Govindghat is a small hamlet on National Highway 58 between Joshimath and Badrinath in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is situated at a height of 5500 feet and surrounded by huge almost 90 degree peaks. These peaks are almost 800 meters to 1000 meters high form the level of Govindghat. Govindghat is situated on the bank of Alaknanda River. There has been too much encroachment in the river in the past, people has made parking lots very near to the river, almost in the river. Govindghat is the base camp for Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib Trek. People from all over the globe come for these treks and they stay at Govindghat for at least one night.
Floods in Govindghat in 2013.
The massive floods occur in 2013 in the state of Uttarakhand, India. These floods had a very bad impact on Govindghat. Almost 90 % of the hotels and parking was washed off. The lonely bridge over Alaknanda was also washed off by floods. A bridge have been rebuilt but of very low quality. Till date the latest news is that a motor bridge has been approved and will be built by June 2014. A motor-able road has also been approved to be built till Pulna Village. Pulna village is 3 kilometers from Govindghat on the trek towards Ghangaria.
Hotels in Govindghat
There are very few hotels left here after the floods in Uttarakhand. So we hope that most of the pilgrims and nature lovers will stay in Joshimath instead of staying here on their first day of the itinerary. But 4-5 hotels are still left on Badrinath road. They are all basic hotels but most of them have electric geysers fitted in their toilets. Hotel Badreesh and Hotel Bhagat are nice among them.
How to reach Govindghat.
If you are planning to go to Valley of Flowers or Hemkund Sahib Trek then you need to reach Govindghat. It is accessible by road only. It is 275 kilometers from Haridwar and it takes almost 10-12 hours of road journey along with Alaknanda river to reach Govindghat. So you need to start very early from Haridwar or Rishikesh.