uphill walk, you will enter the valley, which is marked by crossing a wooden bridge, with map of valley put up next to it.

Hemkund is a beautiful lake at this altitude, surrounded by snow peaks. There is a Gurdwara, Hemkund Sahib, and a Lakshman temple on the banks of this lake. At an altitude of 4,329 meters, these are the highest places of worship in India. Sikhs believe that Guru Govind Singh meditated here in his previous birth. For the non-religious, the place holds its charm with its aquamarine lake surrounded by beautiful peaks

Testimony by a tourist

"I cursed the moment, when I decided to trek 'The valley of flowers', but when I was in the midst of splendid flowers I felt blessed.... But after coming back I feel like going there again. That is the attraction of Himalayas."

Harikrishnan

So, start packing your bags and baggages its July the right time to trek the nature's paradise.