VALLEY OF FLOWERS.

Imagine yourself in a place surrounded by mountains, water falls on all the sides, the water stream making its way to reach the plane areas. imagine yourself surrounded by hundreds of different types of flowers, you have a majestic mountain peak in front of you, completely covered by snow. There is nobody around you, no human presence at all. 10-15 people come to that place every day and if you walk further, you find yourself all alone. This is the place which we call valley of flowers.

This valley is accessible only in the summers from mid june to mid september as snow fall starts after october and all routes are blocked. No permanent structure or overnight camps are allowed inside the valley. there are wild animals which can be spoted sometimes. many of us have never heard the voice of nature. we don't know how it feels to be in a place with no human encroachment. for all those people, Valley of Flowers is the best place to talk to the nature, hear the voice of wind and sound of water flowing through small channels.

As the name tells, this valley has more than 300 different types of flora which is very rare. the place is a dream come true for any botanist. But it is to be noted that the image should not be of a garden full of roses or daffodils. this is a natural valley with flowers which grow naturally.

After going through a bad phase, I decided to detoxicate myself, to get rid of all the negativity, I decided to go in the lap of mountains, the real manifestation of mother nature can be felt while roaming in the hills of uttarakhand. I packed a small carry bag and started to look for taxi as it is difficult to find one at night. One sardar ji cab driver stopped and accepted to drop me to the railway station. while talking to him, I told him that I shall be visiting Govinddham which is a very important pilgrimage site for sikh religion. hindus and Sikhs visit there in the summers. To my pleasant surprise, Sardar ji refused to take any money from me. I was literally forcing money in his hand and he was adamant not to take the fair as I was going to the place he adored. Such incidents are possible only in India.

I took the overnight train to Haridwar from Nizammudin Railway station. I reached haridwar early in the morning. there is a bus stand nearby from where we can buses for Joshimath. The bus journey in itself demands a new blog. It was non AC but who needs AC when the air carries a pleasant chill in the day time. I took a seat next to the door of the bus, put my bag under the seat. We stopped at several small stands of small towns en route to Joshimath. The mountainous roads have a lot of curves and buses take several sharp turns. vehicles are not allowed to drive in night time as over speeding can be very dangerous here. While the bus was taking turns, somewhere I got distracted for some time and my bag slipped through the door of the bus. I use contact lenses and the box to preserve it was in the bag, I was wondering how shall I spend 15 days without glasses. Worrying about all this, I did small shopping when stopped for tea break. now the interesting part is that there were no optical shops in the whole area, nearest optician would be in Dehradun or Haridwar. this one mistake had potential to ruin my whole trip.

I reached Joshimath in the evening and to my pleasant surprise, someone had called the guest house desk to inform about my bag. He got my name and reservation paper in the bag. the very next morning at 4 am, I took bus to reach Shri Nagar. the gentleman was a traffic police man and someone had deposited the bag at his post. Another incident that helps to restore our faith in humanity.

from Joshimath to Govindghat, there is gate system which means that you need to cross the gate before the time mentioned in the chart, as they stop the traffic from one side and traffic from another side is opened. The scenic beauty can mesmerise you. As we go towards the height, there are steep turns and slow driving is recommended.

At Govindghat, you can get rid of your extra baggage as there is locker room service provided by the local Gurudwara. You can also enjoy the meal and hot tea at the Gurudwara. The trekking from Govindghat to Ghangharia is around 13 kilometres. Ghangharia acts as a base camp for valley of flowers and the pilgrims of Govinddham. There are several small kiosks from where you can buy food items, cold drinks, snacks etc. Maggi Noodles which has become the national dish of Youth is easily available.

There are two legends about Govinddham, when Lakshman was enjured by Meghnaad and he was saved by sanjeevani booti, he came to Govinddham to regain his health. another legend is that Guru Govind Singh did tapasya in earlier life at this place. This is why there is a gurudwara which is one of the most holiest sites for Sikhs. There is a lake next to the Gurudwara where the temperature nears 0 degree celcius. the faithfuls take bath in the lake. the Gurudwara provides blankets to warm oneself, hot rice pudding and tea is provided. Nobody is allowed to stay there at night. the trek route is difficult than Valley of flowers, if you plan to go to Govinddham which is highly recommended, I suggest to do valley of flowers trek first so that the body is acclimitised to the climate and trek.

Ghangharia has a small Valley of flower office where you can watch an evening show in both english and hindi. The short film tells us about the history of the valley. You can even buy books etc at this place. The entry point of Valley is having a check post where names are registered so that nobody remains in the valley at night.

the route has an iron bridge over the river and the route is not easy to walk. While walking through the trek route, you see the high rock walls and it is recommeneded to leave early. you can get some packed food at Ghangharia.

after walk for 3-4 hours, walking time depends upon your physical stamina. When you reach the valley, the scenic panaroma around you is extra ordinary, very difficult to explain in words. while we walk through the valley, small water channels can be used to fill your water bottle. the water is pure and sweet. The pristine nature manifests itself in full grandeur.

we can spend hours meditating in the solitude, breathing the fresh air and this place has got the capability to detoxicate your mind. you realize why saints and Sandhus keep going to the Mountains to find the wisdom and tranquility.

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