In September 2005, I spend around 12 days with my family trekking in Himalayas. It was mostly visiting religious places. We trekked more than 120 km. After seeing some Ladhak photos, I felt it was high time to get rid of laziness and post at least some photos from that memorable trip. Taken from a very rudimentary camera, these are not great photo, but I like them because by looking at them I can visualize and smell the great Himalayas.
Trek from Gangotri to Gomukh
From Gangotri, it is 14 km trek to reach Bojwasa, where there are some modest places to spend night. From Bhojwasa, Gomukh is another 4 km at the height of 4000m from sea level. The trek is more of mental challenge than physical because you have to cross many mountains and sometime you can see the trek 1-2 km ahead of as well as behind you, and you might not find any human being. So, you might be alone in that 2-4 km stretch! You will see all sorts mountains on the way: with some greenery, with dry rocks, dusty, or icy at a distance. I am not capable of capturing the beauty of the trek in words, photos or movie. It is an experience. Another 8 km from Gomukh is Tapovan, where I didn't go. Hopefully, I will go in future...
Trek from Gaurikund to Kedarnath
Trek to Kedarnath is physically more challenging but there are places to stop on the way. Better to go off-season to avoid crowd (and horses). The effort was worth it for the sheer beauty of watching Kedarnath temple with Himalaya peaks at the background.
Valley of Flowers
20 km before Badrinath, there is a place called Govind Ghat. You need to trek for around 13 km from there to reach Govind Dham or Ghangharia. Vally of Flowers is 3,5 km from Ghangharia. It is a beautiful place, and a UNESCO world heritage site. People say that every two months, season changes and you see different types of flowers in each season.
Trek from Govind Ghat to Hem Kund Saheb
Hemkund Saheb is around 8 km from Govind Ghat (Ghangharia), the trek is full with greenery but physically tough and quite steep. But you get to walk along glacier and clouds. It can get highly misty making the path slippery. Hem Kund Saheb is at the height of 4300 m, and one of the three most important Sikh shrines.
