Can I combine Kedarnath with Valley of flowers tour.

Front Scene Kedarnath winters

Why Valley Of Flowers And Kedarnath Can’t Be In The Same Itinerary?

Valley of Flowers is an Indian national park located in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site which has a variety of flora and flourishes with endemic alpine flowers. Valley of Flowers is one of the most beautiful national park, situated at 3352 to 3658 meters above sea level. From the east, it is complemented by the untamed Nanda Devi National Park and Hemkund valley runs parallel in the south. However, these are not the only places that can form part of your Valley of Flowers itinerary. Badrinath and Kedarnath, two of the most important Hindu Pilgrimages, also aren’t very far from the valley of flowers.

Phlomis in Valley of flowers, peak flowering time is July and August.

In other words, the Valley of Flowers can be a multi-day trip from a few day trips. It entirely depends on the time when you are visiting the valley. For instance, Hemkund is accessible from May to September whereas, the best time to visit Valley of Flowers is July and August. In June, snow starts melting and all you will find there are seeds. Therefore, if you wish to take one tour for both, Hemkund and Valley of Flowers, July and August is the best time. However, both months are not compatible for Kedarnath.

Kedarnath has a cold climate for most part of the year. Best time to visit it is from May to June and September & October. July and August are the seasons of monsoon. It’s the time of rainfall, landslides, and hindrances. Trekking to Kedarnath is risky, if not impossible, during this time. Another mode to reach the pilgrimage is a helicopter. However, that service is not rendered during monsoon. On the other hand, if you choose to visit Kedarnath during its peak time, you will not be able to enjoy the Valley of Flowers.

Badrinath and Valley of Flowers can be kept in one basket. They both share common point from where journey should be started. The last motor-able point, Govindghat, is at equidistant from both the places. It is 20km away from Badrinath. Once you are back to Govindghat from Valley of Flowers, you can complete the Badrinath trip (to and from) in one day. Unlike Govindghat to Valley of Flowers route, the road to Badrinath is motor-able. You can take a bus or taxi as per your convenience.

Are you wondering, isn’t monsoon time unsuitable for Badrinath same as Kedarnath? Well, chances of heavy rain and landslide are equally there for Badrinath. However, this trip can be completed in a single day. You can leave early morning and come down before sunset. Like Kedarnath, you have to hardly walk.

All in all, Valley of Flowers and Badrinath come together in one package but not Kedarnath and the Valley of flowers !

Devkant Sangwan

Hemkund Sahib and Valley of flowers Opening date 2019

Ghangaria full of Snow. Ghangaira in winters

This year there has been above normal snowfall in Himalayas. This affected the opening date of Hemkund Sahib and valley of flowers. In 2019 the Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib are opening on 1st June. Earlier Hemkund Sahib used to open on 25th May. But this time there is lot of snow on trek. Indian army clears the trek route and officially the opening date is fixed at 1st June.

The Hemkund Sahib is opening on 1st June in 2019.

Hemkund Sahib Trust manager Sh Sewa Singh.

All women trek to valley of flowers

This post is written by Mrs. K Haritha and her group who has gone on the trek between 12th July, 2015 to 18th July, 2015.

“Me and my 7 friends, an all women group went for the trek between 12th to 18th amidst many apprehensions and warnings from loved ones and friends. Very early in the tour, we realized that all the fears were unfounded. Everything was beautifully organized and the weather would not have been more perfect. Cut off from the regular world, the trek to the valley and Hemkund Sahib was absolute bliss. Though we expected to see many more types of flowers in the valley(we were told that the flowering is delayed by 15 days this time), we were simply awed by the sights around. The natural flower blooms on the way to Hemkund sahib more than made up for any little disappointment that was there. In all, a life time experience. I am glad I did it.”