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.
Lifeaway 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 endeavour 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
more exciting photographs of the trip by Siddhanta
Pinto can be viewed at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/yosid_myman/my_photos
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all photographs by Siddhanta Pinto
more
exciting photographs of the trip by Siddhanta Pinto can be viewed at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/yosid_myman/my_photos