How to plan your travel to Valley of Flowers Trek?
Planning a trek to the valley of flowers and wondering how to start planning it from your city? Here is a quick guide on how you can plan your trek to Valley of Flowers from anywhere in India.
The Trek to Valley of Flowers starts from Poolna which is the last motorable point. As Poolna is a very small village people generally plan a night stay at Either Govindghat or Joshimath before the start of the trek.
The Searching Souls provide their trekkers a stay at Joshimath as the hotels in Joshimath are much better. So basically to start this trek you need to reach Joshimath. As the public transport to Joshimath is not easy, most of the organizations will provide a pick up and drop service from Rishikesh which is the nearest railway station. You need 6 days to finish this trek from Rishikesh. On day 1 we pick you up around 7:00 AM from Dehradun and 8:30 AM from Rishikesh. On day 6 we drop you back around 8:00 PM at Rishikesh and 9:30 at Dehradun. If you are planning your return journey on the same day a couple of buffer hours are recommended.
So in a nutshell you need to plan your journey till Rishikesh and after that TheSearchingSouls will take care of your entire journey.
Now here is a step by step guide on how you can reach Rishikesh from your City
- Option 1 is a direct flight to Dehradun airport which is just 20 kms from Rishikesh. The chances of getting a morning flight are rare as Dehradun is a small airport so we recommend flying a day earlier to Jolly Grant airport and take a night stay in Rishikesh. Prepaid cabs are easily available from the airport. The pick ups from Rishikesh are generally done from Tapovan which is the heart of the city and has a lot of stay options with a wide range of budget. This option may be a bit expensive but saves a lot of time and you can even explore Rishikesh coming a day earlier. This also gives you time to relax for the upcoming Trek. Kindly note if you are flying to Dehradun Airport then take Rishikesh as your pick up point as Dehradun airport is closer to Rishikesh.
Option 2 is Taking a direct train to Either Dehradun or Rishikesh. Pickups are available from both the places. As pick ups are done around 7 AM from Dehradun and 8:00 AM from Rishikesh you need to plan your train travel accordingly. In case the trains from your cities arrive late you can stay back in Rishikesh. In case you don’t have a train to Rishikesh or Dehradun from your city, you can even look for Haridwar which is just an hour drive from Rishikesh.
Option 3 is flying to Delhi and then taking an overnight bus or train to either Rishikesh or Dehradun. This might fit into your budget but long travelling hours may exhaust you a bit.
Option 4 If you are an adventurer and a person who loves long drives you can drive your own car till Joshimath and on the next day leave it at Govindghat parking while you enjoy your trek. The drive from Rishikesh to Joshimath is generally safe but can be a bit tiring. Avoid driving at night as it is not considered safe and you may face many police checkpoints which may not allow you to pass
These are the ways generally people plan their travel when they are planning for the valley of flowers trek.
Now talking about the return journey, on Day 6 we will drop you back around 8:00 PM at Rishikesh and 9:30 PM at Dehradun. You may not find a late flight back to your city so if you are planning to take a flight from Dehradun you need to plan it on Day 7 and stay back at Rishikesh on Day 6.
If you are planning a direct train to your city or an overnight travel to Delhi via train or bus then at least 2 hours of buffer time should be considered. If the timings of a direct train to your city are not matching with your arrival time in Rishikesh You may have to back at Rishikesh if time allows. If planning your journey via Delhi then Overnight Buses to Delhi are easily available from Rishikesh Every hour.
So this is how you can plan your entire journey to the Valley of Flowers from any city in India. For more information visit our website.