Smart travelers try to pick a destination for their vacation that will provide something for everyone in your family or group of friends! A place that can give a pause to your whirring minds, strive for a happier heart and charged up physic. A multi-day journey that offer variety into your holiday because most of us feel better if we have some structure to our time off.

We have announced new tours that will be available this coming Summer. This is your chance to visit some of the undiscovered beauties of India and have a holiday that is completely new and exciting. For those of you who enjoy active holidays this is a good opportunity to get a change. Our tours are one week long and we welcome people from all walks of life.

Valley of Flowers is undoubtedly energetic, exotic and beautiful location, so it is worth spending more than just a couple of days with your family and loved ones. With much to do in Valley of Flowers, we have picked a few inviting imperatives spotlighted here.

Serene and virgin nature of this botanical garden” Valley of Flowers” brings forth the absolute sense of freedom in you as the promised land is primarily celebrated for its glamorous efflorescence! Many uncommon flowers like Brahma Kamal, Geranium, Marsh Marigold, Prinula, Asters, Lilium, Ranunculus, Morina, Impatiens, Bistorta can be seen in abundance here. Calm but liveliest mornings would fill your kids with nectar of life, chasing birds would surely tickle their alleviated excitements.

These heights into The Himalayas witness heaven where time stands still. Leisure lies in every single step of walking and trekking. Far ahead of the civilization, you, part of a primeval nature and have adventure in mystical peaks of this wonderland! Merrily marching by the banks of River Pushpawati would pour gallons of pleasure that no thoughts could over power the presence of the moment in you. A devoted visit to famous temple of Badrinath ji and Hemkunth Sahib would fill the sacred space in one’s heart.

This world heritage has also been long known for its intense beauty surrounded by over 400 inconceivable breeds of plants and animals. To experience the unique corollary of this place at the countryside is what allures many travellers of all ages. It would be truly overwhelming memories that being together with your kids and elders in the family, you can cherish being with this Perfect Creation of God.

One can involve in rich exposure to photography. The experts would present a comprehensive view of nature, beliefs of locals and related mythology and traditions. Moreover, trekking in Valley of Flowers is fairly an easy rut and can be achieved with a gentle fitness level. Helicopters or porter services for the convenience of elderly people and kids are added features of this destination. And, obviously, the importance of Dhabas is well acclaimed which are the best stopovers on the pathways.

It can be your lucky chance to spend time just chilling and talking to your family. You can often make good decisions about your future and build closer ties when you have time just to be together and chant about your feelings.

Valley of flowers opened in 2014 at the end of season

All the bridges and trek has been built

Valley of flowers was finally opened to public on 4th October, 2014 after 16 months of floods on Uttarakhand. The flood washed off most of the bridges connecting Govindghat and Valley of Flowers. The first bridge was at Govindghat itself, now the PWD (Public Works Department) has constructed a huge motor able bridge. This bridge was completed by September 2nd week. You can see the picture of the bridge below.

Another important bridge was constructed inside the Valley of Flowers near Ghangaria Village. This bridge was completed by end of July, 2014. But even then the Valley of Flowers could not be opened due to the fact that the trek beyond this bridge was also washed off for about a kilometer. The trek has to be rerouted and new trek has to be constructed. The matter was stuck in senior officials of PWD and forest department.

Will valley of flowers open in 2015

The answer is yes, as the valley of flowers was opened to public for 6 days at the end of season in 2014. Finally the forest department got the budget in end of August, 2014 and the construction of new trek started in September, 2014. Local villagers were assigned the contract of construction of the trek. They worked very hard and completed the work by end of September, 2014. The forest department opened the Valley of Flowers for general public on 4th October, and 11 people entered on the first day. Valley of Flowers remained opened for 6 days and it was closed on 9th October. Following are some of the pictures of the new trek route in the Valley of Flowers. The new trek is 1km longer than the old one. You need to go higher and then come down to reach valley. Following picture taken from way to Hemkund Sahib will explain it.

As lack of Oxygen is very common at high altitude areas. But before it becomes severe need to know about the remedies.

Symptoms of altitude sickness

Drowsiness
Shortness of breath upon exertion
Nausea or vomiting
Persistent rapid pulse
Loss of appetite
Fatigue or weakness
Peripheral edema (swelling of hands, feet, and face)
Insomnia
Dizziness or light-headedness
Pins and needles

Remedies for altitude sickness

1. You need to drink plenty of water as altitude sickness may be due to dehydration as the lungs lose high amount of water vapours at higher altitudes. If you are losing water due to perspiration then maintain a proper electrolyte balance by having some sports drinks.

