HOW’S THE JOSH? HIGH SIR :-) a trek to the gorgeous – Valley of Flowers!!!

14100 feet

33 kilometers

close to about 15 waterfalls

3 days

2 major rivers

1 memorable trek – The Valley of Flowers

This is that kind of a post where the photos will do the talking over my words!

A minuscule section of the vast National Park!

The trek to the valley of flowers has been on our bucket list for ages but we were patiently waiting till our little human traveler turned 10! So at the beginning of this year, we had already planned this trek and it fell in place as it coincided with the long weekend in August.

The first leg of the trip by road is from Rishikesh/Haridwar/ Dehradun to Joshimath which is the base for many bigger longer treks. The natural beauty during this 10 hour drive sets the mood for the trek!

#Nofilter photos depicting the bluest skies, greenest trees, and magnificently sun kissed mountains!

Morning view – Joshimath

The second day was a shorter drive by road from Joshimath to Phoolna – the place where we would officially begin our trek.

The gorgeous Lakshman Ganga river!

The Trek from Phoolna to Ghangharia is about 12 kms and fairly doable with a challenging second half post the river crossing. The scenes make up for the tired legs. There are many dhabas serving the regular hillside specials that include maggi, paratha and the works.

Up close and center – Lakshman Ganga!

The river crossing

The easier part of the trek evident through our smiles!

After a long day we finally reached the basecamp for the Valley of Flowers trek – Ghangharia. Praying for good weather, we ate the staple food of the hills – aloo paratha and retired to bed.

The next day morning we were up and ready by 7 am for our trek to the Valley of Flowers. The trek was an ascent and steep with views of the river Pushpavati in the first half of the trek. Our motivated trek leader ensured we didnt lose our spirit. The weather gods were kind and had blessed us with fantastic weather which made the trek special!

Midpoint and looking at the glaciers in the far off mountains

Pushpavati river – postcard perfect

En route!

Drinking water source – straight from glaciers melting

Finally – Start of the National Park – Valley of Flowers

This was just the beginning, we wandered into the valley – purple, yellow and white being the dominant colours! It may seem normal and ‘regular’ at the beginning, however to think that these flowers bloom on their own with no human intervention and that the valley wears a manicured look at a height of 14100 feet , is certainly awe- worthy!

This wasn’t it, our ambitious trek leader wanted us to trek upto the river bed – about an additional 4 kms from the start of the trek. We were tired, we were done but he wouldn’t give up , he motivated us and ensured that we reached the river bed!

The sight that stood in front of us at the river bed suddenly seemed worth it all – like a postcard from Europe literally!

A little dip in the cold waters removed all the tiredness!

Basking in the sun!

Never too young for this!

After a good lunch by the river , it was time to trek back , with grit and determination and legs that were certainly less cooperative, a few hours later we were back at Ghagharia. I have little memory of what happened post that;-)

The last day of thetrek was the final descent, from Ghangharia to Phoolna, the fastest trek time of the 3 days considerign that gravity was doing it’s job pretty well.

33 kms later, sore leg muscles and headful of memories, we returned home, silently crossing out one more destination off our bucket list!