Valley of Flowers is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002, which has made it immensely popular. The best time to visit is during the monsoon season in July and August, when the peak flower bloom happens. I did this trek from Aug 6 - 11, 2024 with Trek the Himalayas (TTH). This was the second trek of my intense three weeks in the Himalayas and immediately followed the Kashmir Great Lakes trek . During the trek it rained almost every day, but that did not dampen the beautiful experience. In addition to hiking in the Valley of Flowers, got to explore Rishikesh, Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara during this trip. Day 0: August 5, 2024 . The starting point for the trek is Rishikesh. Took a morning flight from Srinagar to Delhi and after a brief stop, a second flight from Delhi to Dehradun. The prepaid taxi from the airport to Rishikesh worked out well. Driving through the Rajaji National Forest was a bonus during the quick 30-minute ride. Reached Ho...
Kashmir Great Lakes Trek (KGL) has been on my bucket list for many years. It is known as the most beautiful trek in India, definitely one of the most popular. After lots of research and prep work, finally did the trek from July 29 - August 4 this year, along with four of my hiking buddies from the Bay Area. It was a dream come true - spectacular hiking with wonderful friends! The trailhead for the KGL trek is near Sonmarg. We carried only small daypacks during the 7-day trek. All supplies and luggage are carried by mules/horses. We had a support staff of 6 (guides, cook, etc.) for our private group of 5 hikers. Under overcast skies and the fog rolling in, we hiked past these shepherd huts at 9000 ft. These huts are used only in the summer months by the Kashmiri Gujjars (gypsies). A few hours into the hiking on the first day, we had a heavy downpour and the raingear came out. The locals were happy to see the first decent rainfall after a dry spell of 2 months. An auspicious start to our...