If you are having headache then have one litre water and take the medicine named acetaminophen (Tylenol). If your headache disappears rapidly then you are not suffering from altitude sickness its just dehydration.

2. Acclimatizing means to get used to a specific climate. It takes some time to Acclimatize in a new climate. Here are some steps to Acclimatize fast. Well the “golden rule” for high altitude Acclimatizing is climb high and sleep low- Once you’ve made your way up past 3,000 metres (10,000 feet), do not ascend more than 300 metres (1,000 feet) per day to sleep. You can climb as high as you want, just make sure that you come back to a base camp that’s no more than 300 m (1,000′) higher than your previous night’s sleeping elevation. This is a useful guideline to keep in mind if you’re driving to a high altitude, as well.



3. If you are not having the enough time for golden rule. Like if you are flying to a destination which is thousand feet above the departure site. Then you can reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness after reaching there.

   Simulated altitude equipmentthat produce hypoxic (reduced oxygen) air. Portable hyperbaric chambers are especially useful if inclement weather or other factors could make the climb or drive down to base camp impossible.

4. Acetazolamide(Diamox), medication will be very useful as it’ll reduce the recovery time to half and don’t drink alcohol and drink a plenty of water.



5. Coca leaves can be chewed to deal with mild altitude sickness.



6. Ginkgo Biloba is fossil tree and an inexpensive herbal supplement. You can use 120 mg per day to reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness.



7. Gamow bag is a portable plastic pressure bag inflated with a foot pump. It can reduce the effective altitude by 5,000 feet.



8. Take it easy. You need not to push yourself too much. Don’t try to breathe too fast and too quick. Resting at the altitude at which you became ill is often the most effective remedy for altitude sickness. You’ll usually feel better in 1-2 days.



9. If you are moving in a car never look in to the valley. As you are not habitual of seeing this kind of scenes. So when you’ll look down in to the valley it’ll look very deep and if you’ll be looking into the Valley when the car is moving it can be resulted in to vomiting whenever you look in to the valley from the car.

Kindly consult your doctor before taking the above medicines. We Blue Poppy Holidays are not responsible for any harm or side effects

Hemkund Sahib will open on 21st September, 2013.

Just returned back from Govindghat and a good news that Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara will officially open on 21st September, 2013 and will close on 10th October, 2013. I went to Govindghat in second week of September and just returned few days back. The bridge over Alaknanda at Govindghat is already construed and ponies are crossing it comfortably.

At Govindghat the scene was full of destruction the river bed which increased at the time of flood also went to its normal height and now the river is flowing like a small stream. The construction work of trek was in full swing. Now the trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is constructed since there was no damage to the trek between Ghangaria and Hemkund Sahib the trek between Govindghat and Hemkund Sahib is open now.

There were some vehicles which were parked at Govindghat but fortunately they didn’t washed off in the flood. There is no hope of getting constructed a road to these vehicles. So people are coming getting their vehicles disassembled into parts and taking those parts to the motorable road and getting them assembled again to save their vehicle.

While coming back from Govindghat we stopped at Vishnuprayag where Dhauliganga River meets Alaknanda River. I was with my wife and Mr. Raghuvir Chauhan, fortunately Mr. Raghuvir Chauchan saw some beautiful Deer on the Hathi Parvat. We were really festinated and saw them for a while.

We also saw some beautiful birds also on our trip.

So finally a good news has come that the trek from Govindghat to Ghangaria is OK and soon the bridge over Pushpawati River near Ghangaria will also be built and we can have access to Valley of Flowers. But it sure that this year we will not be able to enter the Valley of Flowers. It is also true that next year we will definitely go to Valley of Flowers. I will go to Hemkund Sahib in first week of October if anyone is interested to come along with me can contact me.

Trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is cleared.

After a long time I am happy to announce a good news that the trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is officially cleared for human beings. But ponies can not cross River Alaknanda at Govindghat using present bridge. Moreover, there is no road/trek from NH-58 to the bridge. Officials hope that everything will be done by 10th September, 2013. The present bridge at Govindghat also needs to be enhanced so that ponies can also cross over. It is very important that ponies cross over because almost all the supplies to Ghangaria are taken over ponies. I have returned from Ghagaria recently and some of the pictures taken enroot are presented below.

The trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is washed off at many places and I need to trek through the river bed or from forest at some places. I went to Ghangaria 13th August, 2013. Now I have learnt from a local that trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is fully operational. It means we can easily go up to Hemkund Sahib at any time.

Trip to valley of flowers may be possible in 2013

There is high possibility of accessing valley of flowers in September 2013. The trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria is constructed.

