Some wise person has said that some of the best things in life are free. I had this realization during our trek to Valley of Flowers in Ghangaria - a World Heritage Site and Gorson Bugyal in Auli from the 24th to 29th July. Bugyals are alpine meadows in Uttarakhand. I and my father went for this Himalayan trek with indiahikes as a part of a group of 14 trekkers from different parts of India. This is supposed to be a monsoon trek as it is during the months of July and August when the flowers are in full bloom in the Valley of Flowers so there was no avoiding the rain for this trek. However, we were very lucky and only faced drizzle while trekking during a span of six days that we were in this area. We did follow the covid appropriate behavior during this entire journey.
We trekked for about 40 mountain kms in 4 days. But it was not just about going from point A to point B for the trek. Trekking was indeed a transformative experience for the mind, body and soul. Be it the breathtaking views of the Himalayas and the nature at its best, lessons in minimalism - managing with minimum clothes and accessories/simple food/life without internet and electricity, washing our own dishes, leaving Himalayas better than before by picking up litter on the Himalayas and avoiding packaged food there as a part of green trails initiative of indiahikes, making long lasting friendships with positive and like minded trekkers and the locals, carrying our own backpack for a stretch of the trek, pushing ourselves to pace ourselves with the group, meeting fitness goals and the list goes on.
I would like to thank indiahikes for the unforgettable experiences we had because of them, especially, Shefali - our trek coordinator, Siddharth - our trek leader, Yashpal bhai and Jayadeep bhai. For a trekking journey that started from Rishikesh-Govindghat-Ghangaria-Valley of Flowers-Ghangaria-Govindghat-Auli-Rishikesh, each one of us spent about INR 15000 including the fees charged by indiahikes, stay, food and travel for a total of six days. This is quite cheap considering that guided treks in other countries such as United States can get quite expensive.
I am sharing some photos and videos of this experience. We all started from Live Free Hostel near Laxman Jhula in Rishikesh early in the morning on Day 1, 24th July in a tempo traveller. We were quite excited with the views of fog over Gangaji.
We stopped on the way to watch the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers at Devaprayag which flow as Gangaji from here on.
We went past NIT Uttarakhand in Srinagar and halted for lunch at Karnaprayag.
We couldn't resist the urge to get down at one of the several waterfalls along the way. The water wasn't that cold here.
We stopped at Vishnuprayag where Dhauliganga merges into Alaknanda river. The weather started to get a bit chilly from this point.
We reached Govindghat in the evening and got an overview of the trek from our trek leader, Siddharth and the indiahikes team. Siddharth collected our medical certificates, checked our BP and also checked our SpO2 levels from here on a regular basis to make sure that we were doing fine at this high altitude. We could keep some of the stuff which we didn't need for the onward journey in the cloak room in the hotel here. Some of us also offloaded our luggage (less than 9 kg) to be filled in a bag (provided by indiahikes) to be carried by the mule. We had to really think hard about what to keep and what to leave here. Life is so different in the cities.
On Day 2, 25th July, after having herbal tea and yummy idli sambhar breakfast, we started our 10 km trek from Govindghat to Ghangaria, the base camp for Valley of Flowers trek.
Papa trekking with Jayadeep bhai.
Walking on a flat ground is quite different than trekking in the mountains. The path was well laid out here but the first km climb of the trek itself seemed like taking forever. We halted for catching our breath. The weather was quite humid so our jackets had to be taken off. We are all carrying our eco-bags around our waist to pick up any litter that we come across.
At the point of next break, we challenged each other to touch the top of the pole which I missed by about 6 inches. Kamlesh shot this video in slow motion mode which I had never tried before.
We had some of the best juicy sweet green plums offered by a cute little child along the way before halting for lunch at a dhaba by the river.
After having lunch, there was a steeper climb and I started feeling tired. We were told not to ask our trek leader about how much more was left :). We did play a game here to get refreshed here.
You can't miss these beehives on the way to Ghangaria.
There were fresh water sources to fill in our water bottles during our trek from time to time.
We took our final break at Ghangaria helipad for its scenic views before heading to our hotel. After reaching our hotel, we cooled down and then segregated the waste in the waste bins. I was quite tired by this time but was happy to know that I would only have to carry a day pack tomorrow for Valley of Flowers (VOF) trek on Day 3, 26th July.
We started our trek to VOF with amazing views of the Laxmanganga river waterfall.
The mist from the Pushapawati river was so refreshing.
Another view of the river.
After a steep climb, we halted to some gorgeous views before entering the VOF.
The valley trail was quite flat and scenic.
Our goal was to reach the end point of the VOF trek which is the Pushpawati river bed about 6 km from Ghangaria. We have to reach there by 1 pm to have a chance to leave the check post of VOF by 5 pm. We had a choice to not go all the way if we were tired but for some reason, I seemed to get the strength to reach there by 12:30 pm and the mesmerizing views made it all worth it. Yashpal bhai had brought the Indian flag which we raised after feeling so accomplished to have reached till the end.
We woke up to a beautiful morning in Ghangaria with the views of Tipra glacier.
Day 4, 27th July, we headed back to Govindghat from Ghangaria. Trekkers are suggested not to take a bath in Ghangaria as the water is quite cold and they may fall ill. I did take the bath on Day 4 to feel refreshed and am doing great! The descent for the most part made it much easier this time. Came across some moss growing over the trees, which looked surreal to me.
The mules carrying the bags for those of us who opted for offloading.
We stopped midway at the same dhaba by the river to have some special tandoori roti with aloo subji and rhododendron juice.
On Day 5, 28th July, we had to leave for Auli from Govindghat. We had some great morning views at Govindghat.
Auli is known for international skiing events during winter time. This is one of the ski slopes.
Some of us took a chair lift for 0.5 km to experience the bird's eye views of the bugyal and the breeze. A pic with Savitha Akka and Vrushaliji. You can see a lake in the background where ice skating happens in the winter time.
Some of the fellow trekkers on another route. The Gorson Bugyal trail is not as strenous as VOF.
I really hail the green trails initiative of indiahikes which sets them apart from the rest. Our trekking group collected about 10 kg of litter in total. I wish we can find a biodegradable way of packaging design to solve this problem.
I joined Papa on the mule for some part of the Bugyal trek.
Trek through the forest before reaching the Van Devta, called as Padiyar Devta locally, temple in the forest.
And finally, we reach the Gorson Bugyal summit! We had trekked on a meadows trail in Switzerland before and I used to think that such meadows might not be there in India. This is so good that I don't feel like going back. The weather, the views, the peace...Some more pics in the Bugyal.
Some of our fellow trekkers who trekked all the way happy to reach the summit.
Here is a pic of the trekker group at the summit.
We returned to our hotel in Auli after this. I trekked down with Siddharth and due to the fog, we did have some difficulty to find our way back to the starting point of the trail. We reached our hotel in the evening. This is the view from there.
We celebrated Gurpreet's surpise birthday party at midnight before going to bed. We started the next morning, Day 6, 29th July for Rishikesh and reached there by the evening without much difficulty. We were lucky not to have been stuck in traffic jams due to landslides. We had a great time playing dumb charades and twenty questions game in the tempo traveller. This was one of the most memorable trips of my life. Hope to do another trek again some time soon!
