One of the most popular & the oldest known treks, the Valley of Flowers, is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Spread across an area of around 87.5 square miles, these unadulterated charming meadows are home to umpteen varieties of alpine flora, including flowering plants and medicinal herbs. The Indian Government declared the Valley of Flower a National Park in 1980. Later in 2002, it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rich biodiversity. It’s also part of the Nanda Devi Biosphere. The credibility of this place makes it’s on the bucket list of trekkers around the world. The trek offers spectacular photogenic sights of the Western Himalayas. The valley is home to around 500 varieties of flowers including the precious and rare Himalayan Brahmakamal.
One of the best off-beat locations in India is appropriate for every tourist (group/solo) to spend their vacations. The trek starts from Govindghat and takes the hikers through terraced fields, green patches, cascading waterfalls, and the Rocky Mountains to finally reach the flowery meadows of the Valley. The nature lover in you will find the presence of the gigantic Nanda Devi mountain peak, the second-highest peak in India, complementing the utter soft vistas of the Valley of Flowers!
What to Expect –
Picturesque Settings – The Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib are picture-perfect natural beauty. The valley is filled with flowers and is guarded by snow-clad mountains of Nanda Devi Range with the serene Pushapavati River flowing through the middle of it. Perfect set for photographers.
Thrilling Experience – Though Valley of Flowers is an easy trek, don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. Be ready for some wet and slippery mountain trails hard enough to give your soul a thrilling encounter.
Journey of Faith – The valley of flower trek allows you to visit Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib and while trekking on its trails you will appreciate the incredible journey of faith undertaken by humans. Volunteers sweeping every section of the trail will surely grab your attention. Living up to their traditions, you will find people working at Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara in freezing temperatures offering you hot tea, blankets & langar Prasad. Despite your belief & religion, you will be in awe of their selfless service & respect for people of all faith.
Land of Brahmakamal – Brahma Kamal the King of Himalayan Flowers and the state flower of Uttarakhand, grows only above 3000 M. While trekking to Hemkund Sahib you will witness several Brahmakamals blooming on both sides of the trail.
The 36 km-long trek will be covered in four days, excluding the road travel days. You will trek approximately 6 hours every day, gaining an altitude of 2000 ft approx. daily.
The trek suits all kinds of trekkers and is an ideal one for beginners. Though rated easy, the trek will challenge your endurance on the steep ascent to Hemkund Sahib. Along with the thrilling experience of trekking amidst the Picturesque landscapes, the trail allows you to dive into hues of beautiful flowers, photography, and village walks.
Though classified as an easy trek, the Valley of Flowers trek takes you up to an altitude of
14,100 ft. at Hemkund Sahib from 6,234 ft. at Govind Ghat. The altitude gain is huge and requires basic fitness and good cardiovascular endurance. The trek is a perfect one for beginners.
Fitness Benchmark – You should be able to
Age Limit
The Valley of Flowers trek has well-laid trails frequented by pilgrims. The gradual ascents and well-placed campsites with easy exit points mark it safe terrain-wise. Few sections are challenging but none that require technical assistance.
The 38 Km-long trek will be covered in four days. You will trek approximately 6 hours every day gaining an altitude of 2000 ft. approx. daily. The trek is easy. But the hard climb to Hemkund Sahib may cause you altitude sickness. You should be alert for AMS Symptoms like headache, dizziness, and nausea. Inform your trek leader immediately, if you feel ill or uncomfortable.
To enjoy the glorious views of this majestic trek, you should have a good fitness level. If you are not meeting the desired fitness benchmark, please use this fitness schedule to improve.
You need at least 1-2 months to build the endurance and strength to do this trek and the preparation needs commitment.
Haridwar is the gateway to the Garhwal region, lying in the foothills of the Himalayas, it is a big city of Uttarakhand, popular among both tourists and pilgrims.
By Air
Dehradun City, located 48 Km from Haridwar, is well connected by flight to Delhi. The Jolly Grant Airport of Dehradun has a daily flight schedule from Delhi. We recommend you to reach Haridwar one day early if coming by flight.
