Most of the people coming to Valley of Flowers are first timer trekkers. It becomes very important to know how difficult is Valley of Flowers trek. In this page we will discuss the important statistics to know the difficulty of the trek. Valley of Flowers trek requires one to trek for at least four days and if you want to go to the valley for two days than an extra day is also required. We can divide the trek in three regions.
- Trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria
- Trek between Ghangaria and Hemkund Sahib
- Trek between Ghangaria and Valley of Flowers
Trek between Govindghat and Ghangaria
Govindghat is the last motor-able point on the trip. It is at 5500 feet and Ghangaria is at 10200 feet above sea level. You need to gain height of approximately 4700 feet. Total trek is of 15 km which earlier used to be 14 km but after the floods in 2013 the trek has been re-routed and now it is 15 km. The whole trek is well defined except at some places it is very raw. Between Govindghat and Ghangaria you can easily get ponies, palanquin, porters and helicopter. So if you don’t want to trek you can use these options. We also recommend that if you are not sure of your strength you should conserve your energy by not trekking and using other options. Because you will be going to the valley next day. You cannot rely on helicopter as flying of helicopter is totally dependent upon weather conditions and during the peak time of the valley generally the weather is not clean.
Same way while coming back from Ghangaria to Govindghat you can use other options or may trek according to your wish.
Trek between Ghangaria and Hemkund Sahib
This is a steep trek of 6 km. Hemkund Sahib is at a height of 13500 feet and you will be gaining approximately 3300 feet in a trek of 6 km. The trek is well defined but has round stones on it so you should keep looking down while trekking to avoid any injury. Helicopter is not available here but other options are available. You can hire a pony at least while going uphill.
Trek between Ghangaria and Valley of Flowers
This is not as steep as the altitude in the valley ranges from 10500 to 11200 feet. Moreover you will be trekking very slow as you will be watching and admiring natural beauty. Generally this trek is not so tiring. Ponies are not allowed to enter the valley so you need to either trek or hire a porter or palanquin.
