VALLEY OF FLOWERS
THE ENCHANTING FAIRYLAND
My last venture of VOF on 21st AUG was thwarted by the rains and landslides, which created havoc on the entire state of Uttarakhand. But I never thought of going back on the same route so early. The opportunity came on 28th Aug 7:30 in the evening. At last I was on the way to one of my dream destinations. Reached Haridwar at around 1:30 am. There was Mad rush in Har-Ki- Pauri due to Som-Amavasya . I took a dip somehow at 2 o clock in the night and continued my journey to Rishikesh. Reached Rishikesh barrier at 4am . There was a long queue at the barrier. The gate opened at 4:45 am and I was on the hills. It was still dark for an hour so I had to drive carefully. Till Srinagar the drive was uneventful. The real test of driving started after Srinagar. There was almost one landslide after every 3-5kms. till Rudraprayag. But the road was open and the vehicles were moving in snails pace. Somehow we managed to reach Govindghat at around 6:30 in the evening. It was a marathon drive for me. Stayed at Mehta Guest House 300 bucks for a Deluxe room. Next day 30th Aug started for Ghangaria at around 6:30 in the morning. The 13 kms steep climb to Ghangaria was quite strenuous. But the Jathas to Hemkund and the magnificient vistas keep you going. Reached Ghangaria around 3:30. I stopped a lot enroute for photography.
Here I stayed in Nand Lokpal Hotel, The newly renovated hotel was a surprise here. I got a deluxe room for 800/- The rate quoted in rush time was 2000/-. But a word of caution – food in the restaurant was horrible.Nextday at 6 AM I started for VOF. Rest I think the Pictures will say all.
I used Nikon D3100 +18-55mm kit lens + 70-300mm Tam and
Canon P&S A490. It was very difficult to choose from 1000 odd pictures I have clicked.