By Train
Haridwar has an excellent rail network connecting the city with other major cities in the country.
By Bus
Regular bus services are available from Delhi to Haridwar, from Delhi ISBT Kashmiri Gate. From Delhi to Haridwar, it will be a 250 Km drive, which takes around 5 hours.
The Valley of Flowers National Park opens for tourists from June onwards. The trail remains open for trekking from June to September, for the rest of the year, the trail is covered with snow and due to harsh weather conditions trekking is not feasible.
Though the valley opens in June, it starts blooming from Mid-July onwards. From July to September, it offers the best views. The valley changes its shade throughout these three months.
July – The Valley is least crowded in July and begins to bloom offering lush green virgin beauty. You will find a few melting snow patches. After mid-July, the monsoon picks up and the peak flowering seasons begin offering the favorite period to visit the valley of flowers.
August – The beginning of the month witnesses a huge number of flowers with a good amount of rain. The crowd gets increasing, especially on weekends. Offering the best views, august is the favorite month to visit the valley of flowers. Look for the precious Brahmakamal while climbing to Hemkund Sahib, it only grows around the altitude of 14,000 feet.
September – Flowers will start drooping but due to the retreating monsoon, you will be able to see the clear skies and mountain views. The months will be filled with the crowd of pilgrims visiting Gurudwara of Hemkund Sahib.
Monsoon begins in Uttarakhand from July onwards. So the entire trail will receive light showers which will turn intense after the early afternoon. We aim to complete the day’s trek before that.
Despite, Monsoon season, the region is quite cold. Expect a minimum temperature of 3-5 degrees at night. The day temperature varies between 8-15 degrees based on precipitation and cloud cover.
Trekking in July you may find a few snowy patches. However, other times the snow would have melted. You will only see the snow-clad mountain peaks.
ATM – The last ATM is in Joshimath. However, we recommend you withdraw cash before you start your road journey from Haridwar/Rishikesh as ATMs may run out of cash.
Electricity – Available at all the camps.
Mobile Network – BSNL Network with good connectivity available till Govindghat. In Ghangeria, you may find Jio & BSNL 2G services, but connectivity is poor.
The valley of flower is primarily a monsoon trek and so you have to prepare accordingly. The ‘must carry’ list is different for monsoon trek from other treks as you need to carry rain gear like a poncho, rain cover for the backpack, etc. The detailed list will be shared with you by mail.
In the mountains, the rain intensity increase after 2 PM. So we ensure that we do our sightseeing at Valley of Flowers in the first half of the day and head back to our stay by early afternoon.
Yes, it is absolutely safe. Women will be sharing the tent/rooms with each other. In case you are the only woman on the trek, you will be given a separate tent/room.
In case of a medical emergency, the nearest hospital is the Army Hospital at Joshimath. It is around an hour’s drive from Govindghat.
Throughout the trek, we will be staying in hotels/Homestays on sharing basis. The toilet facility is available in hotels/homestays. You need to carry toiletry and essential to maintain personal hygiene on the trek.
We follow a pre-decided menu for trekkers considering the nutritional requirement. We serve vegetarian food along with eggs. Packed lunch will be provided while you are trekking.
Yes, you can. Just inform your trek leader and he/she will make the necessary arrangement. This will be a chargeable service.
The Badrinath Temple is only 25 Km from Govindghat. At this time of year, the temple is near-empty. You may get a chance to spend more than an hour in the main temple and be part of the Aarti. However, you need to stay alert about the road beyond Govindghat as it is unpredictable and gets closed often being the landslide zone.
Professional Trek Leader and Guide will be accompanying you throughout the trek. Valley of Flowers is an easy trek that doesn’t need any technical assistance and equipment.
You can download the same from here. Also, we will be sharing the essential item list in the mail along with the invoice.
Yes, you can leave your extra baggage at the Hotel / Homestay in Govind Ghat. Don’t leave valuable items like cash, mobile phones, cameras, etc. in the baggage.
Advisable is to carry only what is necessary on the trek.
Please read the detailed cancellation policy here.