Earlier we used to cross River Pushpawati somewhere 3 kilometers after crossing Bhyundar Village but now the trek after Bhyundar village is almost washed off so now a new trek is made from the other side of the River Pushpawati right from Bhyundar Village itself and a bridge is constructed on Pushpawati River at Bhyundar Village.

Ghangaria is completely deserted as you can see in the picture below.

While coming back from Ghangaria I saw a bear on the other side of River Pushpawati.

Following is the video of this Bear.

After considering all the news and reports of Valley of Flowers, Ghangaria, Govindghat we can make out that the trek to Valley of Flowers may open by 15th September, the trek to Hemkund Sahib will open by 10th September. There is no official announcement by Gurudwara Committee to reopen Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara. But for nature lovers there are many flowers at Hemkund Sahib Lake and nearby areas. A local has recently come back from Hemkund Sahib and told me that he saw lots of beautiful Blue Poppies, Braham Kamal, Bistorta Affinis and many more. In the second half of September the number of flowers at Hemkund Sahib is much more than the number of flowers in Valley of Flowers. So now we can plan for Valley of Flowers trip in September and if we are lucky we can enter valley, otherwise we can definitely go up to Hemkund Sahib and witness the beauty of nature.

After floods and disaster in Uttrakhand in June 2013 this was my first trip to Uttrakhand. All of our tours to Valley of Flowers got cancelled. A family of four from Paris showed interest in going for a trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal. We were to start on 4th August but since 5th August was Shivratri and Haridwar was too much crowded. Moreover the National Highway – 58 was closed between Delhi and Haridwar due to Kawarias. Kawarias are people who take water from Ganges at Haridwar and bring it to their native places by foot. They occupy full National Highway for about a week. We postponed our trip from 4th August to 6th August.

Trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal – Day 1

We started at 6.00 am on August 6, 2013 from Haridwar. Today our aim was to reach village Sari by evening. Sari is the base point for trek to Deoria Tal. By 11.30 am we reached Srinagar. We saw some evidence of the flood. There were houses full of mud. You can see in following pictures.

We encountered with a land slide at 2.00 pm but it was soon cleared.

In the evening we reached at Nandprayag where a massive boulder blocked the road and it was declared by BRO (Border Road Organization) Officials that the road will be cleared by tomorrow only as a blast is needed to clear the road.

Nandprayag is the confluence of Alaknanda and Nandakani. We decided to stay at Nandprayag and in the evening we went up to the confluence.

At around 9.00 pm we heard a huge sound of blast and the road was clear.

Trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal – Day 2

Next day we started at 7.00 am after breakfast from Nandprayag. From Chamoli a road separates to Ukhimath. Village Sari and Chopta are on the way. This road is generally used by pilgrims for going from Badrinath to Kedarnath.

After the disaster we did not see a single tourist apart from our group during our whole trip.

We had tea at a small teashop somewhere 15 kilometers from Chamoli. After taking tea we again started our journey to Sari village. Following are some of the pictures taken on the way.

By 3.00 pm we reached village Sari and had lunch in local house. After lunch we started our trek to Deoria Tal.

We reached Deoria Tal in the evening and erected our tents near the lake (Tal). Soon our dinner was ready and after dinner we straight way went to sleep.

Trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal – Day 3

Next day we went for local trekking in the nearby forest. We saw some foxes near our tents.

Trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal – Day 4

Next day we started for Chopta. We had breakfast at Deoria Tal and lunch in home at village Sari. At Chopta we stayed in swiss tents it was very beautiful location.

Next day after breakfast we started Tungnath Temple. The trek to Tungnath starts from Chopta it is a very beautiful trek following are some of the pictures taken on the way.

Trek to Chopta, Tungnath and Deoria Tal – Day 5 and 6

By 3.00 pm we came back to Chopta and after lunch we started our journey backward by road. We had night halt in a hotel somewhere 15 kilometers before Chamoli. Next day early morning we started and reached Haridwar by evening.

After the June disaster this was my first visit to Uttrakhand. There were almost no tourists in Uttrakhand. Almost everyone is scared of going to Uttrakhand, but I did not find anything of which one should be scared of. Moreover, all of my trek members, myself and my wife all reach back safely without any harm. The disastrous event like this happen very rarely at I do not hope it to happen again in my life time. The Television Channels show only the negative part. I accept that the road in Kedarnath Valley is damaged badly but the road for Chopta, Valley of Flowers is OK. The natural beauty is intact at these places.

In September I will be going to Kuari Pass If you are interested you can come with me.

I will be posting another post soon as I have been to Ghangaria recently.