Into the valley of flowers ... Let the smell of wild flowers flow free thru' your blood

"Let me drink from the waters, where the mountain streams flood,
Let the smell of wild flowers flow free thru' my blood.
Let me sleep in the meadows, with the green grass and leaves;
Let me walk down the highway, with my brother and peace"
- Bob Dylan

A beautiful meadow located at an altitude of about 11,000 ft, covered with a carpet of myriad colours, surrounded by the dazzling snow clad Himalayas. Almost 300 species of wild flowers bloom here unhindered by mankind.  Life away from Life went in this season a trek to The Valley of flowers in the Uttaranchal Himalayas, this trek is one of the most varied and beautiful treks in the world. The valley of Flowers National Park starts from Ghangharia but the main valley starts after crossing the gorge and the stream starting from Nar Parvat, At the entrance of the Valley stands the snow-clad peak of Ratban Parvat, towards the left is Nar Parvat, which separates the Badrinath valley from this valley, and to the right is dense Birch forest on the hillsides.

THE EXPERIENCE
"Journey to the Valley of Flowers"
It was a long way up to the Valley of flowers. Our journey took us through a variety of experiences like the overflowing food supply in the August Kranti train, the rollercoaster like jeep ride, the sandy white river banks at Rishikesh, the sunrise amidst the snow capped peaks of Auli, the sight of the Ganga Aarti at Haridwar and the ‘freaky’ chaat and lassi, the buzzing market place at New Delhi, Mandira’s Baba talks, Prateek’s ridiculous jokes (if you don’t laugh with him you’ll at least laugh at him), Meenakshi’s dramatic conversation and our tour guide’s hideous laughter (not to mention the singing sessions) all of which ensured we had no opportunity to get bored!

But the highlight of our entire trip would definitely be the 10 hour long trek to Govinddham, which is base camp for the trek to the Valley of flowers. It is a path carved in the mountain, alongside the milky white waters of the Alakhnanda river and also leads to a pilgrimage site for Sikhs called Hemkund Sahib. The walk seemed never ending but with loads of endurance, multiple breaks and a little team effort we made it there by nightfall. At the end of this testing endeavor we Mumbaiites were unanimous on the feeling of….Phat gayi! 

The next morning due to some weather trouble we were confined to our hotel rooms where rounds of hot chai and uplifting guitar sessions (courtesy Prateek) kept us entertained. As we prayed for the rain gods to spare us, we sang to the tune of what was by now everybody’s favourite number – “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone”!

When the weather got better we ventured towards the enigma that was the Valley of flowers. We couldn’t go very far, but suffice to say, the mist in the mountains and the lush green forests, the waterfall gushing through the rocks and the chilly breeze, all felt like the stuff paradise is made of. This much beauty can be overwhelming, when you’ve lived in concrete jungles for most of your life! We sat there for a while pondering over nature’s enchanting beauty, gazing into the Valley of flowers in the distance, as it beckoned us to be back…. a second time.

 

 

- written by Himangi Kanodia