The Valley of Flowers is an Indian National Park that is nestled in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Both the National Parks complements each other and are listed in UNESCO’s World’s heritage sites. Valley of Flowers is perched at a maximum altitude of 3500m above sea level in the north Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. The Valley of Flowers is a land where you will see thousands of endemic rare species of flowers. The National park is surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. The trek to the beautiful valley is on the bucket list of every trekker. The picturesque valley has one side a serene river and on the other side snow-capped mountains.
The trek is easy to slightly moderate and can be done in 5-6 days. The trek starts from Joshimath and leads to Govindghat which is the basecamp for the trek. Valley of offers captivating views of the snow-clad peaks, alpine trees and a wide variety of flora and fauna. Apart from the colorful and wildflowers, you will also get a chance to spot some endangered animals and birds during the trek like snow leopard, Asiatic black bear, brown bear, and bearded vulture, Himalayan monal, pheasants, etc. The tranquility, incredible landscapes, great scenic views of waterfalls on the way, and blossoms all around.
The trek offers a great chance to visit the holy shrine of Hemkund Sahib. An easy to moderate trek from Ghangaria village will take to a high altitude alpine lake Hemkund.
Hemkund Sahib is perched at an elevation of 4,633m in the Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. It is devoted to the tenth Sikh guru, Sri Guru Govind Singh Ji. The star-shaped Gurudwara is surrounded by 7 mountain peaks and the mighty glacial lake Hemkund. You will also spot Brahmkamal near the lake which is a rare species of flowers grows only at an altitude of more than 10,000ft.
The holy place only open from May to October. Hemkund gets inaccessible from October to April due to heavy snow.
